Gymnasts to tumble at Ursinus

After flirting with extinction earlier this year, Temple's women's gymnastics squad is back with something to prove. The Owls are off the endangered species list and near the top of the NCAA regional rankings, weighing in unofficially somewhere between third and fifth in the Northeast Region. Tonight at Ursinus' Freedom Classic, the Quakers will get a chance to measure themselves against their inter-city rivals, as well as western challengers Ursinus and West Chester. Penn dispatched of those two schools with relative ease at Hutch Gym last Thursday evening. This young season has already been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for Temple's gymnasts. The team was reinstated about a week after learning it had been cut from the athletic budget. Given new life, the Owls have jumped out to a 2-1 start. Their only loss was a two-point heartbreaker at UMass last weekend. "Morale is great," coach Ken Anderson said. "The team knows it is capable of going a long way this season." Although they are the preeminent gymnastics power in the city, the Owls are going to have to watch out for the surging Quakers. On a bit of a hot streak over the past week, Penn has shattered a number of team and individual records on its way to picking up four straight wins after an opening loss to Rhode Island. This evening both Penn and Temple will be looking to accomplish much the same goals. "We're spreading the assignments out," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "Our goal is to hit a high percentage of our routines." Regardless of the outcome at Ursinus, both Philadelphia representatives will lock horns Saturday in the nation's capital at the George Washington Invitational. With this more prestigious event ahead, Anderson will rest his strongest performers tonight. For the Quakers, tonight's meet, although relatively inconsequential on paper, will represent a major test of the squad's resilience. By Saturday, Penn's gymnasts will have taken their respective apparati four times in nine days, a grueling pace by all accounts. While the past week has been a tough one, the days ahead will be all the more difficult for the hobbled bunch. Injuries run the gamut among the Quakers, from Monique Burton's continued grogginess after a concussion two weeks ago to Beth Manley's devastating ankle injury suffered this past Saturday. The worst news, though, is that in Temple, the Quakers could well be facing their stiffest competition of the season. The Owls are "among the strongest in the East," Kovic said.