Gymnastics falters in ECAC consolation

"The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost." Indeed, it seems no other words sum up the gymnastics team's season better than these immortal lyrics from the Gilligan's Island theme song. Substitute team for ship and season for Minnow, and you have the Quakers' year in, for lack of a better word, a nutshell. In February, a snow storm forced Penn's biggest dual meet of the season, at Yale, to be canceled. When they finally got to take on the Elis at the Ivy Classic, Yale bounced Penn from its Ivy championship pedestal. Alas, this group of determined gymnasts stuck together and sought to turn around their season. After a heartbreaking loss to Rutgers during which the Quakers performed as well as they had all season, it looked as if they just might. Unfortunately, as this marathon-like campaign drew to a close this weekend at the ECAC's consolation championship in Springfield, Mass., the little engine that has been driving this gritty bunch simply became the one that couldn't any longer, as the Quakers finished fifth in a field of six. The Bridgeport Purple Knights owned the day, scoring 185.1 points to win the meet, while Penn managed 177.25 points, good enough only to finish in front of a West Chester squad it had shellacked on two earlier occasions this season. Rounding out the rest the field were Vermont in second, followed by Southern Connecticut in third and Springfield in fourth. Penn coach Tom Kovic really didn't have much to say about his team's swan song. "Unfortunately, we had a bad performance," he said. On a brighter note, a number of individuals stood out prominently amidst the debacle in the Bay State. As usual, this group of top performers was led by senior co-captain Monique Burton, who garnered fifth place in the floor exercises and on the balance beam, scoring 9.45 and 9.375 respectively. Two of her classmates also made solid contributions to the cause. Staci Standen picked up fifth place on the vault with a score of 9.2. Co-captain Nicole LeBrasseur stood out on the balance beam, a sore spot for Penn all day, netting a score of 9.2. LeBrasseur and some of her teammates didn't have as much luck on the floor exercises, as the Quakers wilted somewhat under the searing heat applied by the meet's stringent judges. "The judges were incredibly rough on us," LeBrasseur said. Ever the optimist, LeBrasseur did manage to find a silver lining in the day's events. "Whatever happened doesn't really matter because we went out as a team. If the judges didn't agree, there's nothing we can do about it," she said. While the more than three-month tour that was the Quakers' season has finally come to a close, the desire the team has exhibited all season will now serve to ease the pain over the disappointment of its last time out.

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