Gymnastics prepared for season finale

In the realm of word association, Penn's gymnastics team and rap group Cypress Hill aren't likely to fall too near to one another. But this weekend, that may all change as the Quakers take the show on the road to the ECAC consolation championship in Springfield, Mass., in what will be the season finale. Coming off a poor performance last weekend, the team's four seniors have made a very Cypress-like vow -- "We ain't goin' out like that." Indeed, after giving Penn coach Tom Kovic four stellar years, this group has accomplished too much -- foremost of which was the Ivy Championship last year -- to quietly close out their careers. The exit they would like to make runs more along the lines of a bang. Leading the charge is senior Staci Standen. "We have a good chance of winning," she predicted. "We've seen just about all the teams there, and they're all beatable." The upperclassmen, though, aren't the only ones looking forward to tomorrow's showdown. Meredith Daly spoke on behalf of the team's talented freshman core, saying, "We're just excited to compete because this is our first ECACs." The fact that the team stands so united in its focus to excel this weekend is a true testament to its collective character. When the season began in January, Kovic stated one of the team's primary goals would be to qualify for the true ECAC championships in Pittsburgh, the postseason competition for the conference's elite. Alas, as the grueling season began to wind down, it became clear the Quakers would fall short of this objective. Despite this disappointment, Kovic should have no problem stoking the competitive fire as he prepares his charges for the ECAC's consolation championship. "I look at this meet as one more chance for my team to hit their best performances," Kovic said. This is the last chance the Quakers will get. After this weekend, the curtain comes down on the gymnasts' season. The Quakers are seeded fourth in the field of six, below, among others, top-ranked Bridgeport, the team they fell to last weekend. This low placement will help the Quakers sneak up on the unsuspecting competition, which includes two schools, Springfield and Southern Connecticut, that Penn has defeated this season but are nonetheless seeded higher. Although it would appear Penn may have been slighted in its placement within this field, the Quakers don't seem to be overly concerned. "We have a good chance to go in and do well," senior co-captain Nicole LeBrasseur said. For LeBrasseur and her three other senior teammates, winning the last meet of their collegiate careers means much more than any ranking could anyway.

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