Rutgers set to challenge Gymnastics

For weeks, they looked forward to the date. They circled it on their calender. Then they went over it with a highlighter. When last Sunday's Ivy Classic in the Palestra finally arrived, the Penn gymnasts put it all on the line attempting to repeat as Ivy League champs. In the end, their valiant effort brought them only within striking distance of eventual champion Yale. Tonight, the Quakers will seek to regroup in Hutch Gym at 6:30 p.m. when they host Rutgers. The matchup represents Penn's final home meet of the season, which means the squad will be honoring a very special core of departing seniors. If Penn ever needed its elders -- co-captains Monique Burton and Nicole LeBrasseur, Staci Standen and Amy Casey -- to perform strongly, tonight would be the night. The Quakers have been suffering through a scoring drought of late, breaking 180 only once in the last month. Penn coach Tom Kovic doesn't give his hard-working bunch much of a chance against Atlantic 10 power Rutgers. "The odds are against us coming out a winner," he said. He compared the Scarlet Knights to the Temple squad his team has had so much trouble beating this year. Generally speaking, the A-10 hasn't been very kind to the Red and Blue. The conference's schools can lay claim to three blemishes on Penn's win-loss record this year. Despite Kovic's relative pessimism, his squad may have a chance to come away with an upset if Rutgers doesn't come in hitting on all cylinders. However, the Quakers won't even have a prayer if they aren't able to put this weekend's disappointment behind them. "[The team] has to be over the second-place finish at the Ivy Classic," Kovic said. While tonight's meet doesn't represent an especially fierce rivalry, Penn would do itself a great disservice by approaching it with anything but the utmost seriousness. Going into this second-to-last meet of the regular season, the Quakers' backs have not been pushed against the proverbial wall, but actually slammed against it. If the team hopes to fulfill its preseason aspiration of qualifying for the ECAC championship meet in Pittsburgh, it will need to stockpile all the strong results it can. So with the chips down and the spotlight shining brightly upon them, Penn's seniors will be asked to come through once again. If the tone they've set throughout their careers in University City is any indication, Penn could have a very good chance at pulling off the upset.