Bars, Temple plague Gymnastics

A frustrating season for Penn's gymnastics team became more frustrating Monday, as the Quakers got edged by city-rival Temple, 179.175 to 178.175 in a four-way meet, which also included Ursinus and West Chester. It was clear from the start that the meet would come down to the Owls and Quakers. Temple is a national powerhouse that has been a perpetual headache for the Penn gymnastics team. But it was the Quakers (3-3) who jumped out first, led by freshman Molly Sullivan's victory in the floor routine with a 9.45. "We came in their like gangbusters, flawlessly nailed 4-6 floor routines, and we were out in front," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. After three rotations, the Quakers held a two-point lead with only the bars remaining. But the Quakers could not close out the victory and ended up losing to Temple by less than a point. "After the loss, I felt I needed to stress closure -- with a big lead going into the last rotation, the team needs to close the door and seal the victory," Kovic said. But the improvement from last year's Temple meet to this year's competition was noticeable. "Last year, Temple was so much better, this year it was so exciting to be right in there," Kathleen Gunn said "It was a really great feeling." It was Gunn who almost led the Quakers to the about-face from last year, finishing third in the all-around portion of the meet. Although Sullivan and Gunn have been in the spotlight of late, Meredith Daly is a young gymnast that has slowly come out of her shell and made a solid contribution Monday night. "Coach really worked on building confidence, because confidence is so important in a mental sport such as gymnastics," Daly said. Penn will get another shot at Temple Saturday, when the Quakers attend the George Washington Invitational, where the Owls will also be competing. "We are looking forward to beating Temple this time around," Gunn said.