Sullivan still turns inSullivan still turns incareer-best scores The last time the Penn gymnastics team competed in an Ivy League meet, the team got caught in a snowstorm en route to Ithaca, N.Y. The Quakers responded to their misfortune with their most impressive showing of the season, a decisive defeat of Cornell. This time Penn made it to the meet against defending Ivy League champion Yale without a problem. But perhaps a few more inches of snow and another night stranded in upstate New York was what the Quakers needed this past weekend. Penn (3-4, 1-1 Ivy) never put up a serious challenge and fell to an experienced Yale team (3-1, 2-0 Ivy), 184.425 to 178.275. "Yale was nearly flawless," Quakers coach Tom Kovic said. "They had maybe three misroutines, and we weren't near that. We were really impressed by their consistency. They deserved to win." Once again, Penn was plagued on the balance beam. Every gymnast slipped off the beam with the exception of sophomore Carin Kaplan, who ended up with a score of 8.925. "We still had trouble on beam," Kovic said. "It's really more of a mental event. So we just have to go back to the drawing board this week and see what we can do." The Quakers did, however, have a few highlights. The past week of rigorous practice was evident, especially on the uneven bars, where Penn had performed miserably the week before at George Washington. The gymnasts improved by a full two points at the Yale meet, highlighted by a personal best 9.300 by freshman Suzi Marin. Sophomore Kathleen Gunn also had a strong performance on the bars, earning a score of 9.0. The combined event score of 43.350 marked a season best for the Quakers. But, for the second week in a row, it was freshman Molly Sullivan who put together the strongest performance for Penn. Sullivan had the Quakers' top score in the vault and in the floor routine. She scored a 9.325 on the vault, a tenth of point ahead of Gunn, and her score of 9.575 on floor was a personal best. She also broke a score of 36 in the all-around competition for the first time in her collegiate career. Her score of 36.225 was just good enough to defeat Yale's Meghan Innis and capture first place in the all-around. "It was a personal best," Sullivan said. "I've never broken a 36 before, so it was definitely a thrill." In order for the Quakers to put together a serious challenge for the Ivy League title, though, they will have to make serious improvements. Penn will not be able to win the Ivies without improving on the balance beam. The Quakers must also improve their consistency event-to-event and meet-to-meet. "Yale was beatable," Kovic said. "We've got to pick ourselves up in order to make a run for the Ivy title."
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