Gymnasts stumble at Towson

After a goodweek of practice,After a goodweek of practice,old mistakes leave Penn inAfter a goodweek of practice,old mistakes leave Penn inlast place After last weekend's win over Brown, the Penn gymnastics team (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) seemed like a new squad. The Quakers were excited and confident going into this weekend's meet at Towson State. This weekend it was clear, though, from the beginning that the Quakers had not yet overcome the problems that have plagued them all season, as Penn placed sixth in the six-team Towson State Invitational. The No. 18 Tigers won their home tournament for the 11th year in a row with a score of 191.625. George Washington, who, along with every other competing school except for Towson State had defeated the Quakers earlier in the season, placed a close second, with a score of 190.725. Maryland took third with 189.650, William and Mary was fourth with a 188.40, Temple finished fifth at 182.275 and Penn rounded out the field with a 179.450. The Quakers were flat right from the start. The first event was the balance beam, an event that was disastrous for the Quakers during their three-week losing streak preceding the victory over Brown. At Towson State, five of the six Quakers gymnasts fell off the beam. Penn earned a combined score of only 43.150 in the event. The one Quakers highlight on the beam was the strong performance of sophomore Carin Kaplan, who managed to stay on the beam and scored a solid 9.25. "We were a little intimidated at first," Penn freshman Molly Sullivan said. "But we still had a little confidence. We wanted to do the best we possibly could." The second event, the floor exercise, proved the Quakers did indeed have confidence in their abilities. Penn's combined score of 46.550 put it in the middle of the pack and was also a half-point higher than last week's total. All but one gymnast earned a 9.075 or better, but it was Sullivan's personal-best 9.525 that stood out most. Against Brown, Sullivan set her personal best in a strong all-around performance, but received only a 9.5 from judging that Kovic felt was too harsh. The next event, the vault, carried much of the momentum of the strong floor performance. Every Quaker received a score of 9.000 or higher -- a rare accomplishment this season. And three of the Penn gymnasts earned personal records in the event. Sophomore Kathleen Gunn led the way with a 9.525, followed closely by Sullivan who earned a 9.475 and sophomore Meredith Daly who had a 9.375. But even though Penn had performed well in the floor exercise and on the vault, it was clear that the Quakers were not performing at the same caliber as the rest of the competition. The last event was the uneven bars, an event that, like the balance beam, has plagued the Quakers throughout the season. Sullivan and Kaplan led the way, each receiving an 8.850. But Penn earned a combined score of only 43.150, far behind the scores of the competition. With the exception of the personal records set by Gunn, Daly and Sullivan and the premiere of freshman Suzi Marin as an four-event performer, there was not much to brag about. "We were really flat right from the start," Quakers coach Tom Kovic said. "Score-wise, it was similar [to Brown], but we made more mistakes." Clearly it was frustrating for the team to come off such a strong performance and a good week of practice with such a weak showing. "I thought they were confident," Kovic said. "We had really good workouts this week, and I felt that after Brown, our confidence level was terrific. We really have to minimize failed performances. We counted mistakes on half of the performances."

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