After the Penn gymnastics team's loss to Yale last Saturday, which brought an end to a dismal month on the road for the Quakers, freshman Molly Sullivan said simply, "We're still waiting for that one meet when everything will come together." Well, that one meet finally happened this weekend as Penn (4-4, 2-1 Ivy) put together its most balanced performance of the season, routing Brown (2-7, 0-2 Ivy) by a score of 179.250 to 170.075. Unlike their last three meets -- all losses -- the Quakers jumped into the lead straight from the start of the meet. After the first two events -- the vault and uneven bars -- Penn had established a comfortable seven-point lead. But the most exciting performance on the vault came from freshman Suzi Marin. The Philadelphia native, who was performing in front of a large group of family and friends, earned a score of 9.175 and provided early proof that the Quakers were at a slightly higher plane than the past few weeks. In fact, every Penn gymnast topped the best Brown score on the vault. The uneven bars were highlighted by an 8.850 by sophomore Kathleen Gunn and scores of 8.750 for both Sullivan and sophomore Carin Kaplan. But the true test for Penn was yet to come. For the Quakers to have any chance at the Ivy title, they will have to show improvement on the balance beam. So it was no surprise that Penn seemed a little more focused preceding this event than for the previous two. The result was the Quakers best beam performance of the season, despite the fact that three gymnasts slipped off the beam. Kaplan and Gunn both put together impressive beam routines, but the highlight was senior Shelly Waldman's performance. Waldman earned a score of 9.400. According to Penn coach Tom Kovic, Waldman's performance was "one of the best I've seen in my nine years." The Quakers team balance beam score of 44.775 was a full four points ahead of last week's score at Yale. By the time the floor exercise started, Penn had an insurmountable eight-point lead. Even so, the Quakers stayed focused and earned a team score of 45.975. Sullivan led the way with a 9.400, followed by Waldman's 9.325. In all, four Penn gymnasts broke the 9.0-point mark, providing an impressive ending to an impressive meet. "We did really well as a team," Quakers captain Lori Taylor said. "We were confident and excited. The home crowd was also really encouraging. We've been on the road for so long it felt good to be home." Kovic agreed, but was also quick to point out that there is still room for improvement. "You could sense the excitement just looking at the team," Kovic said. "They were focused and stayed together as a team. But we had three errors on bars and four errors on beam. We definitely have room to improve."
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