Penn will need to scorePenn will need to scorearound 184 points to have aPenn will need to scorearound 184 points to have ashot at the beating the Elis Confidence. That is what it will come down to this weekend. Which team, Yale (3-6, 3-0 Ivy) or Penn (5-6, 2-1 Ivy), has more confidence in its ability. If the past two months serve as a test, then this team would be Yale. The Elis have easily defeated the other three Ivy League gymnastics teams --Ethe Quakers, Brown (1-13, 0-3 Ivy) and Cornell (2-8, 1-2 Ivy) -- by putting together well-rounded performances that no other Ancient Eight school could match. But it's confidence that matters now and the Penn gymnastics team has more than ever. Neither Cornell, which suffered through a miserable season, nor Brown, which is still recovering from nearly losing the gymnastics program three years ago, figure to have an impact Saturday, when the Ivy title will be up for grabs in Ithaca, N.Y. From the last note of the Star-spangled Banner, it will be a strictly Penn versus Yale affair. But the Quakers will have their work cut out for them. Back on February 3, when Yale and Penn competed for the first time, the Elis won by more than six points, 184.425 to 178.275. The Quakers have made significant improvements since then, scoring above the 180-point level for the last three consecutive meets, including a season-best 181.600 Tuesday against Rutgers. But, despite the improvement the Quakers have yet to reach the level at which Yale regularly competes. To do this the Quakers will have to score somewhere around 184 points, which entails a forty-six in each particular event. The Quakers have done this in each event but never at the same time. "Yale is a very talented team," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "Not to undermine Brown or Cornell but Yale is a very balanced team and is our strongest competition. We've got to go in there and perform at our top level." In order to do this, the Quakers will have to overcome a slew of minor injuries. Sophomore all-arounder Carin Kaplan was out with a back injury last week but should be ready Saturday. Junior Michelle Arnheim, though, is questionable for Saturday with an ankle injury. "Everyone on the team has their injuries," freshman Shannon Stafford said. "We just need to make it through the weekend. Then we'll have a little time to heal." The Quakers do have a couple of advantages. Saturday will be the first competition for Yale in three weeks. While the Elis were on sabbatical from competition, the Quakers had their three best meets. In addition, Penn has competed once already at Cornell. Yale has not yet made the trip to Ithaca. The Quakers are also coming off of the best meet of the year, a 187.450 to 181.600 loss to an excellent Rutgers team. Penn put together a strong performance in the uneven bars, a season-long trouble spot, despite a couple of mishaps. On the beam, the other major problem area, the gymnasts compiled a 46.450 combined score. Senior Shelly Waldman led the way with a 9.500. The improvements that the team has made on beam represent the steady overall progress that the team has made since the season started some two months ago. Until recently, the beam was a disaster area. But since the Towson State meet February 17, the team has shown dramatic improvement on the beam that reflects an improved overall performance. In the floor routine, the event that has been good to the Quakers from the beginning, the team put together another strong performance, despite judging that Kovic felt to be excessively tough. The Quakers are also a different team from the one that was stomped by Yale earlier this season. "You've got individuals that are pulling the team together," Kovic said. "The whole objective of this is for everyone to give input into success. It's been happening on a daily basis, and on a weekly basis. It's going to be a total team performance that's going to win us the Ivy Classic."
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