Scores need to add up for Gymnastics

Against Bridgeport tomorrow, Penn hopes to break elusive 182 One hundred eighty-two. It's a pretty basic number but it's given Penn a lot of trouble. The Quakers (7-7, 4-2 Ivy) have scored in the 181 range for the last four straight meets but have not been able to reach the elusive 182. Penn has earned a 181.975, 181.820, 181.600 and a 181.350. The Quakers hope to finally reach 182 tomorrow at Hutchinson Gymnasium when they host the University of Bridgeport (10-5) in the last home meet of the season. The Quakers are looking to recover from their defeat at the hands of Yale in the Ivy Classic two weeks ago. Yale easily dashed Penn's hopes for an upset by scoring a minimum of 45.825 on each event. The Quakers have not been able to reach that consistent high-score at any point during the season. But it is far from hopeless. If the Quakers can improve their performance on the uneven bars and the balance beam by just a couple of points then it is entirely possible that the Quakers will reach the 182 point mark. "We are still looking for a good performance on bars and beam," freshman Shannon Stafford said. "It's taking time to come together but hopefully it will this weekend." The team has struggled with the uneven bars throughout the season but has shown steady progress with each meet. At the Ivy Classic, the Quakers had one of their best bars performance of the season scoring a team total of 45.100 points. It was Penn's second best performance of the season. The balance beam has been both a disaster and a blessing at different points in the season. The gymnasts had a lot of trouble just staying on the beam during the first half of the season but made dramatic advances in the last three weeks. The Quakers scored 46 points or more for the three meets immediately preceding the Ivy Classic on March 9th. Senior Shelly Waldman, who will compete in her last home meet on Saturday, led the way during this span with consecutive scores of 9.400, 9.500 and 9.650. But at the Ivy Classic the team struggled again with its balance, reaching a team score of only 44.200. The Quakers are expecting a lot of competition on Saturday. Bridgeport is a very competitive team that regularly scores 184 points or more. "They're a good team," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "They're a lot like Yale and have been doing very well this year." For the Quakers to challenge Bridgeport they will have to score around 46 points in each event. Penn has done this in every single event except for the uneven bars at some point during the season, but has not yet succeeding in doing this at the same meet. If they can do this on Saturday then the Quakers will be able to challenge the Purple Knights. "We want to break the 181 mode," Kovik said. "It's the last home meet of the year and we want to take advantage of that."

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