Gymnastics finishes undefeated in Ivies

It has been a long 12 days for the Penn gymnastics team, which is coming home after winning on the road against an improved Brown squad this weekend, only to face West Chester, Ursinus and Wilson today. The Quakers (4-1, 3-0 Ivy League) are coming into this home meet banged up, but with a lot of confidence after their final away meet in Providence, R.I., resulted in a 182.325-178.85 win, wrapping up an undefeated Ancient Eight season. "The win over Brown was a complete team effort," Quakers tri-captain Lori Taylor said. "Everyone put a lot in to get the win." The four-point win might seem unimpressive, but the Bears (4-2) have a much stronger team from last year, and Penn's gymnasts proved to be too much for them. Although this wasn't one of the Quakers' most convincing victories, tri-captain Carin Kaplan was happy to "travel away and still come home with a victory," especially after the three-meet week. Despite tough judging and a few falls, the Quakers "pulled together and showed their strength and depth as a team," added Taylor. Penn is prepared for tonight's home meet, which should be an opportunity to try new things and get some other gymnasts into the lineup. "The home meet should have less pressure and emotion in comparison to the Ivy meets," coach Tom Kovic said. "Although they are not of the same caliber as we are, we are not going to take them for granted." The Quakers will have this weekend to rest and begin to prepare for the Towson Invitational on February 23. That meet features Towson State, Temple, North Carolina and James Madison. At this point in the season, the women are icing themselves after every practice and meet, but adrenaline is what keeps them performing through the pain. The past 12 days, in which the team has gone undefeated, has been a tough test for the Quakers. The gymnasts had to travel and compete in four different meets, which has been, according to Kovic, "physically trying on the them, but they responded by winning by at least four points in their last three meets." This home stretch of competitions would seem to have taken a toll on the Quakers, but besides the numerous bags of ice on every player, the team claims to be mentally and physically ready to play in these final tournaments. Not since the first meet against Rhode Island have the Red and Blue lost. Since that time the Quakers have learned to compete more as a team and step up when needed. This win in Providence was a real team effort. Even though there were difficulties or falls in each event, others on the team made up for it with strong performances. "We beat all the Ivies which gives us a lot of confidence," said Penn junior Shilpa Rao, as they begin to look to the Ivy Classic at Yale on March 1. The Quakers will use tonight's meet as a good way to end the regular season and will use the weekend to rest up for the coming up tournaments.