Final home meet for Gymnastics tri-captains

The final home stop on the "best season ever" campaign of the 1998 Penn gymnastics team has come in to view. On Saturday, the Quakers entertain Ithaca College and the University of Bridgeport (1 p.m., Hutchinson) in the team's last tri-meet of the season. What a difference a year makes. In 1997, the Quakers finished their dual meet season at Bridgeport, falling by five points to the Purple Knights. Bridgeport, led by Tiffany Dickey -- currently an assistant coach at Penn -- broke the elite 190-point barrier, while Penn -- which netted 185 points in the meet -- was still striving to break the elusive 186. The tables have since turned, as the Quakers (6-1 in dual meets) have broken 186 on several occasions this season. They are the heavy favorites going into Saturday's meet. Penn's regional qualifying score of 186.462, good enough for first in the ECACs, is a full seven points higher than Bridgeport's. With former All-American Dickey now patrolling the sidelines alongside Penn coach Tom Kovic, the Quakers look to chalk up two more victories as they take on the Purple Knights and the Ithaca Bombers. The Quakers are coming off of a stellar performance at the Ivy Classic, where they claimed their second-straight league title, while setting meet scoring records and taking home three of four events along with the all-around championship. "It should be a great meet," Penn tri-captain Carin Kaplan said. "I think our team is coming off of a pretty exciting weekend so I hope that everyone is still pumped up." The meet also marks the last time that Penn tri-captains Kathleen Gunn, Carin Kaplan, and Shilpa Rao will compete for the Red and Blue at home. The three seniors hope to steer Penn to victory on Saturday as the final pages are written in a storied chapter of Penn gymnastics. "It's a very special meet for the seniors. They are three very special individuals who have just committed themselves fully to this program," Kovic said. Gunn, who won the all-around at Ivies, hopes to put the finishing touches on an excellent Penn career. Last season, she finished as ECAC champion on bars, runner-up on vault, and fourth in the all-around. All-ECAC Academic Honor Roll. She also became only the third gymnast to qualify individually for the NCAA Regional Championships. "It's going to be a little bit emotional having it be our last meet of the season at home, but I'm excited," Gunn, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich, said. Kaplan, second-team All-ECAC on beam in 1997, has performed solidly for the Quakers on both floor and bars this season. 1997 NCAA Academic All-American, Academic All-ECAC and Academic All-Ivy, Kaplan continues a Penn gymnastics tradition of high performance both on the mats and in the classroom. "I think it will be pretty emotional. I've been doing gymnastics since I was four years old so this could be the last time," said Kaplan, a Rochester, N.Y. native. Rao, the Quakers' team leader on bars with a regional qualifying score of 9.444, won her strongest event at the 1997 Ivy Classic and was named second-team All-ECAC. While Saturday's meet presents a chance for Penn fans to bid farewell to the tri-captains, it also provides an opportunity for the Quakers to improve on their regional qualifying score. "It's just one more chance to get a good qualifying score for regionals and also be able to keep our first-place seed for ECACs," Gunn said. Following this weekend's tri-meet, Penn heads to the ECACs at James Madison, where the Quakers hope to defend their current No. 1 conference ranking and take their first-ever ECAC team championship.

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