Gymnastics faces surprising Bears team

Brown is trying to keep Penn from completing a season sweep of the other three Ivy League teams. A trip to Providence, R.I., used to mean an automatic win for the Penn gymnastics team. But not this year. The Quakers (2-0, 2-0 Ivy League) visit a vastly improved Brown team Sunday at 1 p.m. Penn hopes to make it a perfect season in Ivy League dual meets but it will not be easy against the Bears. Brown (7-1, 0-0) is coming off a 185.075-183.005 victory at Vermont last weekend. That point total is much higher than the Quakers usually see from the Bears. Last year, Penn defeated Brown 189.075-180.475 in its homecoming meet at Hutchinson Gymnasium. That day, the Quakers set three team records in a nearly flawless effort as they rebounded from a tough loss at Yale. This year, Penn is coming off a blowout win against the Elis but will need a similar performance against Brown to be successful. "Brown picked up two really strong recruits," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "Beth Boisvert is back, and she was injured all last year. With those additions, the fact that they're scoring in the mid-180s is not surprising." The two freshmen are Kate Hirschman-Levy and Jessica Buck. Both have made instant contributions to the Bears, who have filled many of last year's weak positions. Boisvert, a senior co-captain for Brown, has been her team's leader this season. She was named the ECAC Gymnast of the Week following a 37.625 in the all-around in a victory over Springfield on January 24. The Quakers are hoping for the return of their own senior co-captain, Shannon Stafford. Her status will be determined today, but it is likely that she will make her first appearance of the season since undergoing ACL surgery last year. "Our goal the whole year has been for me to come back for the Brown meet," Stafford said. "I'd just be competing in the floor exercise. I hope to be ready for the vault by the West Chester meet [February 17]." Penn got some good news about the ankle injury that freshman Sarah Tudryn suffered in the Yale meet last weekend. It was originally feared that the ankle was broken but tests revealed that it was only a severe sprain, making a comeback this season possible. According to Kovic, Tudryn is definitely out for the next two meets but could potentially return as early as February 21 for the Towson Invitational. She would probably only compete on her strongest event, the bars, in her first meet back. Junior Lizzie Jacobson will have complete reconstructive surgery in two weeks for her ACL injury. She is out for the year. Because the meet is on Sunday instead of Saturday, Kovic changed the practice schedule for the Quakers this week. Penn gymnasts took a much-appreciated day off on Wednesday after tough practices Monday and Tuesday. According to sophomore Jenn Capasso, the Quakers are consistently hitting more routines in practice now than before. They will need that trend to continue Sunday in order to defeat the team which has left Ivy League doormat status and has a realistic shot at the title for the first time in several years. "There's a lot more parity between Ivy teams this year than past years which really makes the league stronger," Kovic said. "It's nice to have more competition in every meet." The Quakers will certainly get a sufficient challenge from Brown this weekend. Penn just hopes that it doesn't turn into the first blemish on its Ivy record in over a year.