Penn beats Princeton in women's track

Penn 61, Princeton 57. The Quakers faithful at the Palestra would have given anything last night to see those numbers on the scoreboard as the last seconds ticked away. "It's one of the best duals anywhere. Head to head, one shot for everything, so it's exciting, it's nerve-wracking as heck." That quote could easily describe the Penn-Princeton basketball game. And yet, those words were uttered by Penn women's track assistant coach Tony Tenisci last week as his team prepared for Saturday's meet at Princeton. And 61-57, Penn? That is exactly what the score read at day's end. There was no chanting of "You have three points," and "Romanczuk 3:16" shirts were inconspicuously absent. Yet, for the Quakers track team, Saturday's meet had as many title implications as last night's hoops matchup. Last year, the Red and Blue were defeated 68-50 by a Tigers squad that went on to finish first at the Heptagonal Championships, the championship meet of the Ivies and Navy. This year, though, it was Penn which emerged victorious in its last meet before the Heptagonal Championships. "This was a really good meet for all of us because we performed as a team. We haven't pulled together like that in a long time," Jessica Mitchell said. While Penn was satisfied with the end result, there were some surprises. Going in, the Quakers emphasized the importance of winning the relays, as the winner of a relay receives five points, while the loser receives nothing. However, in both the 4x400 and 4x800, Princeton came away with the victory by more than six seconds. "The relays were a big factor," Mitchell said. "We would have won by a lot more if we hadn't lost them." Penn, though, was able to overcome the 10-point deficit thanks to strong finishes from the rest of the team. Penn's four senior captains -- Rita Garber, Luana Botelho, Shana Black and Mitchell -- combined for three firsts and two second-place finishes. "The seniors' strong finishes proves that we're doing a good job of leading with encouragement and leading by example," Mitchell said. "We definitely have a strong senior class this year. Other Quakers also performed big when needed. After Penn lost the relays, the entire meet came down to the triple jump. Junior Ruthie Neuhaus secured the win for the Quakers when she placed first in that event, leaping an impressive 11.83 meters. The Quakers now have one week off before Heps take place. The upcoming week will be spent in preparation for the meet, and in savoring the hard-fought win against the notorious Tigers.