W. Track stunned by Big Red in Ithaca

The Penn women's track team traveled to Cornell on Saturday with high expectations but returned home disappointed and confused after an 86-55 loss to the Big Red. After a hot start to its outdoor season, the team felt confident about its chances heading into Ithaca. Prior to the meet, some members of the team were even bold enough to predict a victorious outcome for the Quakers. "I think pound for pound we should easily beat them," sophomore jumper Jill Aronovitz said the Wednesday before the competition. The Quakers, after all, had just come off two impressive weekends in a row. Penn convincingly defeated Princeton and Yale on April 10; also still fresh in their minds was the team's second place finish ahead of Cornell in the University of Pennsylvania Invitational on April 3. But Saturday, the Big Red exacted revenge on the Quakers by a considerable margin. "I think that the difference between winning and losing a lot of the time is momentum, and a lot of the momentum was going Cornell's way," sophomore Amy Nichols said. "The momentum wasn't going our way. "Overall, there were some events that we sort of had some expectations as a team, and when you expect five points and get one point, it has an effect on the meet. It sort of puts a damper on things." The meet had an obvious impact on the Quakers, as many of them were unwilling to discuss the specifics of the defeat. Last week, the Quakers stressed their hard work in preparation for the meet. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be enough to overcome Cornell's performance. "It is a mental and physical sport -- any sport is. The body achieves what the mind believes," senior captain Luana Botelho said. "We're all physically capable but mentally we just weren't there. "It's definitely something that we have to address. Everybody on the team should be disappointed with what happened this weekend, not just the captains. I definitely believe that the team can do it, it's just a matter of everybody being there on the same day." The Quakers wasted no time in addressing the cause of their defeat. Everyone realizes that with Heps only two weeks away, an immediate turnaround is imperative. According to both Nichols and Botelho, head coach Betty Costanza and assistant coaches Tony Tenisci and Cricket Batz-Shaklee met with several members of the team immediately following Penn's loss. The athletes, however, were unwilling to specify the contents of those meetings or which members of the team were present. Despite the disappointment, Penn hopes to take something positive from its visit to Cornell that will help the Quakers avoid this problem in the future. "It was a loss, and I guess you just have to forget about it and look to the future," Nichols said. "You can reflect on it and learn from it and apply it to the next meet." Regardless of the team score, many Quakers still performed well in their respective events. Freshman Elizabeth Wittels continued to impress her peers as she matched her 12' pole vault for the second week in a row to finish first. Mandy Bennett, a senior, also "put everything together," according to Botelho. Bennett finished third in the hammer throw with a throw of 135'1.5". Botelho was also pleased with her own performance after coming back from a dislocated and fractured finger. Her 44'7" throw in the shot put was good enough for first place, 3'1" ahead of her closest competitor. Sophomore JaJuan Gair and senior captain Shana McDonald-Black, also turned in first-place performances, running 14.85 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and 12.62 seconds in the 100 meters, respectively. Penn hopes that a little time back in the confines of Franklin Field will help them get back on track. Unfortunately, in this short outdoor season, time is a luxury the Quakers cannot afford.