Gynnastics, in midseason form, romps over Ursinus

The Quakers handily defeated the Division III Bears last night at Hutchinson Gym. It appears that there just might be life after Molly Sullivan for the Penn gymnastics team. The Quakers, playing in only their second meet since losing last year's Ivy League all-around champion to graduation last spring, easily defeated Ursinus, 188.075-174.300. Jenn Capasso played a major role in the Quakers' victory by winning the all-around competition with a combined score of 37.550 and placing highly in all four events. Capasso's primary competition for the all-around crown was teammate Sarah Bruscia, who finished second with 36.725 points. "This was a great meet," Capasso said. "I am much more concerned with getting high scores for the team, but the all-around win is definitely nice." Capasso's beam score of 9.725 fell just a hair shy of the all-time Penn record of 9.825, which is held by Bruscia. Penn was able to run away with the meet by winning all four events by at least one full point. Penn dominated the uneven bars and the balance beam, winning the two events by a combined 9.95 points. "There are a lot of positives that we can take away from this meet," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "This was just a great all-around effort." By winning the meet, Penn improved its record to 1-1 on the still-fledgling season. Last Saturday, the squad lost a closely contended meet at Cornell. Sophomore Lauren Hittner had a solid meet for Penn. Hittner won the vault with a score of 9.575. She also turned in strong performances in the beam and floor events. The Quakers also excelled in the uneven bars. Penn senior Kirby Thorpe won the event, as the Red and Blue were firing on all cylinders on the bars and produced four scores of nine or better. Ursinus could not keep pace and was unable to muster a single score above nine on the bars. Meaghan Sanders was another highlight for the Quakers. The freshman, who had a tough meet against Cornell -- falling three times -- came back against Ursinus and scored a 9.65 on the floor. Her score was good enough for second place and a personal record. Penn's Becky Nadler, who posted an excellent score of 9.725, was the only gymnast ahead of her. "I was really happy with Meaghan's performance tonight," Kovic said. "She was kind of upset after the Cornell meet, so this was a great way to respond." At this early stage of the season, the goal for the squad is to steadily improve and gain experience. Penn's score of 188.075 was almost two points better than the effort they logged against Cornell. "This meet was great because the team improved and built on our last meet," Kovic said. "If we continue to work hard, we should be able to improve our score even more." One concern for Penn going into the meet was that it would have a tough time getting up for a showdown against Division III Ursinus. With three meets in a nine-day span, the Quakers could have easily overlooked the Bears. Luckily for the Red and Blue, however, they did not play down to their competition. Penn next heads to the George Washington Invitational this upcoming Sunday. "This weekend will be a big test for us," Capasso said. "We will be competing against a bunch of very good teams." Although the Quakers will need to conquer foes more dangerous than Ursinus later this season, last night's convincing win bodes well for a fourth consecutive Ivy Classic title.

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