Gymnastics wins its fourth straight Ivy Classic crown

The Quakers rebounded from early difficulties to take their seventh title in the last decade. Some fairy tales aren't even this sweet. At Saturday's Ivy Classic in Ithaca, N.Y., the Penn gymnastics team recovered from a rocky start and earned an Ivy Classic record 189.300 points, winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive Classic championship. The win was the Quakers' seventh in the past decade. "This meet came down to who wanted it the most and did whatever they could to win," Penn senior Becky Nadler said. Beginning with an uncharacteristically shaky fourth-place performance on balance beam -- usually the Red and Blue's strongest event -- the Quakers knew they would have to work to get back to first place. "We had to count two falls in the team score, which put our backs in the corner," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "I didn't know how the other teams were scoring, but the message remained that we had to do our best." From that point on, the Quakers did not look back. "We shook off the mistakes with so much focus and determination. We just kept fighting harder and harder, until bars, which is usually a shaky event for us, was absolutely fantastic," Penn senior Kirby Thorpe said. One of the most outstanding efforts of the afternoon was turned in by Penn sophomore Sarah Tudryn, who earned her second consecutive Ivy Classic individual title on the uneven bars with a score of 9.725. "Sarah had a great day. She totally stepped up on beam [for sophomore Jean Troast, who was ill], and on vault [for junior Kelly Haberer, injured with a sprained foot ligament] and then in her own right on bars, which she won," Thorpe said. Becky Nadler earned the individual championship in balance beam, with a score of 9.750, adding to the title she won at the 1998 Classic in the floor exercises. "I was pleased with my performance as an individual at my last Ivy Championship. We all try to do our best for the team," Nadler said. To add to the fairy-tale quality of the meet, Penn's Haberer overcame the injury to her foot and turned in a solid performance. "Kelly did a great job. She came in on Monday [to practice] on crutches and not only did she compete on Saturday, but her score helped to lead the team. Her effort was monumental," Kovic said. From top to bottom, the entire line-up contributed to the final team victory for the Quakers. "We are proud to be Ivy champs. Not everything went perfectly, but we did not give up, still turned in a great team score and won the meet -- all requiring us to pull together as a team in a way I think only we know how to do," Penn captain Lizzie Jacobson said. In the end, with only a margin of 2.050 points separating the first-place Quakers and the fourth-place Brown Bears, the meet was not decided until the winner was announced. "There aren't many moments during other meets that can compare to the one we had when we were announced as the winners. It was unbelievable," Nadler said. The Quakers hope to use the classic as a foundation for continued success for the rest of the season, as well as the ECAC Championships, taking place in March. "To start shaky on our best event and pull through and focus and win proved what a mentally strong team we are," Penn freshman Veena Abraham said. And the Quakers finally have their first win on the road, a victory that has been eluding them all season. "As far as competing on the road, this is definitely a confidence booster. The season wasn't going as well as I had anticipated because of the close [away] losses to Cornell and Yale," Kovic said. "But the fact that we were so consistent was definitely a testament to the strength of this team." For now, the Quakers are looking forward to celebrating their hard-fought championship and training for Saturday's home meet against Wilson College. "This win helped to boost our confidence but we still have room for improvement, and that's what we'll be working on until then," Abraham said. The Ivy Classic championship trophy is back in Philadelphia. Still.

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