Fazed by a plague of unexpected injuries, the Penn gymnastics team finshed in fifth place out of the six teams who competed at the George Washington Invitational this past weekend.
The Quakers grabbed the fifth-place finish with a point total of 184.4, edging last-place Temple by 0.15. Host GW won the meet with a score of 191.275, followed by North Carolina who finished with 191.275, William and Mary who totaled 190.45 and Cornell with 185.75.
Despite their low finish, the Quakers (0-1) had several standout performances at the meet.
Freshman Laura Bouchelle contributed an impressive 9.7 on the vault, placing her third in the event. Sophomore Christy Green ranked fifth in the all-around competition, while also adding a second top-10 finish with her 9.5 achievement on the vault. Senior co-captain Lauren Hittner led the Quakers on the beam with a solid 9.25.
One of the toughest obstacles that the Quakers have had to face in the young season are injuries. It is impossible to predict them, and their impact can be devastating to team dynamics.
"We've really had lots of unfortunate injuries. We've had to rearrange a lot of the slots -- forcing girls to compete who might not necessarily be ready," Bouchelle said.
One of the unfortunate injuries was suffered by senior co-captain Juliana Mariani. She recently incurred an injury that makes any athlete shudder, when she blew out her knee a few weeks ago.
With Mariani unable to make it to practices, most of the duties of captain have been graciously accepted by Hittner.
She has every reason to be understanding, as she is facing the mental challenge of rehabilitation after blowing out her own knee early in the season last year.
"Juliana makes it down to practice when she can," Bouchelle said. "But Lauren has really taken over all the duties of captain for us."
Many of Penn's younger players have been asked to assume more responsibility for the sake of the team as many of the injured are upperclassmen.
"They've all been doing really well," said Green of the freshman class. "It's been tough, but everyone has been stepping up."
The Red and Blue will have to continue stepping up with two important meets forthcoming, against a pair of Ivy League foes. Penn travels to Yale to take on the Elis on Jan. 26, before battling Brown the following week at home.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.