'Super Bowl' for W. Track at Penn State

Maybe experience on the banked track does help.

Racing on Penn State's banked surface for the second straight meet, the Penn women's track team was able to pick up a huge victory over arch-rival Princeton last weekend, as they beat the Tigers, 86-82.

"Princeton has a much bigger team than we do but we showed this weekend that it's not quantity it's quality," Penn sophomore Erin Rhoades, who placed fifth in the 60 meter dash, said.

Penn coach Tony Tenisci was estatic over his team's performance.

"It was my Super Bowl," he said. "That team was the Super Bowl team of track and field."

Beating Princeton was a confidence booster for Penn's small, but extremely motivated, team.

"That meet was awesome. Everyone was trying really hard at that meet and it shows. It definitely gave us a confidence boost," senior Jeraldine Cofie -- who had a seasonal best time of 57.56 seconds placed second place finish in the 400 meter dash -- said.

That confidence is a great way for Penn to enter into the final lap before the Heptagonal Championships at Cornell.

But perhaps the biggest confidence boost for the Quakers was the job that Ingrid Gustafson did. The sophomore, who usually competes in the high jump, filled a spot for them in the triple jump and gave Penn the decisive points.

"We have a pretty positive outlook for Heps. I think that this team has really come together -- especially in the past couple of weeks. We're feeding off of each other's successes," Rhoades said.

Looking ahead to Heps, Penn may be at a disadvantage in terms of team size.

"People have been dropping times all season so Heps are looking good," Clare Duncan said. "Just having a weekend with that kind of energy and encouragement creates a whole new atmosphere."

Despite beating Princeton, the Quakers were not able to overcome the Nittany Lions, who finished with 141 points.

However, the Red and Blue were thrilled with their win against Princeton.

"This was a big turning point in our indoor season," Tenisci said. "I couldn't be any happier."

Penn's coach said the best aspect of this weekend meet was how the Red and Blue worked as a team.

"Everyone on the whole team deserves credit," Tenisci said. "It was just like [Patriots quarterback Tom Brady], who gave credit to his whole team."

Coming off their big win over the Tigers, the Quakers will be competing this coming weekend at Cornell.

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