The Penn gymnastics team opened the season at full speed last night as they defeated Division III school Wilson College, 189.025-173.6.
Paced by sophomore Emily Petkun -- who set a career mark with a 9.8 on her beam routine -- the Quakers opened with a strong performance that bodes well for the upcoming season.
Penn held at least the three top scores in each individual event, and Emily Petkun won the all-around competition with a score of 38.55.
The Red and Blue displayed the depth that has coach Tom Kovic excited for the upcoming year.
"We received clutch performances from so many different people tonight," he said in an e-mail. "We competed 18 different kids out of 21, which tells you about the depth of this team, which is amazing."
For a squad that struggled with injuries throughout last season, the Quakers' almost interchangeable lineup proved to be a great asset for Kovic's squad.
Penn looked especially strong on the floor event, in which they received the top-six scores.
Petkun matched her career best on the floor with a 9.875, but was not alone. Juniors Yael Sollins and Leah Moon turned in strong performances in their floor routine as well as on the balance beam.
The upperclassmen led the way, but the team received contributions from three out of four freshman, most notably Kara Dewhurst. She was able to contribute top-three scores in both vault and beam despite the pressure of making her collegiate debut.
Junior Lex Chalat set a career best of 9.575 on the bars and also added a 9.800 with her floor routine, which tied her career best. Last season, Chalat missed three competitions with an injury and her continued health will be a key to success for the Quakers this season.
But of all the performances last night, Petkun stood out the most.
She put her name in the Penn record books with both her floor and beam routine.
"Emily Petkun was brilliant," Kovic said. "She just missed breaking her record in the all-around with a 38.55. She was just absolutely stellar."
Petkun was pleased with her team's effort to kick off the season.
"We couldn't have asked for a better start for this year." Petkun continued "Yes we weren't perfect but we were where we needed to be."
Last night, that was more than enough for the Quakers.
