The freshmen of the Penn gymnastics team were in top form on Saturday.
Kelly Sievert, Stephanie Ortiz and Kimberly Chin, wowed the crowd -- as well as the judges -- at the 20th Annual Towson Invitational.
Team captain Alex Chalat praised her younger teammates, calling their performances "unbelievable."
"They do awesome; they are not intimidated," she added.
Overall, Penn finished second out of the five teams in attendance, achieving its highest team score of the season, a 190.125.
"I am very proud of the women; they did a great job," Penn coach Tom Kovic said.
The meet proved to be a record-breaking one, with career performances by senior Leah Moon and junior Emily Petkun.
Moon, with a score of 9.75 on the balance beam, became the first Penn gymnast to win an individual event at an invitational meet.
"I think I did well, it was a good way to complete the week before Ivies," Moon said.
Petkun then topped Moon by becoming the first Penn gymnast to win the all-around competition at an invitational, with a score of 38.3.
Petkun -- the reigning Eastern College Athletic Conference gymnast of the week -- called the meet "exciting" and added that, "there was some good competition."
The Quakers experienced a few setbacks before the competition began with junior Laura Duros out and recovering from a sprained ankle. Adding to the loss of Duros, senior Yael Sollins went down with an ankle sprain during warmups, leaving her unable to compete.
Sollins' injury resulted in last minute roster changes for Penn.
Petkun also cited a difficult rotation, starting with the balance beam, as added pressure on the women.
However, according to Moon, one of three captains, that pressure did not hinder the team's performances.
"When pressure is high, we perform very well," she said.
Kovic remained optimistic about Duros' and Sollins' injuries.
"I am confident that both women will be in competition next week," he said.
Towson, the host team, took first place with a score of 193.6. Temple, Ursinus and James Madison finished third, fourth and fifth.
Both Kovic and Moon agreed that the meet was "great preparation" for the Ivy Classic this coming Saturday.
Penn's gymnastics team will attempt to defend its Ivy bragging rights at the de facto league championships -- the Ivy Classic -- next weekend. The high stakes meet will be held at Yale on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Quakers won the meet last year and the Elis took home the crown in 2003.
