Senior Laura Bouchelle dug deep on Saturday.
With the pressure on high, Bouchelle was absolutely solid on vault and went on to win the event, with a 9.650.
But despite this and other individual breakthroughs, Penn placed third out of four teams at the Ivy Classic, an event that the Quakers won last season.
Coach Tom Kovic cited trouble on the balance beam as being a major roadblock for the team.
"We had a rough time on balance beam," he said. "We had three falls and never really got started on that event."
Tri-Captain Yael Sollins was disappointed with the outcome of the competition.
"We started off really strong. But we struggled on beam. Sometimes things happen."
But Bouchelle's performance on the vault was three years in the making for the senior.
"I feel like I really hit my vault, it's something that I've been working on since my freshman year," she said.
Bouchelle wasn't the only Penn gymnast to dominate at the event.
Freshman standout Kimberly Chin has been building confidence and momentum with each meet. Chin finished fourth on both the uneven bars as well as the balance beam.
She stressed the team's role in motivating her to succeed.
"I had rough warm-ups, but my team relaxed me and calmed me down," she said.
Chin added that the boisterous crowd raised the excitement of the meet to a higher level.
"Everyone was a little more enthusiastic and upbeat," she said. "You're out there rooting for everyone 10 times harder."
Sophomore Kara Dewhurst scored a personal best on bars with a 9.800.
Dewhurst's score put her in second place for the event.
Despite the loss, the Quakers remain eager for the next competition at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"We're looking ahead, collecting ourselves for the next meet," Sollins said. "We're really excited for Colorado."
Host Yale earned the 2005 Ivy Classic title with a score of 191.525.
Cornell came in second and Brown, suffering from a rough season overall, placed fourth.
Kovic hopes that his team will not dwell on the disappointing finish.
"I am very proud of my team. We are going to put the loss behind us and look to the future."
Kovic added that the team's persistence is inspiring.
"They stayed with it through the entire competition. It was a difficult thing to do."
He specifically credited two juniors with keeping the team's morale up.
"Two individuals that really helped me were Becca Aronson and Desirae Gaspero," Kovic said. "They targeted the freshmen and gave them words of encouragement throughout the meet."
