The gymnastics team looked like a squad still working out the kinks in its system when the Quakers fell to Yale on Saturday by a fairly wide margin, 187.675 to 187.075.
Leading after three rotations, Penn's gymnasts allowed mistakes to creep into their last event before ultimately letting the dual meet slip away.
"It's early in the season, and you've got to get the bugs out," head coach Tom Kovic said.
"I can't fault the team. A lot of programs will make mistakes early. We basically let this slip away, and everyone realizes that."
Up by 0.8 points after three rotations, the Quakers suffered two falls on the balance beam while while the Elis continued their steady performance.
Fatigue and big-meet jitters also played factors in the loss, with nine freshmen competing in their first away meet.
"It's always hard to end on beam when the other team's on the floor," said senior Desirae Gaspero, who competed on beam.
"It was a bit rough at the end, but we fought hard and everyone stuck together."
"We've got a lot of freshmen who are gaining confidence. Obviously, we would've liked to win, but all in all, it was a pretty good meet," she added.
Senior Emily Petkun was the top Red and Blue gymnast in the all-around, with a 37.875. Her individual performance reflected the team's performance as a whole.
"I had two good events, and I had two events where I made errors," said Petkun. "There were good moments, and there were bad moments.
"It was our first away meet against our big rival, and people get a little nervous," Petkun added.
"But now we know how to handle it and we know what we're going to go back and work on."
The Quakers were without senior Laura Duros, who did not compete due to injury.
"She is a pretty critical part to this team, so having her back will be a positive push to this team," Kovic said about Duros.
"We've just got to be that much more effective in practice," said Kovic.
"We're not losing faith. We're completely confident in ourselves."
The Quakers will next travel to Kingston, R.I. on Saturday for a dual meet against Rhode Island.
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