With the meet coming down to the wire, Penn's Emily Petkun was the right person to count on.
As the last competitor in the final event, the senior put in a clutch performance to lift the Quakers' gymnastics team to a 187.475-186.975 win over Temple.
The Quakers (4-3) faced the Owls at Hutchinson Gymnasium last night with a new boost of confidence after a comfortable win over Wilson College.
Temple had not been performing at the top of its game, having lost to Rutgers and finishing fourth at the Fox Run Invitational.
And unfortunately for the Owls, they could not break their dry spell. Performing on vault in its first rotation, Penn scored 47.275, its highest score for the night. Freshman Lauren Markowitz placed third in the event with a score of 9.525, followed by three Quakers gymnasts tying for fourth.
Temple began the meet with several costly falls off the uneven bars, but managed to finish with a score of 46.650, its second-best of the night.
Penn also made mistakes, including two falls off the uneven bars, but was able to pull it together and finish strong with a score of 46.750. Sophomore Stephanie Ortiz won the event, scoring a 9.635, with Temple's Sarah Leibowitz and Natasha Crawford tied for second with scores of 9.525.
On the balance beam, Penn freshman Kerri Lutfey showed why she was named ECAC Co-Rookie of the Week with a powerful performance, garnering a first-place score of 9.6. Ortiz also performed well, finishing second with a score of 9.55.
Although the beam has been the most troublesome for the Quakers, they have made some vast improvements since the meet at Rhode Island, scoring 46.375 as a team.
Unlike the meet against Wilson, the competition was not decided until the final event, as Penn was neck-and-neck with the Owls. Finishing on the floor, Petkun -- who was the all-around champion at the Rhode Island meet -- was able to seal the Red and Blue victory with a score of 9.725, placing first in the event.
Ortiz won the all-around competition last night, also helping Penn beat its cross-town rival.
Penn coach Tom Kovic felt that his athletes performed well, but there is still much room for improvement.
"Like I told the team after the competition, they did a good job, but they can do a great job," Kovic said. "We're inching closer toward our goals, but they can step up that pace and they can make the difference and they know they can make the difference."
Still, Kovic was happy to come away with a win.
"It could have gone either way," he said. "We were balanced right across the board."
