Coming off a third-place finish against Towson and Maryland, the Penn gymnastics team has a chance to rebound in its first Ivy League meet against Yale on Saturday.
Yale senior Miki Seltzer leads the Bulldogs into Hutchinson Gym this weekend. Her team came in fourth in its last meet at Rhode Island, where she won the floor competition with a score of 9.625.
This will be the Quakers' first home meet and the team sees it as important, according to senior captain Christa Quattromani.
Despite some falls in its first meet, Penn hopes to come out strong and hit its routines - something the team had difficulty doing in Maryland. While warm-ups went well, the team had difficulty converting them into scores.
The Red and Blue hope that competing in their home gym this weekend will put them at ease.
Quattromani and the team see the Maryland meet as a stepping stone rather than a disappointment.
"We're going to build on our mistakes," Quattromani said. "Everyone in the gym has worked on those mistakes all week, so we're definitely prepared for the meet."
Also undeterred by the last-place finish was head coach John Ceralde.
Ceralde said that the Maryland meet helped his team get more "experience under their belt."
Ceralde was also happy with the freshmen's performances.
"They did pretty good; they did what was expected," Ceralde said. "With every meet, they should show more improvement."
With only three seniors on the team, experience seems to be the biggest obstacle for this young team; despite not receiving the scores the team had hoped for, Quattromani was still proud of her team.
"Afterwards, I told the entire team that I liked how - no matter how they did on their last routine, whether they fell or had a great set - that they were right there for the next person cheering them on and giving them encouragement," Quattromani said. "We had a lot of team spirit and that's important when you go to big meets."
For a young team, going against an Ivy League rival at home could provide more nerves, but Ceralde refuted this notion.
"We treat every meet and every opponent the same," Ceralde said. The team "is ready to go this weekend."
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