As the Ursinus gymnasts exhibited quality performance after quality performance during Saturday's quad meet, the Penn cheers could not be heard over those of the Bears and their supporters.
While the Quakers hosted the meet in Hutchinson Gymnasium, the home team advantage seemed negated by an audience divided equally among Penn, Ursinus, West Chester and Wilson fans.
Despite the loud crowd, Penn remained unfazed and picked up its first two wins of the year. The Quakers finished second in the meet, beating West Chester and Wilson, but falling just short of Ursinus, 186.4 to 187.95. West Chester came in third with 174.875 and Wilson finished last with 167.175.
Sophomore Marissa Rosen continued her strong season with a first-place all-around finish of 38.375, edging Ursinus' Kira Oldham-Curtis by 0.175 points.
Rosen also had the day's top score in any event at 9.675 - a score that would've been even higher had she not been penalized a tenth of a point for stepping out of bounds.
The Quakers also received quality all-around contributions from junior Jordan Brewer and freshman Elise Bowe.
Brewer's second-place finish on bars and third-place finishes on the beam and the vault propelled her to third-place overall.
Meanwhile, Bowe maintained her strong freshman campaign, finishing above 9.175 in each event and in fourth-place overall.
Another promising freshman, Kerri Lutfey, turned in good performances on the vault, floor exercise and beam, posting above 9.2 in each event.
The Quakers managed a strong team showing even without standout sophomore Lizzie Lowe, who has been out with a leg injury she suffered Jan. 19 against Towson.
After the meet, coach John Ceralde noted the squad's week-to-week improvement despite injuries to all but three gymnasts throughout this "unforgiving season."
He remained upbeat when asked about his team's chances of winning the upcoming Ivy Classic for the second straight year.
"We have the skills and ability," he said. "If we're at 100 percent, we'll be good to go."
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