The crown stays home.
On Saturday, Penn gymnastics traveled up to Ithaca to compete in the Gymnastics East Conference Championships against competitors: Yale, Brown, Cornell, Bridgeport, West Chester, Southern Connecticut State, and William & Mary. Although the Quakers competed in the second session alongside their Ivy League rivals, all schools had to fight through a cutthroat competition, where getting points on the board wasn’t as seamless as it looked. Despite some setbacks, Penn was able to top the podium for the fifth year in a row.
“This team had big goals for this year and winning another GEC title was one of them,” senior team captain Alisha Werlen, “so I feel incredibly proud to have been able to contribute and witness this team’s success.”
Beam
Freshman Ruth Whaley began the rotation confidently, landing tumbling and leaps with ease.
Next, Sophomore Maggie Murphy had a gorgeous flight series of a back handspring back layout, and a perfectly stuck dismount. Murphy had an incredible meet on the road at Cal two weeks ago, where she scored a career high 9.925 on beam. She followed up on that momentum with a 9.875 score at GECs, good for second overall in the event.
Normally a rock-solid performer, sophomore Manama Fofana unfortunately had a fluke fall on the beam, but recovered, returning to the event and finishing her routine with usual precision. Werlen suffered the same fate as Fofana, after coming off the beam during her routine. Both scored a 9.125 score, one of which counted towards the team score.
Junior Jordan Barrow was able to shake the nerves and executed a solid front toss and a picture-perfect stuck landing. Rounding out the event, sophomore Mimi Fletcher stunned with an exemplary routine, scoring a career-high 9.950 to tie the program beam record. Fletcher beat out the rest of the field by almost a point to secure the individual beam title.
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The team in total earned a 48.350 score, which puts them in third behind Cornell’s 49.075 and Brown’s 48.700, but the Quakers finished ahead of their biggest competitor, Yale.
Floor
Senior Alyssa Rosen started the floor sequence with a season high 9.800 score, carrying an exciting energy to the floor with a routine inspired by Latin dance. Murphy lit up the arena as well with a hip-hop-inspired routine, capturing crowd’s cheers and matching Rosen’s score.
Following Murphy, freshman Ava Hooten displayed an air of confidence during her more classical routine, topping previous competitors with a 9.825. Fofana showed out again, matching her career high 9.900 score that was set just one meet ago at Cal. She entertained the crowd with nostalgic moves from the 90s and early 2000s. Senior Marissa Lassiter came off the floor emotional after what is likely her last collegiate floor routine, but did herself proud with a career-high 9.900. Fofana and Lassiter tied for second overall in the event.
The Quakers bounced back from their challenging first rotation to earn a 49.225 on the floor, demolishing competitors by over eight tenths of a point.
“Being there for each other and remaining a unit has been the biggest contributor to our success, and we had so much fun along the way,” says Werlen.
Vault
Sophomore Sienna Zuccaro led off the rotation with a beautiful stick and a beautifully laid-out position in the air, garnering a 9.775. Lassiter performed a strong Yurchenko layout full and squeaked past her teammate with a 9.800.
Murphy, on a roll, followed her teammates’ footsteps and also stuck her landing. Fofana had great power coming off the vault table, displaying straight legs and pointed toes while in the air. Fofana contributed the best score of the rotation — a 9.850 — to tie for the vault title.
Barrow rounded out the rotation with a near stick and a 9.825. The Red and Blue finished their penultimate rotation with a 48.850.
Bars
Lassiter wowed the crowd with a seamless release from the bars and a strongly stuck landing, scoring 9.825 to tie her career-high set just one week earlier at Cal. Lassiter secured her second medal and the first title of the night with her performance, sharing the gold with Brown's Liza Marcus.
Fletcher had beautiful lines on both the high and low bars and only a small step on her landing, contributing a solid 9.775. Junior Sophia Paris, effortless as always, capped off a beautiful routine with a floating double back dismount. Sophomore Luci Toczydlowski exhibited an impressive level of control as she sailed through the air on the bars. Barrow finished out the rotation yet again with a score of 9.725.
Accounting all events, the Quakers came out on top once again with a 195.025 total score, finishing four tenths of a point above Yale. Barrow was awarded GEC Gymnast of the Year, and coach Kirsten Becker also with Coach of the Year.
“I’d say our GEC performance was probably the meet this season where we showed the most grit,” Werlen said. “We work so hard during the year, and we showed true determination to still end with the result we came there for despite not having a perfect meet.”
While the rest of the Penn gymnastics team will enjoy the off-season, Barrow and Lassiter will travel to Arizona at the beginning of April to compete at the NCAA Tempe Regional.
