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(02/06/01 10:00am)
The Penn gymnastics team finally found the rainbow after its recent storm of losses when it traveled to Brown on Sunday.
After two straight disappointing finishes, the Quakers came into last weekend's meet with a renewed determination and topped the Bears, 185.200-181.975.
"It has been a rough couple of weeks," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "I expected Brown to be a close contest."
In this contest, the Red and Blue came out swinging and exceeded their coach's expectations with what Kovic said was a "good margin of victory."
Penn freshman Anna Wilson shined with firsts in the vault (9.725), uneven bars (9.575) and the all-around. Her all-around score of 38.100 was a personal best.
Senior Jenn Capasso and freshman Christy Green also performed well for the Quakers. Capasso came in second in the floor and third in the vault and the beam, while Green took second in the vault and third in the bars and the floor.
"I think that the team had one of its best performances yet this year," Wilson said.
Kovic was especially pleased with Sunday's victory because it came on the road.
"Any road victory is sweet," Kovic said. "And an Ivy League road victory is even sweeter."
On Friday, Penn will travel across town to face Temple. The Quakers finished ahead of the Owls at the George Washington Invitational on January 21 but are trying not to go into the meet overconfident.
"Temple looked rough in spots at the G.W. Invitational, but so did we," Kovic said. "We look at this meet as a great competitive experience."
Including the Temple matchup, the Quakers only have three more meets before the Ivy League Championships at Yale on February 24.
According to Wilson, Penn's victory at Brown might have sparked the momentum which will bring the Quakers to their unprecedented fourth-straight Ivy League Championship.
"[The meet] was a great performance and huge confidence booster," she said. "Our goals for this season were set high and we plan on reaching all of them."
(01/26/01 10:00am)
After 25 years of existence, the Penn women's gymnastics team has seen a number of new faces over the last few weeks. Due to a bunch of injuries and illnesses, some of the team's freshmen and less-experienced gymnasts have been forced to step up to the mat.
Penn coach Tom Kovic -- who has been with the Red and Blue for 14 of its 25 years -- is not concerned.
"We are simply banged up like most of the other teams at this point. It is an inherent part of the sport," Kovic said. "Everyone has been stepping up. The girls understand that we have gaps to fill and they are working very hard."
The Quakers started out the season with an impressive victory over Ivy League foe Cornell. In the meet, a number of freshmen performed well and helped Penn record a victory.
One such freshman was Sarena Syma, who was named ECAC Rookie of the Week after her performance against the Big Red. Unfortunately, Syma's promising season may have been cut short after she badly injured her knee last Friday. But Syma -- and the rest of the Quakers -- remain optimistic.
"Sarena will weather this injury like any other roadblock," Kovic said. "She will persevere."
Penn had a roadblock of its own to weather after finishing a disappointing fourth in the George Washington Invitational on Sunday.
But Penn's competitors included such top-ranked schools as North Carolina State and George Washington.
"It is good to be in a competitive situation like that," Kovic said. "It is better to get the bugs out early. We used the competition as a benchmark to help us prepare for Yale."
It was business as usual this week as the Red and Blue prepare for Saturday's meet against the Elis.
"We had a very strong week of training," Kovic said. "We are trying to move the injured girls slowly and carefully back into the lineup."
This weekend's meet will be a special one for the Quakers for a number of reasons. Not only is it the Penn gymnastics homecoming, but it also marks the 25th anniversary of the program.
And there is no better way to celebrate the historic day than a Penn-Yale matchup. Once a constant leader in Ivy League gymnastics, Yale comes to Philadelphia to face the new top dogs in the Ancient Eight.
Penn may have seven Ivy League championships under its belt, but Yale is still a top contender in the race for the league crown.
"This weekend should be a great competition -- Yale and Penn have a long and fantastic rivalry," Kovic said. "This competition will give us an idea of where we stand in the league and can dictate what the Ivy League championship is going to look like."
(01/23/01 10:00am)
The Penn women's gymnastics team fell victim to its own falls on Sunday in the George Washington Invitational on Sunday.
The Quakers fell 10 times on the day, which cost them five points off their team score and a chance at a higher placing.
Penn finished fourth with a score of 186.00, behind North Carolina State (192.350), host George Washington University (191.900) and William and Mary (188.875). Temple, Cornell and Radford rounded out the rest of the field.
The fourth-place finish was a disappointment for the Quakers, who were coming off a record-breaking victory over Cornell in their season opener.
One silver lining for the Quakers was the performance of freshman Anna Wilson, who finished second in the vault (9.700), Penn's highest single finish in the meet. Wilson also finished ninth in the all-around score (37.375), while senior tri-captain Jenn Capasso took home seventh place with a score of 37.425.
"Competing at this level is different from club gymnastics because it is a team sport," Wilson said of her new experience at the collegiate level. "Doing well individually is not half as important as doing good as a team."
The Quakers credit their disappointing finish to a few physical ailments.
"We have several injuries right now and some illnesses that we are dealing with," Capasso said. "I think that the team did a good job of dealing with the fact that we weren't having a great performance and staying positive and trying to do the best we could."
Now Penn must move beyond last weekend's meet and look ahead to the future. With a number of injuries, the Red and Blue must count on both the leadership of the upperclassmen and the freshmen's willingness to perform at a higher level.
"I think the key is to stay calm and stay positive," Capasso said of her role as leader on the team. "Especially at big invitational meets it's easy to get nervous and anxious and that can throw off your performance. I try to lead by example.... If I can stay relaxed and just do my best for the team I hope that helps others on the team to do the same."
"Since they do have experience with college gymnastics, they know what to say to help us when we aren't doing as well as we can," Wilson said of Penn's upperclassmen leadership.
Another positive the Quakers can take away from this weekend's meet is the fact that the Red and Blue competed well against George Washington and N.C. State -- squads that are both ranked among the top 15 nationally.
Penn will return to Hutchinson Gymnasium on Saturday to face Ivy League foe Yale.
(01/19/01 10:00am)
The Penn gymnastics team, winners of the 2000 Ivy Classic Championship, started off this year right where they left off. Last Saturday, the Quakers defeated Cornell at the Palestra, starting off this year's Ivy League season with one in the 'W' column.
Unaware spectators may have thought they were watching a midseason meet instead of the Red and Blue's first competition of the season. The Quakers (1-0) finished with an overall score of 191.25, ahead of the Big Red's tally of 185.70. This score at least matches and may defeat, after a reevaluation of the scoring, the team points record set midway through last season against Temple.
Because of a number of injuries and illnesses, coach Tom Kovic was forced to call on four freshmen, who shined in their first collegiate meet.
"The depth of our team at this point in the season is very impressive," Kovic said. "It will continue to be helpful in the future."
Kovic's criticism of a team that appeared almost perfect in the season opener are limited.
"We need to get the injured and sick girls back," Kovic said. "We also need to continue working on making the right decisions."
This weekend the Penn women will compete in the George Washington Invitational. The invitational plays host to a number of top caliber teams.
"This weekend will be a great experience for us," Kovic said. "We will be seeing teams like George Washington and North Carolina State, both among the top 15 teams in the country. These are the type of teams we want to be facing in the end of the season tournaments."
After their performance over the last few years, the Red and Blue enter most meets as the team to beat. Without a doubt, the athletes compete as much against each other as against the other team.
Kovic does not necessarily think this competition is a bad thing.
"There is definitely a lot of competiveness amongst the girls," he said. "They use the strength of other team members to push themselves further."
The Quakers hope to push themselves to success this weekend in the GW Invitational.
News and Notes
Penn freshman Sarena Syma was named ECAC Rookie of the Week for the week of January 8-14. Syma set a freshman scoring record of 9.85 on the floor exercises and posted a meet-high 9.75 on the beam and a 9.55 on the vault.
(11/15/00 10:00am)
After the Penn women's crew team's Homecoming activities culminated on Saturday with the Alumnae Day Regatta, the Quakers' freshman rowers traveled to Princeton on Sunday for the Belly of the Carnegie.
The Red and Blue freshmen ended their fall season by finishing eighth and 12th in this novice-only race.
The Belly of the Carnegie is structured differently from a normal race. The top 16 freshman rowers from each school are divided evenly into two boats. The combined time is then taken to determine a winning team.
"We were 1:20 closer to the Princeton team this year than we were last year," Penn novice coach Scott Belford said. "This is very impressive because Princeton is generally the measure of potential medal winners."
This year's Red and Blue freshman class has plenty of potential, and Belford hopes to build on their much-needed experience during grueling indoor practices this winter.
"Indoor training is much more rigorous than any training these girls have experienced before," Belford said. "This will help to build their mental toughness."
This spring, the Red and Blue freshmen believe they have a realistic chance to be in the Eastern Conference Grand Sprints Finals. A Penn team has not had this opportunity in a number of years.
"[Regardless of] what they accomplish this spring," Belford said, "they will definitely make contributions to the women's varsity team as sophomores, juniors and seniors."
In other news, Barb Kirch, head coach of the Penn women's rowing team, was recently named U.S. Rowing Developmental Coach of the Year. Kirch is now in her fourth year as coach of the Quakers. "It is an honor anytime you are elected for an award like this by your coaching peers," Kirch said. "It is the biggest compliment a coach can receive."
(11/01/00 10:00am)
The Penn women's crew team concluded its fall season this past weekend. On Saturday, the Quakers' varsity eight boat placed fourth in the Head of the Schuylkill Champ Eight race with a time of 15 minutes and four seconds.
The Red and Blue novice eight team also placed fourth in their race with a time of 16:09.4.
"I am not excited or disappointed with the results of this weekend," said Penn coach Barb Kirch, who was unmoved by her squad's performance, but sure that the Quakers would benefit from the experience.
"All the crews rowed their best races."
On Sunday, three Penn eights took part in the Princeton Chase with less impressive results.
The Penn A boat came in 17th in a 37-boat field with a time of 16:10.00. Penn B and C followed in 34th and 37th position, respectively.
The results for Penn this weekend were affected by a number of interferences that caused Quakers boats to slow or even stop on occasion throughout the race.
Head races are different from the races the Red and Blue participate in during their spring season. In head races, boats start sequentially, instead of racing side-by-side.
"Head races are difficult measures of the amount of success we will have in the spring season," Kirch said. "In the spring there is no interference between boats."
The Quakers will now begin to prepare for that important spring season.
"We will continue to do the same things we have been doing already," Kirch said. "These things have been working so far."
The Penn crew's first varsity boat was largely successful in the fall season, and the Quakers will continue to work on the depth of their team through the frost of the winter months.
The Red and Blue anticipate success in the spring season, but they know it will not be an easy road.
"It is hard to say how successful we will be in the spring," Kirch said. "The pattern that has been building over the fall is that Yale, Princeton, and Syracuse are very quick teams."
Penn has been on pace with a number of good teams over the fall season that were winning championships last year.
Kirch's squad will definitely have plenty of time to think about the spring over winter break. In January, the Quakers will travel to Tampa, Fla., for a ten-day intense training camp.
The Red and Blue will then return to racing on March 24 when they take on Navy and Georgetown at home on the Schuylkill.
(10/25/00 9:00am)
This past weekend, the Penn women's crew team traveled to Boston for the 36th annual Head of the Charles Regatta. The Quakers varsity eight boat finished 16th out of 57 teams from across the nation with a time of 17:34.17.
Penn coach Barb Kirch said she had hoped for a finish in the top 15 spots.
"The results are fine. I am not excited or upset about them," Kirch said. "We fared better last week [at Navy Day], but we rose to the occasion and tried hard."
Kirch felt the Head of the Charles was a positive experience for the Red and Blue.
"Any chance we have to race, we learn something," Kirch said. "It was a good experience for us with conditioning, racing and seeing the teams we will be racing in the spring season."
The Head of the Charles is a rowing extravaganza that attracts 300,000 spectators, and the varsity eight race is a highlight of the weekend.
Each of the 57 crews in the race started sequentially, approximately 15 seconds apart. The Quakers were the 40th squad to get going.
The Red and Blue finish off their fall season with two races this weekend. On Saturday, the Penn women will be at home, participating in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. Then, on Sunday, they will race in the Princeton Chase.
Penn won the Head of the Schuylkill last year, and the Red and Blue hope to repeat their victory this season. However, the competition will be much more difficult this time around.
The Quakers will be racing against powerhouse teams such as Michigan State, Miami and Syracuse.
"Syracuse will be a big challenge," Kirch said. "They finished fifth in the Head of the Charles and appear to be faster than they were last year."
Many of these teams will stay over and face Penn again on Sunday in the Princeton Chase, a varsity-only race. All of this makes this weekend a vital one for the Quakers.
Kirch has high expectations for her athletes.
"We will definitely race with the confidence we have built up over the fall season," Kirch said of the upcoming weekend.
This weekend's challenging races will help to serve as a primer for the Quakers' preparation for their spring season.
In the spring season, the Penn women will match up against rivals in direct competition, rather than in head races.
Until then, the Red and Blue have the events of this weekend to conclude what has been a successful fall season thus far.
(10/20/00 9:00am)
The Penn women's crew team's fall season began last weekend with an impressive showing on the Schuylkill River at the Navy Day Regatta.
In the varsity eight, Penn finished in first place with a time of 14 minutes, 59 seconds. The Quakers' second varsity boat took second place with a time of 15:36. The varsity four placed first in their race also with a time of 16:14.
Penn coach Barb Kirch was very excited about her team's performance.
"Last year, Navy beat us by one second," Kirch said. "I was impressed by our 28-second difference ahead of Navy this year. However, this was only our first race of the year."
The Quakers have a number of challenges still ahead in their fall rowing season.
Their next test will come this weekend in Boston. The Quakers will be traveling to Boston to compete in the 36th annual Head of the Charles Regatta.
This competition is world famous and includes some of the best rowers in the world. Each year, it draws over 300,000 spectators to the banks of the Charles River to watch the two-day event.
Kirch knows that it's going to be a difficult event because so many tough teams will be there, but it's bound to be a great experience builder for the Red and Blue. She and the team are naturally excited.
Head races are a class of regattas. They are generally three miles, in which long boats race against not only each other, but also the clock. The boats start sequentially, approximately 15 seconds apart.
The Quakers are scheduled to start 40th, and Kirch's goal is for Penn to finish 15th overall.
After this weekend's event, Penn will return home to the Schuylkill for next week's Head of the Schuylkill.
"We are significantly faster, at this point this year, than we were at this point last year," Kirch said. "The only question is, OHow much faster are the other teams?'"
The Penn women's rowing team will get its first answer to that question this weekend up in New England.
