Gymnastics visits Bridgeport in regular season finale

After having a week off for break, the Penn gymnastics team returned to University City to some bad news. Despite pouring their collective hearts out in their last outing before the spring recess against Rutgers, the Quakers (8-4) learned Monday they wouldn't be making the trip to Pittsburgh for the ECAC's premier postseason championship. However, if this team has learned anything this year, it's that life goes on. After finishing a disappointing second in the Ivy Classic, the Quakers bounced back with their strongest meet of the season against Rutgers. This weekend, Penn will once again be looking to pick up the pieces and move on, this time against a very competitive Bridgeport squad that notched 185 points in its last effort. When the Quakers visit Bridgeport tomorrow, it will be business as usual. "We would really like to win," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. Regardless of what may have happened earlier this season, this is still a fiercely competitive team that seeks to prove something every time out. Senior co-captain Nicole LeBrasseur predicted a very tight affair saying, "Bridgeport is very close to our level so it should be a very close meet." While the teams compete on a similar plateau, they aren't very familiar with one another. They haven't even competed on the same floor in two years, when they clashed at the George Washington Invitational. With the disheartening news about their postseason plans eclipsing some team goals, the Quakers still have two gymnasts looking to move forward individually. Both freshman Kathleen Gunn and senior co-captain Monique Burton have a solid chance at making the NCAA regional meet in the all-around competition. So far this year, Burton has averaged 36.4 points in the all-around and Gunn 36.6. With the end of the season rapidly approaching, these two are somewhat in the dark about their chances of reaching Kent State, the sight of this year's Northeast Regional. Burton admitted, "I have no idea if I'll make it." The top seven all-around performers in the region receive invites. Kovic's best guess is both of his gymnasts are somewhere in the top 10 as of now. So as the collegiate gymnastics season comes down the home stretch, the Quakers will look to shake off the rust and finish their regular season in strong fashion before they go to the ECAC's consolation championship in Springfield, Mass., a week from today.

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