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.
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