Lauren Hittner knows just what it means to overcome adversity.
Only one year ago, in a meet against Yale, the Natick, Mass., native was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury.
Hittner rallied and is now the 2001-02 co-captain of the Penn gymnastics team -- but that has proven to be only half of the battle.
In this weekend's Ivy Classic meet -- in which the Quakers squared off against Ancient Eight foes Yale, Brown and Cornell -- the young Penn squad hoped to forget about its tumultuous season thus far and prove its legitimacy to all scoffing Ivy rivals.
Instead the Red and Blue found themselves with another disappointing loss.
The Quakers took last place in the Ivy Classic competition held at Brown this weekend.
Cornell placed first with 189.8. Brown came in second at 188.175 and Yale took third with 188.
"I don't want to make excuses," Hittner said. "It just didn't happen for us."
But it did happen for Cornell. With their first place finish, the Big Red broke the 11 year string of Penn-Yale Ivy Classic titles dating back to 1991.
"Cornell was stronger than I had ever seen them," Hittner said. "I was surprised to see Yale come in third. This meet is usually a Penn-Yale competition."
Yale's third place finish also came as a surprise. Out of the 26 Ivy Classic competitions held, Yale is on top with 12 titles -- including last year's.
The Quakers headed into the meet with confidence, despite their dismal record thus far.
The Red and Blue lost to Yale, Brown and Cornell earlier this season. Bolstered by a season-high team performance just one week ago at the Towson Invitational, the squad entered the Ivy Classic with newfound confidence and excitement.
"It was a little disappointing, but to be honest -- it was the biggest fight we put up all year," Hittner said.
A good portion of that fight was put up by Penn freshman Colleen McGue, who scored a 9.65 on the floor to take fifth place.
The Quakers only other high finish came from sophomore Christy Green, who continued her impressive season with a sixth-place finish in the all-around competition. Green placed first in the all-around competition in the Quakers' dual meets against Yale and Brown.
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