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Penn freshman Julie Kikla and the Quakers vault into this weekend's four-team Ivy Classic, which Penn will host at the Palestra Sunday. [Rana Molana/DP File Photo]

Expect the unexpected this weekend. On Sunday, Penn will play host to the Ivy League's three other gymnastics teams in the 27th annual Ivy Classic. While the Quakers are just 1-2 in league meets this season and finished fourth in the Classic last season, they remain confident about their chances of taking home their first Ivy title since 2000. In fact, the slogan "Expect the Unexpected" has been plastered all over campus on posters promoting Sunday's meet. "What people are used to from us over the past two seasons ain't gonna happen on Sunday," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "We've actually got a very proud history of gymnastics here at Penn. We have won the Ivies eight times in my 15 years here." Every Ivy dual meet this season has been extremely close. Therefore there is no favorite to take the Ivy Classic. "I've said all year that there is more parity this year in the league than ever before," Kovic said. Yale is the only Ivy team to consistently finish in the 190s, with an average score of 190.465. They also have the highest average Ivy League score with a 191.26. The Elis, who finished third at the Ivy Classic last year, barely defeated the Quakers 189.45-188.35 on Jan. 25 in Penn's Ivy opener. The Quakers has the second highest average score this season, with a 188.4292, and their Ivy average is a 188.808. However, experience, is on the Quakers' side as they are the only Ivy League squad to have already competed against the other three teams. Just behind the Quakers in average score is Brown. The Bears average a 187.55 this season, yet their Ancient Eight average is the second best in the league at 189.75. Penn fell to Brown, 187.5-185.775, on Feb. 2 in Providence, R.I. But, these results are somewhat misleading as the Quakers were plagued by injuries and sickness during this meet, causing them to have to count several falls which hurt their overall score. The final team, Cornell, will be looking to defend its Ivy crown on Sunday. This will be difficult since the Big Red have the lowest average score for the season amongst the four with a 186.4375. Cornell is coming off a 192.4-188.4 thrashing at the hands of the Quakers last Saturday, the Big Red's only Ivy League meet of the season. Last weekend's win should give the Red and Blue some much needed momentum entering Sunday's meet. Against Cornell, the Quakers set program records for team score and bars score (48.775), while also setting several individual records. This will be the first time the Ivy Classic will be held at the Palestra since 1999, as the event rotates each year around the four schools. "Every gymnast gets only one opportunity to win an Ivy title in front of their home fans," Kovic said. "The seniors on this team have been anticipating this for quite some time now." The gymnasts hope that having the event at Penn will give the team a much needed home field advantage. "It's always an advantage to compete at home," Kovic said. Kovic avoided pointing out any individuals who he was counting on this weekend, reinforcing the idea of gymnastics as a team sport. "We're looking forward to a great team effort," he said. "Each meet we are becoming stronger and stronger as a team. Individual accolades take care of themselves." One individual to look out for, however, is Penn freshman Desirae Gaspero. Last week, Gaspero was named East Coast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week after her results at the Cornell meet. The Boothwyn, Pa., native placed first on the floor (9.775) and second on the beam (9.7) -- both career highs. This marks the third time a Quaker has been named ECAC Rookie of the Week this season, as Gaspero joins teammates Julie Kikla and Laura Duros -- a sign of the strength of this young Quakers squad. Kovic believes that this combination of young talent with experienced gymnasts might just be the winning formula come Sunday. "This is the strongest team in Penn history," Kovic said. "And they want to go out and show it Sunday."

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