Junior Darby Nelson won the floor beam event in Penn gymnastics' first-place finish in Saturday's meet.
Credit: Son NguyenPenn gymnastics was able to send off its seniors with one last win at the Palestra.
The Quakers came out on top during their final home meet of the season on Sunday, placing first in the four-way battle with Bridgeport, West Chester, and William & Mary with a team score of 193.425.
“There were a lot of positive things that happened, and we've been working really hard in the gym to get better each and every week and every day, and it really showed," junior Jordyn Mannino said. "While we did have a couple of mistakes, we didn’t let that bother us, and we still continued to move on to the next event like nothing happened. … I was really happy with how everyone did today, and I'm really proud of this team.”
This meet had extra importance, as it was Senior Day, the final contest for the team's seniors Natalie Borden, Kellie Flavin, Alex Kothe, Tara Mills, and Caroline Mitsch.
“It was definitely emotional because we love our seniors. We do everything for each other," Mannino said. "We wanted to make their last time at the Palestra as memorable as possible, so there was definitely some emotion there and some motivation to make their last time as special as possible.”
The Red and Blue started the day on the vault, and they did not disappoint. Sophomore Sydney Kraez led the way with a 9.800, while junior Rose Hoffman finished just behind with a 9.750. A total of five Quakers finished with scores above 9.550.
Freshman Rebekah Lashley and junior Darby Nelson also shined for Penn, as they won the floor and beam, respectively. Nelson's performance was particularly impressive, as she won by over 0.500.
“I think [today] was a confidence booster for all of us," Mannino said. "We have [the Ivy Classic] next week, and we have this motto on our team: 'Let’s ride the wave,' so we’re just gonna ride it right into Ivies."
Looking forward to the Ivy Classic next weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., the Quakers are ready to build on their success from this home meet as well as their Feb. 2 win against Cornell, when they brought a strong all-around performance, coming out on top by a score of 192.400-187.950.
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