On Saturday, the Red and Blue took to New Haven, Conn. to compete at Southern Connecticut State University in a dual meet, the second of four in-conference meets of the season.
With three new individual season bests, two career records, and the highest team score so far this year, the Quakers continued the trend of breaking a record every meet so far in their campaign leading up to the Ivy Classic and Gymnastics East Conference Championships.
“We’ve been trying to remain in the moment and focused on building on the weekend prior,” junior gymnast Alisha Werlen said. “I feel our confidence has continued to grow throughout the season. Knowing we can translate what we practice to the meet is the key to our success.”
Bars
Junior gymnast Marissa Lassiter and sophomore gymnast Sophia Paris started the meet with good momentum, sticking landings and scoring a 9.700 and 9.725, respectively. Sophomore gymnast Jordan Barrow and senior gymnast Zara Gazdak earned matching scores of 9.800, and junior gymnast Skyelar Kerico led the Quakers with a 9.900, just shy of her career high set last week. In total, Penn ended with a 48.925, ahead of Southern Connecticut State’s 47.750.
Vault
The lineup for vault pulled off an impressive feat of consistency; all of their scores were within a tenth of a point of each other. Freshman gymnast Sienna Zuccaro earned a 9.700, and Lassiter and Kerico were just ahead of her with tying scores of 9.725. Senior gymnast Olivia VanHorn wowed the judges with a perfect stuck landing, earning her a new season best and tying with freshman gymnast Manama Fofana for a 9.775. Barrow took the top spot with a 9.800, leaving the Quakers with a 48.800 overall — just above Southern Connecticut State’s 48.325.
Floor
Floor was a cause of celebration, with three athletes breaking personal records. Werlen broke her career best score, set only three weeks ago, with a 9.775. Kerico broke her season record by earning a 9.850 while Fofana set her career high with the same score, the best of the rotation. The team delivered the best score of the meet so far, a 48.950, keeping it on track for a decisive win over Southern Connecticut State, who earned a 48.500.
Beam
Werlen continued the momentum she built by setting another season best and tying her career best, a 9.800.
“The biggest thing was finding confidence in myself,” she said about her improving performance. “I’ve learned that knowing I can do what I do in the gym with some added pressure goes a long way with the mental aspect.”
Freshman gymnast Mimi Fletcher also impressed with a stuck landing and a 9.650. Like vault, beam had a narrow margin between scores, with those counting towards the team total ranging from 9.575 to 9.775, with the exception of Werlen’s outlier. Penn won this rotation as well, with a 48.475 to Southern Connecticut State’s 46.775.
In all, Penn earned its highest team score of the season: 195.150, significantly above Southern Connecticut State, which ended with 191.350. Kerico won the all-around with a 39.150, and Lassiter took second with a 38.675. Penn also won every event.
“All those landings were the best all season, and it really showed with the team’s score. We’ve done a very good job … doing everything to fight for every tenth possible,” VanHorn said.
Given that this game was a conference meet, this success is paramount heading into the GEC Championships in a little over a month at the Palestra.
“I feel our confidence has continued to grow throughout the season,” Werlen said. “Knowing we can translate what we practice to the meet is key to our success.”
But first, the Red and Blue have to conquer the Ivy Classic on Sunday at Cornell.
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