What’s Quaking?
The Penn gymnastics program record book has four new entries from the last two meets. Penn gymnastics rallied their stamina as they competed in two meets in five days. The Quakers placed third in a North Carolina-hosted meet, notably ahead of Yale. The win over Yale at the UNC meet solidified a 7-0 perfect record against Ivy League gymnastics teams this season, and the team followed that performance up with a season-record score at Towson hosted meet on Tuesday.
Being only two meets away from the Gymnastics East Championships, this weekend puts the Red and Blue in a promising position to snatch their fourth consecutive conference title.
“I think hitting career and season highs just show everyone that we are capable of accomplishing big things. It’s also really rewarding knowing the time and work we put into practice is paying off,” said freshman Mimi Fletcher.
Vault
The Quakers earned their season-best team score at UNC with a 48.975. Junior Alisha Werlen earned a score of 9.725 while freshman Manama Fofanasecured a 9.850. Despite downgrading her vault to a Yurchenko full instead of a one-and-a-half, junior Skyelar Kerico pulled off a 9.800.
At Towson, junior Marissa Lassiter earned a 9.800 while fellow upperclassmen had strong performances behind Lassiter's team best.
Bars
The record books continued to be rewritten on the bars at both meets. Barrow continued her success by receiving a 9.800 at UNC and then a 9.825 at Towson. Fletcher set her first collegiate bars score of 9.825 and maintained it at the second meet — a display of her dependability. In a pattern unseen so far this season, three gymnasts earned a 9.875 at Towson: senior Zara Gazdak, Kerico, and sophomore Sophia Paris. For Paris, that sets her new season best and ties her career best for the third time, right after setting her previous season best of 9.850 on Friday at UNC.
“Career bests are always exciting and definitely a great incentive to keep pushing forward,” she said. “But what makes this team so special is that everyone is just as excited for each other’s individual achievements as they are for team records.”
The team once again earned their season-best team score on the event with a 49.275, which will go down as the second-best team bars score in program history, just behind 2022 GEC Championships.
Beam
A typically precarious event for the Quakers saw strong performances on the beam this past weekend. Fofana earned 9.800 at Towson, with junior Samantha Wu earning the same score at UNC. Barrow set a new career record with a 9.825 at Towson. She wasn’t the only one setting records Tuesday night; both Kerico and Fletcher rewrote their histories with new records of 9.925. That will make them both title owners of the second-highest beam score in program history, alongside alums Campbell Marr (2023) and Emily Petkun (2004).
The standout team score for the beam was 49.225 at Towson. This was their first time breaking 49 on beam this season, beating its previous best by three-tenths. It will also become the fourth-highest team beam score in program history.
Floor
Floor at UNC was a rough rotation, resulting in the lowest team score of the season. However, the team was able to redeem itself on Tuesday. All counting scores were within less than a tenth of a point of each other, ranging from 9.750 to 9.825. Unsurprisingly, the two scores to break 9.800 were from consistent superstars Gazdak and Kerico, with a 9.800 and 9.825 consecutively. Once again, the Towson team’s score is the highest of the weekend, with a 48.925.
While the UNC team score of 195.075 would be a celebration-worthy event, the Quakers decided to outdo themselves and top that score by over a point at Towson with a 196.200. That will take fourth place in program history for overall score.
“I think our consistency throughout the season has only helped us feel more confident going into every meet,” said Fletcher, “but with that being said we can’t get ahead of ourselves and we just need to remind ourselves to do our average.”
In regards to being undefeated in the Ivy League going into conference championships, Paris said, “A big emphasis this season has been focusing on our own performances, competing against ourselves and improving with each meet. It’s definitely a confidence boost as we head into GECs, but we try to take it one meet at a time.”
If there is one thing to take away from this weekend, it’s that the Penn gymnastics team is more tenacious than ever and is ready to take on GEC Championships — and hopefully on to Regionals. But before doing so, they will compete in their last away meet of the season this Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at William & Mary.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate
