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PHILADELPHIA - For the 41st time, the University of Pennsylvania gymnastics team is set to compete in the Ivy Classic, pitting the four participating teams with varsity gymnastics in the Ivy League against each other for yearly bragging rights. Penn, Brown and Cornell will all travel to host site Yale for a Saturday afternoon quad-meet, starting at 1 p.m.
Penn (4-10, 2-2 Ivy) is seeking its 13th Ivy Classic title, with its most recent coming at The Palestra in 2015. Last season, the Red and Blue finished fourth with a score of 191.050.
The Quakers are coming off a strong performance at Maryland over the weekend, earning their second-highest team score of the season with a 193.425 and season-best mark of 48.550 on the uneven bars.
Several Penn performers notched career-highs last time out, while freshman Natalie Borden earned ECAC Coaches Choice honors after her collegiate debut on the bars, scoring a 9.575.
Sophomore Caroline Moore boasts the season's top score in two of four events, with a career-high score of 9.800 on vault at Maryland and a 9.875 on floor earlier this season against Yale. Junior Kyra Levi owns the season's best mark on bars with a 9.850, while Nicole Swirbalus equaled that score on beam to lead the squad.
The six-woman freshman class has made a large impact for the Red and Blue this season, as all six have competed in at least one meet, highlighted by five each week competing on bars. Emma Cullen owns the highest score of all freshmen this season, posting a 9.825 this past weekend on bars, followed by a 9.775 earlier this year from Caroline Mitsch in the same event vs. Yale. Kellie Flavin also posted a career-high mark on floor at Maryland with a 9.725.
Penn has already squared off against both the Bulldogs and the Big Red twice this season, splitting results with both. The home squad Yale enters Saturday's competition with an overall record of 7-8 this season, coming off a quad-meet victory over Rhode Island College, Springfield, and SCSU with a score of 192.450. Yale's top score this season was a 193.500 in a victory over Brown.
Cornell boasts the highest score this season of any Ivy squad, after a record performance last weekend, totaling a 194.500. The Big Red are 7-7 overall this season with their average team score of 192.695 sitting as tops among the four teams.
Brown, the lone Ivy squad Penn has yet to face this season, owns a 6-9 overall record this season, with a high-score of 193.350 and average marks of 192.265.
Fans can watch the Ivy Classic live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
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