PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania excelled on the floor and the beam en route to a second-place finish on Sunday afternoon at Temple's quad meet. The Quakers finished with a score of 190.000, outscoring Ithaca (185.750) and Ursinus (174.175), but were edged by the host Owls, who racked up a score of 194.100.
A strong combination of youth and experience propelled Penn on Sunday as a sophomore and a junior tied for the best score on bars, a senior led the way on beam, a freshman and sophomore matched one another on floor and the top Penn vault score came from a freshman as well.
BARS
Penn began on the uneven bars, the single most impactful rotation of the day as the Quakers' score of 46.675 fell more than two points behind Temple. Sophomore Jordyn Mannino and junior Alex Kothe led the way with scores of 9.675. Those totals matched Mannino's season high on bars and is the new best for Kothe this year. Rose Hoffman earned a 9.150, Libby Garfoot garnered a 9.125 and Allison Frommer rounded out the top five with a 9.050. Frommer had been dominant to start the season on the bars, entering Sunday with scores of 9.775 and 9.700.
BEAM
The Quakers moved to the beam and quickly rebounded, combining for a 48.225 score. Senior Caroline Moore earned a 9.775 – the third-highest score in the competition on beam – just a tick below her season high of 9.800. Darcy Matsuda wasn't far behind with a 9.725 and freshman Natalie Yang scored a 9.700 to mark three Quakers above the 9.700 threshold in one event. Yang has been terrific on the beam and has now earned at least a 9.700 on beam in all three competitions. Nicole Swirbalus and Lauren Joost rounded out Penn's top five with 9.625 and 9.500, respectively, closing out the best rotation of the afternoon for the Red and Blue.
FLOOR
After an outstanding rotation, Penn kept the momentum rolling on the floor. Freshman Sydney Kraez and Mannino led the way with scores of 9.775, tied for the third-best of anyone on floor. Kraez has now garnered at least a 9.700 on the floor in both of her routines this year, while Mannino is averaging a 9.750 in her three tries on floor this year. Ava Caravela, another freshman, earned a 9.700 and also has scored at least a 9.700 in all three meets. Moore finished with a 9.625 and both Morgan Hunker and Swirbalus had a 9.375 to round out the rotation. Penn eclipsed the 48-point mark again, finishing with a 48.250
VAULT
Two Quakers were in the top five in the competition as Kraez and Joost scored a 9.600 and 9.525, respectively. Caravela concluded her day with a 9.275 while a pair of seniors, Valerie Rube and Swirbalus, rounded out the five with 9.225's. The Red and Blue finished with a combined score of 46.850 on vault.
WHAT'S NEXT
Penn returns to The Palestra for four consecutive weekends of home competitions beginning on Sunday, Feb. 3. The Quakers will host Brown, Cornell and Ursinus with the first rotation beginning at 1 p.m.
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