PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania gymnastics team defended its home turf successfully, taking home the 2024 Ivy Classic title with a meet-record score of 195.800 Saturday evening at The Palestra.
 
It's the 14th Ivy Classic title in program history, the first since 2020, and the first in the Kirsten Becker era as head coach.
 
BARS | Penn 48.625
Skyelar Kerico was excellent in her first event of the evening, scoring a team-high 9.825. Sophia Paris scored 9.775, while both Sara Kenefick and Isabel Song registered marks of 9.700.
 
BEAM | Penn 49.275
Balance beam was the event of the night for the Quakers, who scored five marks of 9.8 or higher. Samantha Wu led the way, totaling a career-high score of 9.900 on the apparatus. She was followed closely by Kerico (9.875) and Campbell Marr (9.850), while Kiersten Belkoff and Ana Kenefick both tallied scores of 9.825. Sara Kenefick rounded out the group with a 9.775.
 
FLOOR | Penn 48.950
Penn had three scores of 9.8 or higher on the floor exercise led by Emma Davies, Kerico and Sara Kenefick with identical scores of 9.850. Ana Kenefick scored 9.750 as the next best mark.
 
VAULT | Penn 48.950
Needing a strong showing on the final rotation to claim the victory, Sara Kenefick and Jordan Barrow both registered 9.825, followed closely by Marissa Lassiter and Kerico's 9.775s. Belkoff went in the sixth spot with a 9.750 to seal the win.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn's Ivy Classic title is its 14th in program history and first since the 2020 campaign.
*The title is the first under head coach Kirsten Becker and her coaching staff.
*The 195.800 is the best team score in an Ivy Classic by any team ever and set a new meet record at The Palestra for the second time this season. The score is also the third-best in program history.
*Skyelar Kerico won the all-around Ivy Classic title with a program-record score of 39.325. The mark snaps a 12-year-old record from 2012 held by Dana Bonincontri.
*Sara Kenefick and Jordan Barrow were crowned Ivy Classic co-champions with two others on vault with scores of 9.825.
*Samantha Wu took home the Ivy Classic title on balance beam with her 9.900.
 
Up Next
Penn heads to Denton, Texas next Sunday to take on Texas Woman's, Clemson, and No. 1 Oklahoma.
 
For the latest on Penn gymnastics, follow @PennGym on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.