NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Back-to-back-to-back champions has a nice ring to it! The University of Pennsylvania gymnastics team scored a season-high mark of 196.275 to beat out seven other schools to win its third straight Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) Championship on Saturday evening at Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater.
 
Yale took second with a 195.125 with Brown coming in third place (194.450). Southern Connecticut placed fourth with a 193.900 to lead the first session followed by William & Mary (193.850) in fifth, West Chester (193.800) in sixth, Cornell placing seventh (193.775) and Bridgeport rounding out the field in eighth (193.500).
 
It was an impressive showing for the Quakers as a whole, scoring a 49.000 or higher on three rotations, as sophomore Skyelar Kerico became the program's first-ever two-time GEC individual champion by picking up wins on the balance beam and the all-around.
 
In addition, Penn also wins the de facto 'treble' after winning all three of the Ivy Classic, GEC regular season, and GEC championship titles in 2024.
 
FLOOR | Penn 49.200
The Quakers reeled off five consecutive scores of 9.8 or higher after Ana Kenefick led off with a 9.775. It was a team-high score of 9.875 for Skyelar Kerico, followed by two 9.85s for both Sara Kenefick and Marissa Lassiter, a 9.825 for Emma Davies and Zara Gazdak scoring a 9.800.
 
VAULT | Penn 48.775
Jordan Barrow was the anchor for the vault and scored big with a 9.825 to lead her teammates. Sara Kenefick notched a 9.800, followed closely by Kiersten Belkoff (9.775) and Isabel Song (9.700).
 
BARS | Penn 49.175
Freshman Sophia Paris proved again why she belongs on the big stage, scoring a career-high tying 9.875 to lead the way for Penn on uneven bars. Kerico anchored with a score of 9.850 with scores of 9.825 for both Gazdak and Marissa Lassiter and a 9.800 for Carly Oniki. Sara Kenefick led off the rotation with a 9.775.
 
BEAM | Penn 49.125
Kerico's title-winning performance on beam also was a career-high mark of 9.900, which ended up clinching Penn the championship. Samantha Wu continued her strong season on the apparatus with a 9.875, followed by Alisha Werlen's 9.800. Three Quakers notched a 9.775 in Belkoff, Sara Kenefick and Campbell Marr.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The conference title is Penn's seventh in program history and third consecutive.
 
*Head Coach Kirsten Becker and her coaching staff have led Penn to three consecutive conference championships for the first time in program history.
 
*Becker also has more conference titles than any head coach in the program's history, doing so in all three seasons at the helm.
 
*Coincidentally enough, Kerico is the first Penn gymnast to win two individual titles in the same season since Becker did it herself at ECAC Championships in 2012 (bars and floor).
 
*Kerico is the first two-time GEC individual champion in program history.
 
*She is also the first Quaker to win an all-around conference title since Dana Bonincontri took ECAC gold in 2011.
 
*Jordan Barrow was so close to winning a title herself on vault, taking second with a score of 9.825. Sara Kenefick tied for fourth place (9.800), with Kiersten Belkoff tying for seventh (9.775) with four others.
 
*The same goes for Sophia Paris, who was .25 away from winning a GEC championship on bars with a score of 9.875 to finish second. Kerico tied for third (9.850) with Marissa Lassiter and Zara Gazdak tying for seventh place (9.825).
 
*Kerico won the title on balance beam (9.900), but Samantha Wu cemented herself right in the mix with second-place showing (9.875).
 
*Kerico tied for third with six others on floor (9.875) with Lassiter and Sara Kenefick tying for 10th (9.850).
 
*The sophomore won the all-around title with almost another school-record score at 39.300. She has the all-time mark of 39.325 already, set earlier this year at Ivy Classic. Sara Kenefick took fourth with a 39.200.
 
*The Quakers' 49.175 on bars is a season-high score and tied for the third-best mark in program history (March 19, 2022 at Maryland).
 
Up Next
With the NCAA Championships selection show looming this week, Penn will await its fate both as a team and individually.
 
For the latest on Penn gymnastics, follow @PennGym on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
 
 

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