After one-one split, gymnastics gets set for Penn

After losing to the University of Rhode Island (URI) last year by a mere 7.65 points, the women's gymnastics team sought revenge this season, and in their opener against URI on Sat., Jan. 13, the Bulldogs catapulted to a school record-breaking team score of 191.075. Shoshanna Engel, DC '03, established two new Yale records with her 9.900 score on the uneven bars and her 38.800 all-around score, while Jamie Green, TD '04, also broke a school record with a 9.750 on the vault. Despite such record-setting team and individual performances, the Elis lost by 0.55 to URI.

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH With record-breaking performances against URI, gymnastics hopes to continue its success against Penn.

Both disappointed and excited by their performance, the Bulldogs hoped to improve upon their strong showing against URI by securing a win against Vermont on Sat., Jan. 20. While the team failed to surpass its record-breaking score from the previous weekend, Yale managed to post a 186.200-172.550 victory over Vermont, boosting its current record to 1-1.

"Everyone has been working really hard in the gym. Coming off the narrow loss to URI, we wanted to have a strong win this weekend," Andrea Wolf, JE '03, said. "Our main goal is to work as one unit—as a team—and I think it showed this weekend." Engel added, "The team's success against Vermont was a result of hard work in the gym as well as a competitive attitude and spirit. We go out there not only to showcase our hard work but also to have fun."

Wolf finished as the top all-around performer with a score of 36.650 overall; her highest score of 9.650 came in the balance beam competition. Other individual victories included Green's top score of 9.775 in the uneven bars and Engel's top score of 9.875 in the floor exercise. As a team, the Bulldogs defeated their opponents in all four areas of competition, their greatest victory occurring in the uneven bars competition with a team score of 46.175.

Because of the team's recent dominance on the uneven bars, Head Coach Barbara Tonry believes that this area of competition could eventually become one of Yale's greatest strengths. However, she notes that in addition to perfecting skills, the gymnasts must improve upon the mental aspects of competition to achieve future success. "They still need to get their confidence up and know they can get these routines every time that they go up," she said.

Another strength of the team, according to Katie Kleiner, DC '01, is the Elis' overall depth; they can rely upon upperclassmen and underclassmen alike for support and motivation. "Both the youth and the veterans work together to be the best team that we can be," she said. "As a veteran, I am excited to be a part of a team that year after year has raised its level of talent so dramatically. This year's youth have clearly pushed the team's potential to an all-time high."

Courtney McIlduff, JE '01, looks to establish realistic goals for the season based on the gymnasts' strengths. "My expectations for this team are very high; we possess the depth, the talent, the dedication, the unity, the motivation, and the mindset to achieve our goals," she said. "Specifically, we hope to improve our performance with each meet this season, continually raising the standard. Of course, it would be a tremendous honor to win the Ivy League Championships and to compete in ECACs, but I think our focus remains on consistency, confidence, and coherence within each individual meet."

With two solid meets behind them, the Bulldogs are preparing to travel to the University of Pennsylvania on Sat., Jan. 27, where they will face a formidable team. Winners of the Ivy Classic Championships four years in a row, "Penn is our biggest rival," Lara Flath, MC '03, commented. "To prepare, we are just working hard in the gym, trying to perfect routines, building confidence, and improving our consistency."

"This week will be a focus on cleaning up and fixing the little mistakes and deductions that we've had in the past two meets," Wolf said. "Penn has scored higher than us both of the past two weekends, so it will be important for us to alleviate as many of these deductions as we can in order to have a good chance in beating them."

Penn, however, is just one of many tough opponents on the Yale schedule this season. The majority of these teams, such as the University of Massachusetts, are Division I schools that offer athletic scholarships, thus making the 2000-2001 season one of the tougher ones in recent years. Yet Captain Lisa Crowley, ES '01, notes that continued consistency will enable them to compete with, if not surprise, some of these teams. "Although we went out and broke our school record in our first meet this season, we've yet to show everyone just what we're capable of," she said. "The team is made up of dedicated workers, so I know with some more practice and experience, we'll peak at the right time."

Tonry added, "After our first meet with Rhode Island, I feel the team cannot only do well, but also beat a lot of these tough opponents."

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