Consistency the key for Penn gymnastics this season as it looks to defend its title
McCaleigh Marr and the Quakers lead the GEC by over a point as the regular season winds down.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — There was no doubt Penn left it all on the floor at Sunday’s Ivy Classic. But in a bit of a déjà vu moment, it still wasn’t enough as host Brown finished on top.
The Ivy Classic may be a bit of an Achilles’ heel, but the Quakers still have earned plenty of accolades.
Penn has topped the Gymnastics East Conference’s weekly rankings every week except one since the league’s inception last season. Winning the 2022 GEC regular season and championship, the Quakers have solidified themselves as the conference’s team to beat.
Heading into the 2023 season, Penn had only broken 195 four times, with three of those performances coming last season. The Quakers continued their momentum this winter with three more 195-or-higher scores. All but two of their scores this season were over 194.800.
“We’re really proud of our girls for just being consistent,” Penn coach Kirsten Becker said. “I think that’s something we’ve stayed steady at all season. We’ve been around 195 almost every meet.”
Standings in gymnastics are based on the National Qualifying Score, which takes each team’s top six team performances, removes the best score, and averages the remaining five. Through eight weeks, Penn’s NQS of 194.955 separates it from second-place Yale by over 1.3 points.
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Only four Ivies sponsor varsity gymnastics programs: Penn, Brown, Cornell, and Yale, and the four teams square off each year as part of the GEC regular-season slate.
Penn was the favorite to win this season’s edition of the meet but fell short to Brown by almost a full point. Penn also settled for second place at the Ivy Classic last season after a season-high performance by host Yale.
“We felt tested,” Becker said. “We have made some mistakes, and it was really good for the end of the lineup to feel that, and then have to perform under a little bit of pressure, so I’m proud of them for that.”
Penn’s score of 194.925 is the best it has ever performed at an Ivy Classic. It also is tied for the eighth-best overall score in program history.
Senior McCaleigh Marr notched a 9.850 on the uneven bars and balance beam to earn two first-team All-Ivy honors. She also was the Ivy champion on beam.
When Marr’s days as a Quaker are done, she will compete at Michigan as a graduate transfer. Michigan women’s gymnastics currently is ranked fourth in the nation.
Even with standouts like Marr leaving, the future of the program is in good hands. Of the 12 gymnasts who competed on Sunday, five were freshmen, and Marr was the only graduating senior.
Though it was a bittersweet moment in her final days with Penn, Marr’s gymnastics career isn’t quite finished. The Quakers host New Hampshire at 7 p.m. Thursday for their final home meet (NBCSP+, ESPN+) and hit the road for a pair of away meets ahead of the GEC championships on March 18 in Williamsburg, Va.