After a scary fall on the bars during last week’s competition, sophomore Larissa Calka regained her poise Saturday at Penn and had the best individual overall score, 38.1. The Red finished second in the meet, recording a season best 188.4 points.
Penn placed first in the meet by registering a record-breaking score of 192.4. Rounding out the tri-match, Ursinus finished third with a 184.4.
Although the Red did not win the meet, it was upbeat about its season high performance.
Coach Paul Beckwith said, “This was our best meet so far, and that’s something to be proud of. I think this meet was a big confidence builder for the girls.”
Individual Excellence
Individually, many of the Cornell gymnasts excelled. Allison Betof lead the Red on the uneven bars with a score of 9.7. A 9.625 earned Cathy Schnell fifth place on the floor exercise.
Calka commented on her all-around title, “I had a really fun time at this meet. I felt really comfortable out there which contributed to my success.”
The stakes get higher next week as the Red heads back to Penn for the Ivy Championships. Last year the gymnastics team won the competition — it also did not have a single fall.
The girls and coaches believe they can perform well for the second year in a row at Ivies.
“If we can hit and cut out the falls, we should be right in this meet. I am totally confident in our girls ability,” declared Beckwith.
Archived article by Mark Travers