On Saturday at Yale’s John J. Lee Amphitheater, the gymnastic team topped seven other schools to win their third consecutive Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) Championship. The Quakers won with a team score of 196.275, their highest of the season. They outdueled, in order of finish, Yale, Brown, Southern Connecticut, William & Mary, West Chester, Cornell, and Bridgeport.
Penn scored a 49.200 on the floor. Second-year Skyelar Kerico produced a team-high score of 9.875. Five Quakers scored a 9.8 or higher.
On the vault, the Red & Blue scored a 48.775. First-year Jordan Barrow scored a team-high 9.825, the second-highest overall score. Fourth-year Sara Kenefick scored a 9.800.
The Quakers scored a 49.175 on the bars, which tied for the third-highest mark in school history. First-year Sophia Paris led the Red & Blue with a career- and team-high score of 9.875, and placed second overall. Kerico scored a 9.850 and finished third.
On the beam, Penn scored a 49.125. Kerico scored a 9.900, a career-high mark that won her the GEC individual beam title and locked up the GEC Championship for the Quakers. Second-year Samantha Wu placed second with a score of 9.875.
Kerico also won the GEC all-around individual title with a score of 39.300, making her the first Quaker to win two individual titles in the same season since Kirsten Becker, her current head coach, did so in 2012.
After the conclusion of the GEC Championships, Kerico was named GEC Gymnast of the Year. She is the first Quaker to win the award since Becker in 2012, and only the sixth in program history.
Becker, in three seasons, has led the Red & Blue to three conference championships, more than any head coach in program history.
