Barrow and Kerico Shine Bright with Career Highs as Gymnastics Clinches Silver at #21 PSU

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The gymnastics team from the University of Pennsylvania commenced its season by securing a second-place finish at the tri-meet hosted by Penn State on Sunday at Rec Hall.
 
Jordan Barrow achieved a career-best score of 9.800 on the bars, while Skyelar Kerico equaled a previous career-best of 9.850 on the vault.
 
With a total of 194.725, the Red and Blue notched their highest season-opening tally in the history of the program, although they were surpassed by #21 Penn State (195.775) and outperformed New Hampshire (192.025).
 
BEAM | Penn 48.700
Penn commenced with a solid performance on the vault, spearheaded by freshman Manama Fofana. In her initial collegiate rotation, she scored a 9.800. Junior Alisha Werlen followed closely with a score of 9.775, while Marissa Lassiter achieved a score of 9.750. Carly Oniki secured fourth place with a score of 9.725. Jordan Barrow made her debut on the balance beam, scoring 9.650.
 
FLOOR | Penn 48.800
The floor exercise proved to be the highest-scoring rotation for Penn. All five Quakers scored 9.700 or above. Zara Gazdak led the team with a score of 9.825, while Skyelar Kerico achieved a 9.750. Fofana and Emma Davies both received scores of 9.725, with Lassiter rounding out the group at 9.700.
 
VAULT | Penn 48.650
Kerico matched her career-high of 9.850, which she set during Penn’s previous competition at Penn State in 2023. Lassiter finished second with a score of 9.775, closely followed by Barrow at 9.725. Isabel Song and Fofana both scored 9.650.
 
BARS | Penn 48.525
The Red and Blue concluded the day strongly on the uneven bars, led by Kerico’s score of 9.825. Barrow secured second place with a career-high of 9.800. Oniki took third place at 9.700, while Lassiter (9.650) and Gazdak (9.550) filled the remaining spots in the top five.
 
Quaker Notes
*Penn’s score of 194.725 is the highest ever recorded to kick off a season in the history of the program.
*Four distinct Quakers—Manama Fofana (9.800) on beam, Zara Gazdak on floor (9.825), Skyelar Kerico on vault (9.850) and bars (9.825), and Jordan Barrow on bars (9.800)—achieved scores of 9.8 or higher.
*Kerico recorded the top score for the Quakers in two of the four events, finishing first in vault, tying for second in bars, and coming in fifth on the floor exercise.
*Marissa Lassiter ended up fourth overall in vault (9.775), while Barrow tied for ninth place (9.725).
*Barrow’s remarkable day on the uneven bars was sufficient for fifth overall, with Carly Oniki claiming eighth place (9.700).
*In her debut meet, Fofana achieved a top-five finish on the balance beam, joined by Alisha Werlen (9.775). Lassiter was entwined in a three-way tie for eighth place at 9.750.
*Gazdak’s score of 9.825 on the floor exercise earned her a podium spot.
 
Up Next
The Red and Blue will remain in B1G territory, heading to Piscataway, N.J. to compete against Rutgers, Towson, and West Chester on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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