As sophomore Emilie Leblanc completed her bar routine, coach Brett Nelligan led the team celebration, fist bumping before embracing Leblanc.
Nelligan’s fiery reactions were common throughout the Terps’ first meet of the season, as Maryland scored a 193.850 and cruised to a victory over Penn, West Chester and Cortland.
Leblanc scored a 9.875 on the bars, tied with junior Alecia Farina for the top score in the event.
A Terp won three of the four events, overcoming a shaky team performance in the beam to record a victory and a respectable score for the opening meet.
Junior Kirsten Peterman led the way for the Terps, posting an all-around score of 38.500, the highest all-around score of the meet, while Audrey Barber finished second with an all-around score of 37.950.
Freshmen Alexsis Rubio and Sanya Glauber had strong performances, with Rubio recording a 9.750 in the vault, tied for the second-highest score in the event. Meanwhile, Glauber posted a 9.850 on the bars, the third-best score in bars.
“Seeing Sanya and Alexis come out here today and absolutely kill their events, it was great,” Peterman said.”
Maryland had its best score (48.875) on bars, where the team ranked No. 14 in the nation last year and returned four of its routines. The Terps tallied a 48.675 on vault and a 48.625 on floor, with a 47.675 on beam their lowest event score of the afternoon.
After finishing last season with the team’s highest-ever postseason score, the Terps had hoped to start the season by breaking 195, which would have been the team’s highest score in a season-opening meet since 2013.
But with the team’s only 9.8 scores coming on bars, 195 was out of the question. And having to count a fall on beam due to Leblanc and junior Tiara Wright both losing their footing meant the Terps fell short of 194, too.
“They just made a lot of little mistakes,” Nelligan said, “but I think we got them all out today, and we’ll be ready to go next week.”
However, the Terps rallied on the floor, posting the top five scores in the event. Despite its relative youth, the team put together a solid floor routine to ensure the victory.
Throughout the floor event, Peterman encouraged teammates during their routines. As one of the team’s lone upperclassman, Peterman believes that she needs to be a leader.
“It’s important to be able to help the younger ones,” Peterman said, “I know when I was a freshman and sophomore, I had someone in my corner, cheering me on.”
Maryland faces No. 22 Illinois next Saturday, and the team will look to correct its mistakes against the Illini, a team that they lost to last year. With last year’s success and the knowledge seasons aren’t decided in the first week, the Terps still have plenty of confidence.
“We’re a threat to anyone in the Big Ten.” sophomore Collea Burgess said.
