The Maryland gymnastics team will wait one month until its next meet after Friday’s Red vs. Black intrasquad event, but it certainly won’t treat the time as a vacation.
“I don’t know if I’d call it time off,” sophomore Megan McClelland said with a smile. “We’re going to try to keep the energy up and treat each practice like a competition, so when the time comes in a month, it’ll feel like another practice.”
After missing the postseason last year for the first time in eighth-year coach Brett Nelligan’s tenure, the team is “closer, stronger and more consistent,” McClelland said. Maryland’s charge back to the postseason starts Jan. 8 against West Virginia in the annual Beauty and the Beast meet.
“We owe it to ourselves and our coaches [to reach the postseason],” McClelland said. “We all want it and we know we can do it, so we’re going to this year.”
The Terps added six freshmen — whom McClelland has lauded for their early efforts — to a team that graduated three gymnasts in the spring.
Freshman Deanna Magro said she’s still adjusting to college gymnastics being more team-oriented than high school gymnastics. She said her favorite part of the program thus far has been the energy.
“I’m not really used to competing for a team,” she said, “but I want to be able to help them any way I can and learn more about myself as a gymnast. I’d like to go out there and hit my routines every single meet.”
For Magro, seeing the Terps miss the postseason during her senior year of high school was unsettling.
“It was tough because I know I’m coming into it,” the freshman said. “It’s also interesting because I know I’m able to help the team, do better moving forward.”
“This group has done a good job of not settling,” Nelligan added. “We’ll have a great performance, and they’ll go back into the gym and work hard again the next day.”
The coach had a positive outlook for the season, citing the gymnasts’ work ethic and toughness.
“The sky is the limit,” Nelligan said.
He said the season’s length often contributes to injuries and setbacks, but he’s eager to see how the Terps respond to the adversity throughout the campaign. As the preseason ends, the coach highlighted some areas that need improvement for his team to earn a postseason berth.
“They need to focus on the little things — finishing each routine, staying with their cues, the way we practice in the next couple weeks leading up to our first home meet,” Nelligan said.
