On Sunday, the Maryland gymnastics team rode 49s in all four events to three victories and a new season-high team score that ranks fifth in program history.
The quad meet against Brown, Penn and Southern Connecticut State added to a list of impressive displays by the Terps this season. But the campaign hasn’t been as easygoing as the high score might imply.
Maryland endured shaky meets in the weeks prior, before recovering in its past two outings to put the squad in prime position for another NCAA Regionals appearance.
The Terps participated in a quad meet on Friday, and the double weekend was an opportunity to add to their resume and bounce back from two sub-195 scores on March 1 and March 4. Maryland did just that, earning a 195.975 on Friday and breaking 196 on Sunday for the first time this season, highlighting the team’s resiliency.
“It shows how strong we are and how tough we are,” sophomore Sabriyya Rouse said. “We’ve had a couple bumps in the road, a couple off meets … but I feel like we really came together and showed that nothing can take us down.”
[Read more: “A storybook ending”: Maryland gymnastics’ seniors shined in their last home meet]
Maryland’s recent results have reflected this sentiment. The Terps have rolled to wins in each of their last three meets to climb to No. 29 in the national rankings.
The rapid progress will further invigorate Maryland as it travels to Towson on Sunday to take on George Washington, New Hampshire, Pitt and the Tigers in its final meet of the regular season.
“It gives us confidence,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “To know that we can do four meets in two weekends and put up big numbers like this, it should give us confidence going forward.”
On Sunday, the Terps set season highs on vault, beam and floor. Throughout the season, their performances in those three events have been overshadowed by consistent excellent showings on bars, where they rank No. 21 in the NCAA. But the Terps showed off their depth Sunday, earning at least 9.8s in 12 of their 18 routines in the three events.
“We did super good as a team,” Rouse said. “Every individual gave their all.”
[Read more: Maryland gymnastics shatters previous season-high with 196.525 on Senior Day]
An impressive performance in the Terps’ final meet could go a long way for team morale entering the postseason, especially considering that George Washington and New Hampshire are formidable opponents, ranking No. 36 and No. 30, respectively.
The Terps could potentially break into the top 28 with a strong score Sunday. That would give them an automatic qualification for regionals, rather than having to compete in a play-in meet.
However, Maryland plans to focus on its own performances and the meet at hand Friday, instead of thinking about the potential postseason implications of its performance. That mindset, after all, has helped power the team’s resurgence in the past few weeks.
“The season’s coming to [its end],” senior Megan McClelland said. “[But] we’re going to move on to focus on the next meet.”
