Gymnast Sarah Faller earns a 9.725 after her routine on beam during the Terps’ victory over Yale and Bowling Green on Feb. 15, 2014

Sarah Faller begins her last-second routine preparations by looking around at her teammates, who are jumping, clapping and shouting words of encouragement.

The Terrapins gymnastics sophomore smiles while reciting one of the many motivational quotes that she’s memorized to calm herself in pressure-filled situations such as this.

Then she nods her head with confidence, salutes the judges and mounts the balance beam.

The specific faces Faller sees in front of her or the phrases she internalizes change for every competition, but the one thing that remains constant is the sophomore’s quality performance in the leadoff spot for the Terps on beam and uneven bars.

“She’s a performer,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “She really takes on that responsibility that if she can hit a really sharp, clean set, her routine will pump all the back five scores up on both beam and bars.”

Faller continued her reliable season in Sunday’s quad meet victory in Morgantown, West Virginia.

With the entire team competing on less than two days of rest after enduring a nine-hour bus trek in the snow, Faller was the first Terps gymnast to compete in the opening beam rotation.

Her teammates were depending on her to set a commanding tone for the Terps’ outing, and she did just that. Faller earned a 9.725 mark for a nearly flawless routine, and the Terps posted one of the team’s highest overall scores of the year on the event.

“I think of my position as a high-pressure situation, but I like to just have fun with it,” Faller said. “I love getting my team started and getting the momentum of the team going.”

She also contributed a solid bars performance in the Terps’ final rotation.

Again, she was the first competitor to perform and, this time, posted a 9.70. Her tally set the standard on which her teammates would build and helped the Terps maintain their narrow 0.40 lead over West Virginia.

“People don’t understand that leadoff is such an important position to be in,” senior Karen Tang said. “I’m so confident in having [Faller] there. I know when she gets out there, she can hit a good routine and she can really start the team off strong.”

That initial position is something Faller relishes. But because she is the first one to appear in front of the judges, her routine typically serves as the building block for the next five competitors’ scores.

It’s one of the reasons Faller has yet to lead the squad in scoring this year, but Nelligan credits her team-first attitude as why the sophomore has embraced the leadoff responsibilities.

“It’s just a role that fits her so well,” Nelligan said. “I’m proud of her because sometimes going first, you might lose a tenth or two in your personal score, but it’s really selfless to go there, put up a big routine and push the rest of the scores up.”

So while Faller has yet to reap individual awards on her two events, her dependability has been instrumental in helping the Terps gain momentum on beam and bars.

On Sunday, that positivity started with Faller’s pre-routine calming techniques.

“I love to smile in my beam routine,” Faller said. “I just love starting off the momentum of the meet or just that event, and I love having fun with it. … It’s one of my favorite spots to be in, and I’m so lucky that I’m able to do that.”