On Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, the Terrapins gymnastics team opened the season by performing all six of its floor routines without a fall. The judges, though, rewarded the Terps’ effort with just a 48.025, putting them in third place after one rotation in the quad meet against Eastern Michigan, Towson, and Pittsburgh.
In the season opener last season, the Terps scored a 49.1 on floor and a 193.025 overall. This year, despite the 48.025, they finished with a 194.4 and earned a second-place finish.
The Terps lost to EMU, 195.875 to 194.4, but bested Towson and Pitt, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Senior Kathy Tang said the low score on floor propelled the team to their strong finish.
“We all knew we did really well on floor,” Tang said. “And from that point we’re going to work even harder to get the scores we deserve. We used the low scores as motivation.”
The Terps (2-1) were on vault for the second rotation and bolstered their score with a 48.65. But their best event was the uneven bars, where they scored a 49.125, the top score of any team on an apparatus Sunday.
“I knew we were good on bars, but I didn’t think we would be that good this early,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “It all came together. The girls were in the zone, and it was really fun to be a part of.”
Sophomore Abbie Epperson’s 9.875 on the bars was the best of the meet, and freshman Megan McClelland impressed in her first college meet with a 9.85 on the event.
“It’s incredible that she did that in her first meet,” Epperson said. “For some girls, a 9.85 is the highest they’ll ever score.”
McClelland’s bar routine scored the highest total of any Terps freshman Sunday, but Nelligan praised some other gymnasts making their debuts, too.
Nelligan was pleased with freshman Alex Robinson’s performance on bars and with the three gymnasts who performed on the balance beam for the first time in their career.
With two starters unavailable while recovering from concussions, Nelligan was forced to make adjustments. In the end, the Terps had one freshman and two sophomores compete on beam who never had in college.
“The newcomers were calm and confident,” Nelligan said. “What we saw today on beam showed we have the potential to be very good.”
Tang and junior Sarah Faller, two of the three gymnasts who did have prior experience on beam, set career bests with a 9.875 and 9.825, respectively. Tang, who didn’t compete on the beam last year, said she wasn’t surprised she posted a career high despite the layoff.
“I really wanted to be on beam this year,” Tang said. “I pushed myself hard this preseason and just competed the way I practice.”
The Terps finished with a 48.6 on beam despite the new lineup, a considerable improvement over last year’s season opening score of 47.8.
“It was bittersweet,” Epperson said. “We were stronger on beam than we ever thought we could be, but we could really use everybody at full health.”
After the meet, Nelligan saw no reason to dwell on the few negatives from the afternoon. But he did recognize that his team would be a bit disappointed with its second-place finish, so he was quick to refer to the past to help them keep their performance in perspective.
“I told the girls right when we got on the bus after the meet that we started much worse last year, and we ended up with a successful season,” Nelligan said. “When we’re starting this high, there’s no limit to where we can be.”
