The Terrapins gymnastics team has struggled to find consistency on certain apparatuses this season.
The Terps didn’t have a set lineup in most events at the halfway point in the season. And on beam, coach Brett Nelligan is still moving some gymnasts around.
But there has been one notable exception: floor, where the Terps have known exactly what to expect all season.
The same six Terps gymnasts have competed on floor in every meet this year, and it’s the Terps’ highest-scoring event. In the Terps’ second-place finish in a quad meet Sunday, they posted their best score on any event this season with a 49.175 on floor.
Junior Sarah Faller, who doesn’t compete on the apparatus, said her team was relieved to reach the floor rotation after competing on beam.
“It was so loud in [Charles E. Smith Center] today, on beam I had to tell the girls to slow it down,” Faller said. “But then when we went to floor I was like, ‘OK, this is the fun part — we get to throw our own party.'”
After Faller helped increase the energy in the cramped gym with a chant, junior Leah Slobodin, who said Feb. 14 she likes to “get the party started” out of her leadoff spot on floor, tied her career high with a 9.825.
The next two performers also posted career-high scores. Then, freshman Macey Roberts hit the team’s highest mark of the day with a 9.875, just missing her career-best 9.90. Senior Kathy Tang anchored with a 9.85, another near-miss of a career high.
“The energy and intensity with having our teammates on [the] side cheering loud, that’s something that definitely helps us,” Tang said.
Despite adding two freshmen and a sophomore (Abbie Epperson) who never competed on floor last season, the floor lineup didn’t take much time to get in a rhythm this season.
The Terps hit all six routines in the first meet of the season, and have had just one fall through nine meets.
Nelligan said his team has excelled on floor because it’s never been satisfied with its early success. He credits assistant coach J.J. Ferreira, who does most of the coaching on floor, for “constantly pushing” the lineup.
The mentality has shown, as the Terps have improved on their previous meet’s score in six of their eight meets since the season opener. That includes scoring better than a 49.00 five times on the event, as many as the other three events combined.
“They’re really focusing on the little stuff, and that’s adding just a little bit to each score,” Nelligan said. “When you add that all up, that’s where we’re able to put up over 49.00.”
The team’s confidence in the big flips on floor, Nelligan said, allows them to really pay attention to the details.
That confidence also means the team hasn’t had to worry about floor this year.
“Going into the away meets, you never know where floor is going to be in rotation, so it’s important to have that event [to count on],” Nelligan said Wednesday.
Sunday at George Washington, the Terps’ floor rotation came after the high-stress beam. It allowed the team to let loose, setting the stage for their best event performance of the year.
“All the girls in floor lineup can do the routines with their eyes closed,” Epperson said Wednesday. “We’re really thankful because that’s one event we’re never really worried [about]; we just purely like to have fun.”
