Entering its final meet before the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, the Terrapins gymnastics team was ranked 38th in RQS, two spots out of NCAA qualification
As one of the first teams in the nation to compete Saturday, the Terps needed to score a 195.075 or above at the Big Ten Championships to keep them on the bubble and watching the performances of other teams for the rest of the night.
Instead, the Terps scored just a 194.075 and will miss out on the NCAA Tournament for the first year since 2008 and the first time ever under coach Brett Nelligan.
“It’s heartbreaking. I didn’t exactly know what to say [to the team],” Nelligan said. “I’ve never had to give that speech before.”
The Terps didn’t have a great start, but were still in a position to get the score they needed to entering the third rotation. Though beam proved disastrous for the team, Nelligan doubted the slow start affected it. They’re used to it, he said.
But two falls on beam to start the rotation all but eliminated the team from qualifying. By the time the event was over, the Terps were officially too far behind the target of 195.075.
Still, Nelligan was proud the last four gymnasts didn’t fall during their beam routines. The Terps had an even bigger rebound later when they scored a season-high 49.20 on floor. Before the final event, Nelligan gave his team a talk he’s more used to.
“I asked them to finish this meet on their terms, ‘How did they want this competition to end?'” Nelligan said. “They made the decision to go all out.”
The seventh-year coach said he was proud of the way his team composed itself after the bad start capped by the two beam falls. The Terps earned a 47.675 on the apparatus, their lowest event score of the season.
“Beam’s just that tricky event. You’ve got to be in such a good place mentally,” Nelligan said. “It’s tough to stay there.”
Beam was the team’s worst event this season. Nine gymnasts performed at least one beam routine for the Terps, and eight had a fall. Even rock-solid leadoff junior Sarah Faller fell in the last two meets, after staying on the beam in the first nine.
“We’ve come a long way on beam,” Nelligan said. “We’ve just got a bit further to go.”
But the Terps struggled before they got to beam. On vault in the first rotation, the team scored four 9.70s and a 9.725, totaling a 48.525, well below its season average.
The leading 9.725 came from senior Kathy Tang, but it was the second-lowest vault score of her career. Monday, Tang was named second team-All Big Ten thanks to her vault ranking.
The problems continued with a bars performance that included two scores below 9.70 in addition to a fall. Not including floor, the Terps had just two routines score better than a 9.80. The final score of 194.025 is the team’s second lowest score of the season, and lowest since Jan. 16 at Minnesota.
Multiple Terps will wait to hear Monday if they are selected to compete as individuals at the NCAA regionals.
Saturday, though, wasn’t the time to focus on the individuals who may advance. Nelligan had a disappointed team to address with words he had no experience saying.
“I just apologized,” Nelligan said. “I said we’re going to make some changes and refocus and rededicate ourselves.”
“I told them I’m going to be the leader and I asked them to follow.”
