All-around gymnast Shannon Skochko performs on the floor during the Terps victory over Minnesota in Xfinity Center on Jan. 15, 2015.
When redshirt freshman Leah Slobodin competed on balance beam for the first time in her Terrapins gymnastics career Friday night at Iowa, it marked an emotional return from an Achilles injury that ended her first year before it began.
Slobodin’s nearly flawless routine garnered a 9.80 score and brought senior Karen Tang to tears. But if sophomore teammate Nikki Dragon had been healthy, Slobodin might have been left out of Friday’s beam lineup altogether.
As the Terps move into perhaps the most grueling part of their schedule, with four competitions over a span of three weekends this month, the Terps have relied on their depth to contribute in the wake of numerous injuries.
“I just prepare the same every week, whether someone’s hurt or someone’s not,” senior Shannon Skochko said. “But when someone’s out and we have to step up, I think that just kind of motivates me a little bit more … to be there for my team and make sure that we have a nice hit routine, even if someone’s injured.”
Skochko has competed on vault and beam in every meet this season, and she scored a 9.85 and 9.70, respectively, on those events Friday. The past two meets, however, she has also substituted for Dragon, who is still suffering tenderness and blurriness from an eye injury she suffered against Minnesota on Jan. 15 on floor exercise.
Though coach Brett Nelligan anticipates Dragon will be cleared early this week to compete in some fashion Saturday against Michigan, Skochko has made a favorable impression in her expanded role.
“Shannon is kind of one of those unsung heroes,” Nelligan said. “She’s quietly dominating three events for us, and I say that quietly because maybe she’s not anchor on any of them, but she’s fifth up on two events and then she stepped in for us on floor, and she’s just doing a phenomenal job.”
Junior Kathy Tang is also dealing with an injury after jamming her ankle during her floor routine at Penn State on Jan. 24, Nelligan said.
“She did a great job of kind of putting her pain aside for uneven bars and vault, but we knew it would be too much to push her on floor,” Nelligan said.
Karen Tang, Kathy Tang’s sister, performed in her place to score a 9.65 in her first appearance on the event this year.
Some Terps gymnasts have also managed to compete while not at optimal health.
Sophomore Sarah Faller, for instance, rolled her ankle days before the Terps’ season-opening competition against George Washington and West Virginia on Jan. 9 but has yet to miss a competition in the leadoff spots on bars and beam.
Senior Stephanie Giameo, pushing through a torn labrum, has competed beam and floor each meet. Freshman Abbie Epperson has shown steady improvement each competition on vault and bars while dealing with lingering issues from a shin injury.
Despite the health concerns, Nelligan’s squad has increased its overall score in each outing, posting a season-best 195.275 against Iowa. With little time for rest and recovery with the upcoming grueling slate of competitions, the Terps’ depth on each event provides a cushion in case injury struggles persist.
“It’s never easy to have [injuries], but we have such a big team, and everyone is ready on everything, so as sad as it is to see someone go, to have a new person step in and take their spot — it’s really exciting to see our whole team can contribute,” Epperson said. “We’re a team. It’s not just whoever’s up in the first six. It’s nice to see everyone show their stuff.”
