When the Terrapin gymnastics team entered the third rotation of its conference meet at North Carolina on Saturday, it knew something had to change.
After struggling through miscues on bars and vault, the Terps sat at a 97.400-96.750 deficit to the Tar Heels. Disappointed by the judges’ scores, the squad seemed distracted.
On the verge of suffering his first EAGL loss of the season, Terp coach Brett Nelligan assembled an impromptu team meeting.
“We decided then that we were going to go for it,” Nelligan said. “I told them that if we were going to win, they needed to put their entire hearts into it.”
Refocused, the No. 33 Terps responded by doing what they’ve done all season: excel on floor.
Led by three scores of 9.700 or better from senior Abigail Adams, sophomore Kesley Cofsky and freshman Katy Dodds, the Terps (6-3, 2-0 EAGL) claimed their first lead of the night, 145.1-144.1 — on their way to securing a 193.0-192.6 victory.
“We really came together [on floor],” Dodds said. “We knew we needed to step up, and we did.”
Despite holding a slim lead, the Terps entered their final rotation knowing that nothing was secure. They had yet to face this season’s biggest stumbling block, the balance beam.
“The hardest thing a team can do is secure a win when you’re on beam and your opponent is on floor,” Nelligan said. “Not only is it tough to get high scores on beam, but the noise from the music [for floor exercise] makes it difficult to concentrate.”
With the meet’s outcome resting on her shoulders, freshman Elizabethe Manzi delivered an event-high 9.675 on beam. The score secured a slim Terp victory and capped their second come-from-behind win of the season.
“This meet showed that we’re a team with a lot of heart,” Manzi said. “Coach told us to leave everything we had out there, and we did.”
TERP NOTE: Sophomore Ally Krikorian, who suffered a foot injury before the Terps’ Jan. 21 home meet against Ball State and Towson, hopes to compete in all-around during Saturday’s meet at Pittsburgh. She competed on bars at North Carolina, securing a team-high score of 9.750.
