Katy Dodds

Brett Nelligan has hardly forgotten his college days at Massachusetts. The Terrapins gymnastics coach remembers placing in the top 10 on vault at the NCAA Championships, and he recalls finishing third in his conference on the event.

So when Nelligan became a Terps assistant coach in 2003, he knew only one way to teach the apparatus: the men’s way. Little has changed over the past decade. Nelligan, who took over the program from his father four years ago, still encourages the Terps to burst onto the vault runway and perform stuck landings — practices not normally encouraged on women’s squads.

The Terps’ male-oriented style has helped them emerge as one of the top vaulting teams in the country this season. They boast the sixth-ranked vaulting rotation in the nation, and feature two gymnasts — junior Katy Dodds and senior Ally Krikorian — in the top 20 nationally on the event. Their strong vault performances have buoyed a group that paces the East Atlantic Gymnastics League four meets into the season.

“We can bank on it,” said Dodds, who ranks fourth in the nation with an average vault of 9.919. “It’s definitely a leverage we have with a meet.”

The Terps have finished in the top three on vault in the conference every year Nelligan has been at the helm, never averaging less than a 48.767.

But this season has been special. The Terps set a program-record score of 49.300 on the apparatus in a Jan. 19 quad-meet sweep at Pittsburgh. Dodds earned an individual program record of 9.975 a week earlier at N.C. State, and Krikorian — a two-time EAGL vault champion — is currently ranked second in the conference.

Nelligan believes that perfection at a meet is a byproduct of perfection during workouts. The Terps have embraced his attitude, regularly performing mock competitions in practice.

But the Terps’ work ethic is not exclusive to the gym. Three days a week, the athletes head to Comcast Center Pavilion after practice, where they perform intense CrossFit-style workouts that are instrumental in preparing for the vault.

“The girls don’t just settle for an OK landing,” Nelligan said. “They’ll do it over and over until the landings are perfect.”

Nelligan can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic during meets and practices. Except now, rather than being the one sprinting down the vault runway, he is helping perfect the Terps’ routines.

“We are a good teaching staff,” Nelligan said. “We can develop these kids.”

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