The Maryland gymnastics team competed away from College Park for the first time this season when it battled Penn State on Saturday.
Following a 1-2 finish at their Jan. 14 quad meet at Xfinity Center, the Terps posted a season-high score of 194.725. Still, their performance wasn’t enough to best the Nittany Lions, who finished with 195.525 behind a 49.100 score on the bars.
Penn State’s Sabrina Garcia earned a 9.950 on the bars, the highest individual score in any exercise for the team all season. The Nittany Lions scored more than 49 points twice in the meet, a feat they had not accomplished before Saturday.
Maryland’s Evelyn Nee recalled the Terps’ past successes on the road, stating that being away gives them time to bond as a team. But they couldn’t secure a victory Saturday.
“We’re more of a tribe when we go out there and compete,” said Nee, who paced the Terps with a 9.825 on the beam.
Still, coach Brett Nelligan had some positive takeaways despite the result of the meet.
“We came into a tough environment, and we hung with a quality team,” Nelligan said. “We came up a little short, but more importantly we learned a lot about ourselves.”
Amanda Bertorello, who scored a 9.775 and a 9.700 on the floor and the bars, respectively, praised her teammates for their focus in a “tough” atmosphere.
The Terps head to Iowa on Jan. 29 to take on a Hawkeye team that recently beat Ohio State in their highest scoring output of the season. Nelligan pointed to Saturday’s contest as a learning experience for Maryland’s upcoming meet.
“We found out how to hit in a tough environment on the road,” Nelligan said, “and that is a good sign for the future.”
