When junior Dominiquea Trotter didn’t land her floor routine in the Maryland gymnastics team’s meet Sunday against Michigan, her teammates weren’t worried.
Senior Emily Brauckmuller and freshman Alecia Farina followed Trotter’s performance with career-high 9.90 scores as Maryland posted its best score on floor this season.
The sequence illustrated the confidence the Terps have worked to channel in recent meets. They insist they’re poised to return to the NCAA Regionals as one of the country’s top 36 teams after posting their season-best score against the Wolverines.
When Maryland travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday for a quad meet against Rutgers, Penn and Yale, they want the assurance and tenacity to continue.
“What I’m hoping is to see that same team that came out fiery, aggressive and confident,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “If we do that, we’re going to have a very successful meet.”
Rutgers and Maryland have had similar results this season.
The Scarlet Knights, after failing to reach 193.0 in their first two meets, have since surpassed the 194-point threshold in their last three.
Meanwhile, the Terps have improved since their slow start, which included a 192.35-point outing in their quad meet Jan. 14 against Alaska, Arizona and Minnesota. Nelligan called that competition uncharacteristic.
After Sunday’s meet, some Terps feel they’re in a rhythm.
They kept practice light-hearted this week despite several gymnasts suffering cold-like symptoms. Nelligan blared “Jersey Shore-style techno music” at practice Thursday.
The coach wanted to mimic the chaotic atmosphere he expects with four teams competing in a Rutgers arena that is “small, but very loud.” He also said the music would prevent his squad from worrying too much as they aim to build their scores.
“The sky is the limit with this group because of the way they’ve worked in the preseason,” Nelligan said. “It’s taken us a little longer to put it together than we wanted but that’s just from their youth. They can even hit the 196-mark.”
He didn’t guarantee a 196-point performance this Saturday, but noted the Terps have earned the right to be confident.
Farina agreed, citing a few falls against Michigan as the reason the Terps didn’t break the 196-point mark. She added that the team’s belief has helped improve scores and allow the Terps to challenge one another during meets.
Against Michigan during their top floor set, Farina proved the team’s mettle when she called out to sophomore Amanda Bertorello, “Beat my score, I know you can!”
“This whole season we’ve been practicing really well but when it came to competition, we would get a little cautious,” Farina said. “We are a great team and we can do great things this year.”
