The crowd roared, the music blasted and the Maryland gymnastics team chanted as freshman Audrey Barber and sophomore Alecia Farina received roses for their first-place scores for bars at Sunday’s Maryland Quad Meet.
They glimmered with smiles when their names were announced as the judges congratulated them for their striking scores on bars, each 9.9. Barber and Farina were again recognized for their all-around achievements and final scores: Barber placed first for the meet — and set a career high — with a 39.475 all-around score, and Farina placed second with 39.15 all-around.
Barber received another red rose at the end of the meet for her first place on vault (9.875), while Farina received an extra flower for her performance on the floor (9.9).
The two underclassmen powered the Terps to a team score of 196.575, its highest in coach Brett Nelligan’s nine years at the helm of the program.
“She is just a freshman, and she really impressed me with her calm and her poise,” Nelligan said of Barber. “She brought it all home today, so I was really proud of her.”
[Read more: Maryland gymnastics posts season-best 196.575 to win quad meet]
Before the season, the Big Ten announced that Farina and Barber were named Maryland’s Gymnasts to Watch.
When she received the title Sunday, Farina was a bit nervous about meeting expectations.
“It makes me feel some pressure because there are always people watching asking, ‘Oh, she’s supposed to be really good?'” Farina said.
Barber, on the other hand, expressed her enthusiasm for getting that title, but claimed it didn’t affect her overall performance on the screen.
“It just makes me want to work harder,” Barber said.
Prior to Barber’s collegiate career as a gymnast, she was named the 2016 Regional All-Around Champion.
The two Terps play a role in leading the team, admitting they have to improve despite their accomplishments at a young age.
Nelligan mentioned his team will focus on small details this week, such as finishing landings, handstands and wobbles on beams.
“I challenge them to be more aggressive and confident on beam, and they were better,” Nelligan said, “but I still think we can take it one step further.”
Barber and Farina hope to apply those improvements to receive more roses in the future.