Maryland gymnastics hadn’t scored above 49.000 on uneven bars this season entering Saturday’s meet against Nebraska. After three gymnasts, the Terps were on track to exceed that mark but needed strong performances from Lindsay Bacheler and Rhea LeBlanc.
Both excelled, each tallying career-high 9.900s to help end the Terps’ run of poor scores on bars with a final score of 49.300. Bacheler and LeBlanc’s scores rejuvenated the unit that entered the meet, and Maryland averaged 48.786 in the event.
“I think we’ve known all along this year that bars can be a really strong event for us and we just haven’t put it all together,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “This is the night where we really need to be the true bar team that we can be and, my gosh, they knocked it out of the park.”
Bacheler opened the routine by bouncing off the springboard and onto the high bar. She formed into a cast handstand then swung into a straddle Jaeger and caught the bar. Bacheler flowed into another solid handstand and floated down to the low bar in a bail to handstand.
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The junior then jumped back up to the high bar and hit a final cast handstand before swinging twice and nailing a double back layout dismount, sticking the landing.
“When I took off from my dismount, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I hit just the right position,’” Bacheler said. “And so then I landed, and just realized I didn’t move, I looked around at all my teammates and they were just so excited. I was really surrounded with support. I loved it.”
Bacheler maintained consistent form from beginning to end. She squeezed her legs together on transitions between bars, pointed her feet and solidified vertical cast handstands — all components of her high score. She also maintained a smooth pace through the routine — just the second of her collegiate career. The junior dealt with injuries during her first two seasons and notched a 9.700 in her first bar routine in Maryland’s loss to Ohio State in early February.
LeBlanc had much more experience. Saturday marked the 24th bars performance of her career at Maryland. The junior averaged 9.681 on the event entering the meet.
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When she mounted the high bar to open her routine, LeBlanc struck a handstand, keeping her legs in line and together. Like Bacheler, LeBlanc completed a straddle Jaeger.
She moved into a bail to handstand while rotating to get a grip on the low bar. LeBlanc made her way back up to the high bar and proceeded into a final cast handstand. She stuck her landing to end the routine.
“I’m just going for everything and I just had to trust my training and everything I put in the work this season,” LeBlanc said. “I think we really just focused on every single detail and getting one percent better every single day.”
Bacheler and LeBlanc’s scores were Maryland’s best of the season. Maryland’s bars unit has had the potential all season to score like it did against Nebraska, Nelligan said.
“They just really had to let it come out,” Nelligan said. “I think the first couple of weeks, they were overthinking or just being too critical of themselves. They just needed to relax and this was kind of the breakthrough that they needed.”
