Alexa Rothenbuescher began her routine in a near-perfect handstand. She transitioned into a straddle Jaeger, timing her release from the bar to her flip skillfully. Rothenbuescher made her way down to the low bar via a bail and nailed a final handstand.

The senior then swung three times and executed a full-twisting double back tuck dismount, barely moving her foot upon landing.

Her score at the Yale Quad on Sunday, a 9.925, was a career high and team best on the uneven bars for Maryland gymnastics in 2024.

The Terps ranked No. 23 in the event last season and No. 13 in 2022. The program has posted six below 49 markers on the event in 2024.

But on Sunday, Maryland tallied its highest score on the event this season en route to its second-highest in program history. Coach Brett Nelligan’s uneven bars unit captured a 49.400, a 0.100 increase from its second top total reached Feb. 10.

“Starting off on bars, we all were really aggressive and it built the energy going into the rest of the meet,” Rothenbuescher said. “Stick after stick got us really excited and it carried through the rest of the meet.”

Nelligan said he believed his gymnasts were capable of putting together full-fledged bars routines from the beginning of the season.

[Maryland gymnastics tallies season high on bars, wins Yale Quad, 197.300]

“We’ve really been working really hard,” Nelligan said. “They’ve really been focused lately on trying to be very aggressive but accurate on our handstands and our releases … we’re putting it all together at the right time.”

Victoria Gatzendorfer entered the meet averaging 9.742 on the event. The junior led off the unit and configured into a vertical cast handstand to begin. She moved into a Maloney, a release where gymnasts float from the low bar to high bar backward. Gatzendorfer squeezed her legs together in her transition, a detail she struggled on earlier in the season.

She progressed back down to the low bar via a Pak salto, another release move where gymnasts flip from the high to low bar. The junior executed minor leg separation in the air, adding deductions to her score. But where Gatzendorfer truly shined was on her dismount. She performed a double back tuck off the high bar and landed with her feet glued to the mat, enough to earn a 9.750.

After only joining the lineup toward the end of her sophomore campaign, junior Tasha Brozowski tied her career-best to proceed Gatzendorfer’s marker.

Brozowski also entered Sunday’s outing averaging 9.741 after competing in every meet in 2024. She performed four cast handstands across her routine, nailing nearly perfect vertical stances that judges look for. The junior also maintained strong form in her double layout and landed glued to the mat.

[On senior night, Maryland gymnastics scores 196.350 to win the Maryland Quad]

She was awarded the first of two back-to-back 9.875s. Sierra Kondo, the next to do so, has been a solid force in the lineup all season long. Nelligan said having Kondo in the middle of the lineup continues momentum forward.

“Having her right there in the middle is perfect,” Nelligan said. “She can follow up on Victoria and take it to that next level and then set up the person after her.”

The rotation looked promising heading into the fourth competitor, Emma Silberman.

The graduate student jumped onto the high bar and conducted a cast handstand before her release move, a Gienger. Gymnasts competing the skill release their hands from the high bar and execute a half twist in the air before gripping the bar again. Silberman executed a bail handstand to the low bar before making her way back up to the high bar.

She finished with a final handstand and three giants before gearing up for a double layout dismount, tying her season-high score with a 9.850.

Silberman had only performed bars in four of eight meets leading to Sunday. Before this season, she was a regular on the event, tallying a 9.950 career-high. Nelligan said her insertion back into the lineup was necessary to score big.

“When you’re able to get a competitor back who’s been a mainstay in the lineup for five years now, it gives everyone a lot of confidence that they can really push and be aggressive,” Nelligan said.

Rhea LeBlanc then capped off what became Maryland’s best uneven bars performance since March 2022. LeBlanc’s tally, a 9.875, tied her second-highest of the season.