Sierra Kondo swung into a straddle Jaeger and reconnected with the high bar in Maryland gymnastics’ bars unit. She transitioned down to a shotover. The junior maintained pointed toes and long leg lines for no deductions before jumping back up to the high bar.

She configured into a final handstand and performed a stuck double layout dismount. Kondo’s tally tied a career-high 9.925.

Victoria Gatzendorfer, Tasha Brozowski and Rhea Leblanc each claimed high scores of their own. Coach Brett Nelligan’s bar rotation consistently hit vertical handstands and solid dismount landings to begin the afternoon with a 49.225.

No. 23 Maryland used its stellar bars performance to place second in the Kidney Care Championships in Nashville Saturday, with a final score of 196.725. The Terps, who were facing off against Talladega, No. 19 Georgia, Iowa and Pittsburgh, entered the day undefeated in March. First place Georgia finished with a final score of 197.300.

“I was very proud of the team tonight and their mentality and their focus,” Nelligan said. “Coming into an exciting environment but being up on podium with some really great teams, I thought they handled themselves extremely well.”

Nelligan’s team looked to advance strongly on balance beam. Maddie Komoroski led the way, performing a flawless one arm back handspring to layout step out. The sophomore landed cleanly with her feet in line with the apparatus and chest up. Komoroski took a slight step forward on her landing but was awarded 9.900.

[Improvements on uneven bars has Maryland gymnastics peaking at the right time]

Natalie Martin split the beam on her tumbling series in the team’s most recent meet at Towson. But Saturday, she performed the same skill. This time, she controlled and connected her skills solidly, landing in line with the beam. The freshman tallied a 9.825.

Gatzendorfer hesitated upon landing in her tumbling series. The junior hopped off the apparatus, an automatic 0.500 off her score. She continued through her routine with a few balance checks and eventually finished with a 8.900.

Josephine Kogler and Silberman each added a 9.800 en route to a 48.950, the team’s lowest beam score since late February.

Nelligan said all gymnastics meets are exciting, but having the opportunity to square off against programs from different conferences in a fun city was something special.

“It really brings an additional level of excitement,” Nelligan said. “Nashville is just such a great, exciting town. It was an awesome atmosphere and we’d love to come back again.”

Maryland continued its lead heading into its third rotation, floor. Taylor Rech, who entered Saturday averaging 9.802, powered through her routine in a back handspring to double back tuck. The sophomore stood tall on her landing and flowed through her leaps. Rech was awarded a 9.850.

Komoroski’s high-scoring consistency continued to floor. The sophomore executed a difficult ring leap to switch ring, exhibiting immense flexibility in the air. Komoroski pointed her toes throughout and finished with her second 9.900 of the afternoon.

[Maryland gymnastics scores a 196.725, earns narrow win over Towson]

Rothenbuescher followed suit with a 9.900, her ninth time totaling that score or higher this season. She exhibited a double back pike in her final tumbling pass, nearly sticking the landing. The senior maintained perfect pike form in her flips, allowing for no deductions. Komoroski and Rothenbuescher’s top tallies gave Maryland a unit score of 49.275.

After three solid events, the Terps entered a bye. Nelligan’s team needed a stellar finish on vault to come out on top of Georgia.

Josephine Kogler sprinted down the vault runway, eyeing the table. She jumped onto the springboard and bounced off the vault table into the air. The junior twisted into a Yurchenko full and stuck her feet into the mat. She maintained a solid twisting form, keeping her legs together and arms by her chest. Kogler tied her career-high 9.900.

Kogler was one of two Terps to hit a 9.900 to close out the afternoon. Natalie Martin, who earned a 9.925 earlier in the season, exhibited a Yurchenko one and a half. Her skill has a 10.0 start value versus Kogler’s Yurchenko full with a 9.95 start value. Martin landed with a slight step forward but showed overall immense focus in the air.

Olivia Weir, Rech and Rothenbuescher each added a 9.825 to the mix. Maryland closed out vault with a 49.275.

The Terps head to East Lansing Saturday to contend with conference competitors in the Big Ten championships. Nelligan’s squad placed ninth in 2023.

“[They] came out with a great score and really put ourselves in a great position for next week at Big Ten championships,” Nelligan said.