Hailey Merchant was searching for a breakout performance on bars coming off three straight subpar outings. The senior found it last Friday against then-No. 22 Penn State.
The bars specialist had her best showing since transferring to Maryland last season, scoring a 9.8750. But she’s no stranger to standout performances, even outside of the uneven bars.
“That’s exactly what we see in practice every day,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “And for her to put it all together should give her a lot of confidence.”
Merchant spent her first two years at NC State after graduating from Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland. While she was featured in vault, floor and bars during her freshman year, her best performances came on the bars. She started all but one meet on the bars in 2022.
Merchant scored 9.8750 in meets against Temple and Maryland that season — a career-high mark that took her three years to match. But, she didn’t have many chances over the next two seasons.
[Maryland gymnastics narrowly falls to No. 22 Penn State, 195.500-195.250]
As a sophomore, Merchant only competed in six of NC State’s 14 meets. In her first meet, she competed in both bars and floor, but in her last five meets, she only competed on bars.
“I kinda just had the mindset of going into college [and] doing what I do in club,” Merchant said. “Wherever I was needed at the time, just step in and compete.”
She decided to transfer to Maryland — a program she was familiar with — following the 2023 season.
“I grew up in Maryland. I love the state … so just being able to be in that role as a college gymnast, especially representing my home state, it’s really exciting,” Merchant said. “And really exciting to have my family and all my friends come from my hometown.”
Nelligan coached Merchant at Maryland’s youth gymnastics summer camp since she was about eight years old, he said. Maryland also heavily scouted her as a high school recruit, so Nelligan called it a “no-brainer” to add the transfer.
Merchant’s first season in her home state was cut short due to an ankle sprain she suffered in warmups. She ended up needing surgery, putting an end to her season after only the second meet.
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After two truncated seasons with different programs, Merchant is back to full strength as a senior.
Her season-opening 9.8000 at the San Antonio Collegiate Invite easily bested her two scores from last season. The senior’s score dipped to 9.5500 against then-No.11 UCLA, but has steadily climbed since then, peaking with her showing against Penn State.
In her first full season with her hometown program that has embraced her as family, Merchant hopes to build off her gained confidence.
“I think she’s gonna get better, even more than [against Penn State],” Nelligan said. “So that was a big routine for her and for the whole bars lineup.”
