Maryland gymnastics had one of its best outings of the year against Iowa last Friday and bolstered its national qualifying score. But the meet had even greater ramifications within the Big Ten.
After dropping their first two conference matches of the season, the Terps have rattled off wins in three of their last four Big Ten meets.
Two of the core elements of gymnastics have powered the team’s resurgence — confidence and rhythm. The team’s recent performance has strengthened its position for the Big Ten championships.
“When you’re in a judged sport, one of the ways that these judges differentiate is — it’s not what you did, it’s how it looked when you did it,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “Our gymnastics is looking better and better because we’re getting more and more confident in ourselves.”
Nelligan credited the team for settling in and calming their nerves as the season progressed, saying that he wants competing at meets to feel just like practice. He says the team has gotten closer to that expectation in the recent weeks, when they’ve succeeded in conference play.
[Maryland gymnastics’ vault unit broke out in the past 2 weeks after a modest start]
The Terps’ win over Iowa was the highpoint of the turnaround, improving their conference record to 3-3.
“Winning meets … it’s fun, it gets you excited,” Nelligan said. “It’s easier to go back to practice on Monday, it’s easier to get your treatment in, it’s easier to do all the work that you need to do when you’re coming off a win.”
The victory over Iowa marked Maryland’s first home win of the season and their first time winning consecutive conference meets.
“Getting [a] win at our own house is really important to us,” sophomore Natalie Martin said. “There’s no better feeling than that.”
Beyond boosting morale, the victory strengthened the Terps’ position in the Big Ten, which is debuting a new format this year after adding UCLA and Washington to the conference.
Previously, the conference tournament was split into a morning meet featuring the bottom six teams in the conference and a night meet between the Big Ten’s top four teams.Now, the tournament is split into three sessions comprised of the bottom, middle and top-four teams.
[Maryland gymnastics’ floor and vault shines in slim win over Iowa, 195.750-194.725]
Maryland’s win over Iowa brought it within one game of No. 15 Michigan and No. 25 Penn State — both vying for the final spot in the conference’s top meet. The Terps get their final chance to propel themselves into the upper echelon of the Big Ten this Saturday.
Maryland takes on Michigan, No. 24 Illinois and No. 13 Minnesota at the Big Four Meet. Minnesota stands within the Big Ten’s elite at 5-1 in conference meets, but Michigan and Illinois are both competing to break into the top meet at the Big Ten championships.
A top-two finish would earn Maryland a chance to finish in the top four, while finishing third would most likely place them in the middle session.
Despite facing their highest stakes of the year, the Terps are focused on themselves. Executing clean routines is the team’s top priority.
“You don’t focus on wins and high scores and then hope that you’re going to do good gymnastics, it’s gotta be the other way around,” Nelligan said. “Do good gymnastics, wins will fall into place, scores will fall into place, seeding will fall into place.”
