Maryland gymnastics has relied on Alexa Rothenbuescher to compete in every event all season. The fifth-year averages a 9.44 or higher in all four events, giving the Terps a reliable presence.
But Rothenbuescher had multiple miscues at the Yale Tri Meet, making a mistake on the floor and was absent in the vault. Her teammates helped Maryland score a 196.150, though, defeating Yale and LIU in Connecticut on Sunday.
The meet marked the Terps’ third consecutive showing of 196 or more points. Maryland won three of the four events on Sunday.
Maryland’s bars lineup struggled at Temple earlier this week, scoring just shy of 49. And after a slow start on Sunday, it appeared like the unit was destined for another sub-49 day.
But the veteran half of the lineup elevated the performance.
Seniors Hailey Merchant and Rhea LeBlanc scored a 9.85 and 9.8, respectively. It was LeBlanc’s third-straight performance scoring 9.8 or more.
Merchant has also cemented herself as a staple of the bars unit. The bars specialist has strung together four meets of at least 9.775 showings after enduring an early-season rut.
A third senior, Rothenbuescher, scored a season-high 9.900 on bars. It has been a strong turnaround for the senior, who took a week break from the bars event after multiple falls during her routine.
[Alexa Rothenbuescher is back to leading Maryland gymnastics after weeks of struggles]
“The first half kinda set the table and … when we know we have three good scores under our belt, then the back half can really attack and not be cautious,” Nelligan said.
The Terps’ 49.100 showing on Sunday was their third event of scoring more than 49 this season. The squad’s 33rd-ranked bars lineup is poised to climb the national rankings.
Maryland put together another complete showing on beam, avoiding major deductions and scoring 49.075. It is their first time scoring more than 49 in consecutive meets this season.
“[The gymnasts in the beam lineup] are settling down and trusting themselves. They’re trusting their gymnastics,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “Their confidence is really starting to go up and up every week.”
A slow start happened again on the beam, though. Sophomore Lauren Brendlinger started the rotation with a 9.700, below her season average.
But freshman Rayna Engelmayer followed Brendlinger with a season-high 9.825, then Rothenbuescher posted the same score. It was Rothenbuescher’s highest beam score in over a month.
Madeline Komoroski, the team’s leading scorer on beam and the “Beam Queen” as dubbed by Maryland gymnastics’ social media, capped the event with a 9.875.
“I like the pressure [of competing in the sixth spot] a little bit,” Komoroski said. “It gives me an incentive to do better.”
[Maryland gymnastics records season-high score, defeats Temple, 196.325-194.950]
Rothenbuescher’s injury on floor dropped her score to 8.950. It was her second-lowest score of the season on the event and the team’s only major deduction of the meet.
A balanced effort throughout the rest of the lineup – no other gymnast scored below 9.700 – helped the Terps secure a respectable score 48.950. But Rothenbuescher’s blunder ended Maryland’s three-meet streak of scoring more than 49 on floor.
Freshman Maggie Murphy, in her first collegiate meet, replaced Rothenbuescher in the vault lineup. Along with Engelmayer and sophomore Logan Buckmon, the first half of the vault lineup had competed in a combined 14 meets of experience entering Sunday.
The three underclassmen fueled one of Maryland’s top vault scores this season. Buckmon and Engelmayer scored more than 9.750, and Murphy registered a solid 9.675 in the third spot.
Natalie Martin capped off the rotation with a 9.850. The three-event sophomore has posted that score or more in every meet since February. The Terps finished their day with a third score of more than 49.
Maryland travels to Washington, D.C., for a meet against George Washington and Towson on Friday, followed by a rematch in College Park next Sunday.
