Photo by Rose Fernandes/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.
Josephine Kogler stole the spotlight Friday evening.
The graduate student led Maryland gymnastics in two of the three events she competed in, notching a 9.875 routine on beam and 9.850 on vault.
Kogler’s performance aided in Maryland’s 195.925 team score, allowing it to beat Penn, Towson and George Washington at the Towson Quad meet. Friday’s performance marked the third consecutive quad meet where the Terps secured first place.
Maryland (16-6) entered the meeting aiming to remain within the nation’s top 36 in order to secure a spot in the NCAA Regionals Championship.
The Terps opened the meet on the balance beam. Kogler’s stuck landing earned her a 9.875. Matching that score was Madeline Komoroski. The senior continued her strong season on beam with a 9.822 average and a career-high of 9.950 against Rutgers. Both Emily DeFrees and Megan Bingham contributed 9.825s to help accelerate the Terps’ momentum.
Penn’s Ava Hooten and Marissa Lassiter paced the Quakers (21-5) with a pair of 9.725 scores on floor. The Quakers’ routines ranged in the 9.700s, tying them with George Washington at 48.550 at the conclusion of the first rotation.
Towson (12-13) began on vault while George Washington (9-17) took to the uneven bars. Polina Belanovski led the Tigers with a 9.850, allowing them to trail just 0.175 points behind the Terps for first place.
George Washington scored an average of 9.675 on the uneven bars, trailing the top two with an event score of 48.550.
Maryland moved to the floor for its second rotation, where Taylor Rech, DeFrees, and Komoroski each earned a 9.850 score. The Terps finished the event with 49.000, maintaining a lead despite a fall from Aine Reade on a roundoff double layout, bringing their overall score to 98.150.
Towson remained in second place with 49.150 on the uneven bars, led by senior Isabella Minervini’s impressive 9.900, just shy of its season-best 49.200 from the Temple Quad Meet.
The third rotation put Maryland on vault, where it finished with a 48.900. Kogler once again led the Terps with a 9.850. Despite being a low landing, Logan Buckmon earned a 9.825 from her stuck dismount. With scores all above 9.700, Maryland maintained its lead entering the final rotation.
Penn moved to the uneven bars next, where both junior Sophia Paris and sophomore Luci Toczydlowski notched a 9.825.
Towson traveled to the balance beam, where it struggled to find high scores. Multiple errors on different routines forced the Tigers to include scores of 9.425 and 9.550 from Minervini and junior Brissa Portillo.
Maryland finished the meet on the uneven bars with a 9.700 start from sophomore Nicollette Crochet. The Terps concluded the event with a 48.875, led by junior Gianna Ruffing’s 9.825.
Towson excelled on floor, earning a 49.275 on the event. Adriana Hoffman’s 9.900 paced group that scored now lower than a 9.825, allowing the Tigers to finish with the highest event score of the night. But it was not enough to surpass Maryland’s final team score, placing Towson in second place.
Maryland’s victory over Towson, Pennsylvania, and George Washington highlighted its prioritization of consistency during meets and confidence in the Terps’ highly technical routines, as they approach post-season matchups.
