Photo courtesy of Dylan Davies/Maryland Terrapins
Maryland gymnastics (6-5) defeats Iowa (3-2) 195.750 to 194.725, marking its second consecutive win. The Terps lost to Iowa at last season’s Big Five meet, making this an amazing comeback.
They won three events vault, beam and floor while setting two new season highs and three gymnasts tied their career highs.
As they always do at home, the Terps started on vault for their first rotation, an event in which they excelled in their last meet against Washington. Junior Taylor Rech, the fourth gymnast in the rotation, put up a 9.850, followed immediately by senior Rhea LeBlanc with the same score.
Both had good landings, distance and height. Sophomore Natalie Martin, with a flawless performance, kept up the momentum with a 9.925 the highest score of the rotation. Martin and LeBlanc both tied their career highs during this first rotation. The Terps were in high spirits, finishing with an overall score of 49.075.
The toughest event of the night for the Terps was uneven bars in the second rotation. The first two routines had slight trouble with cleanliness, but senior Hailey Merchant delivered the best performance on bars, scoring a 9.800. The Terps finished with an overall score of 48.750, while Iowa narrowly surpassed them with a 48.775 on the event.
For the third rotation, the Terps competed on balance beam, which was a bit of a struggle for them this meet. They started shaky, with their lowest score of the night being a 9.450 but junior Madeline Komoroski delivered a standout performance with a 9.900, the best score of the event, tying her career high as well. She surpassed her previous beam score of 9.850 from their meet at Washington. The Terps ended the event with a 48.775.
The Terps led 146.600 to 146.075 going into the final rotation.
They competed on floor to finish the night, with LeBlanc leading the way with a 9.900. All gymnasts scored above 9.700. LeBlanc and Komoroski (9.875) both set new season highs during this event. The team ended with an overall score of 49.150, their best of the night, as floor is typically their strongest event.
Next up for the Terps is the Big Four against Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, a home meet on March 1 at 6 p.m.
