Maryland gymnastics narrowly defeats Towson, 196.725-196.625

The Gym Terps are on a roll in March.

Maryland gymnastics had won three meets in a row entering its Sunday duel with Towson, taking it from 2-7 to 12-7. The Terps were looking to extend their streak even further. 

They did just that. Maryland traveled down the Beltway to compete with in-state foe Towson, coming out on top by a tenth of a point, 196.725-196.625. The two teams were tied heading into the final event, but the Terps secured the win off of a great finish. 

Maryland (13-7) began its day on bars. Junior Rhea LeBlanc delivered an event winning performance, finishing with a 9.925 — a new career high for the Massachusetts native. LeBlanc was backed up by junior Victoria Gatzendorfer, who scored a 9.850. 

Scoring above the 9.900 mark was a rarity for the Terps last season. In 2024, it’s become commonplace. 

“It’s all their hard work,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “As a coaching staff, this is the team we believed we could be all the way back in January, we just had to get the team to believe it too. We’re now 10-0 in the month of March. I think they’re proving it to themselves, day in and day out, how good they are.”

Maryland competed on vault next. Freshman Natalie Martin — as she’s done all season — came out and delivered, notching a 9.875. Her score won her the event title. Senior Alexa Rothenbuesher and junior Josephine Kogler also delivered impressive performances, both finishing with a 9.850. It was potentially Rothenbuescher’s final regular season meet in a Terp uniform.

“It was really exciting,” Rothenbuescher said. “I’m glad that we’re peaking at the right time, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the postseason.”

The next rotation, floor, was the only event that Maryland didn’t win, thanks to the efforts of Towson’s (17-9) Elise Tisler. But the Terps still went out and put up a strong showing with Martin and LeBlanc on top, both earning a score of 9.875. 

Maryland needed to have a strong finish in the final rotation, beam. Sophomore Maddie Komoroski delivered just that, giving the team a 9.925 performance. That score has become second nature for her at this point, as she hasn’t finished with a score below 9.900 on the beam in March. 

The meet was an ideal way to put a cap on the regular season duals for the Terps. Up next is a meet on the road in Nashville March 16, where they will compete in the Kidney Care Women’s Gymnastics Championship. Invited teams include Georgia, Auburn, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Pittsburgh. 

Then Maryland will head to East Lansing for the Big Ten Championships.

“It’s going to be a great set of opponents there, so the message is ‘Let’s be this same aggressive, dominant team’,” Nelligan said. “It’ll be on [the] podium, so we’re hoping it’ll prepare us well for Big Tens.”