Maryland gymnastics set for high exceptions in 2024

After a 2023 season that featured highs and lows alike, Maryland gymnastics is gearing up for its 2024 campaign — one filled with lofty expectations in its 50th season in program history. 

The Terps are ranked No. 25 in the country in both the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Preseason Coaches Poll and the College Gym News Preseason Poll. They cracked the top 25 in Week Five last season in the weekly Road to Nationals ranking, which they didn’t exit the rest of the season. Maryland finished the campaign ranked No. 23, the highest it’s been ranked to end a season since 2013 — but the Terps only made it as high as 21, moving up and down in the final five spots consistently. 

Fortunately for Maryland, a lot of help is back in its push to move higher up the ranks this season. Although the loss of longtime veteran Reese McClure stings, Emma Silberman returns for a fifth year. She was the all-around leading scorer for the squad last season, and ranks ninth in total points scored in program history. 

The Terps will also be returning several veteran event leaders in Josephine Kogler, who received All-Big Ten second team honors last season, Olivia Weir, Tayler Osterhout, Victoria Gatzendorfer, Rhea LeBlanc, and Sierra Kondo. Sophomores Maddie Komoroski and Taylor Rech will look to step up in a big way this season. The two last year were instant impact freshmen — the former led the team in beam scoring, while the latter was a regular in both the vault and floor rotations. 

Komoroski expressed excitement for the upcoming season and praised coach Brett Nelligan for the team culture he has helped establish in the program. Nelligan made it clear that the team should not be focused on particular goals, according to Komoroski.

“At the beginning of preseason, we have a list of goals that we go through and things that we want to work up to,” Komoroski said. “… I think our motto this year is to just enjoy the work that we put in and be able to show it off …just be grateful that we get to be here, that we get to go out and compete, that we’re healthy to compete, and that we’re given all these opportunities.”

Nelligan, who will be returning for his 15th season as the program’s leader, also did his fair share of work in recruiting. He brought in a class of six freshmen, which included a number of three and four star recruits, along with gymnasts who competed for Team USA. Nelligan also brought in Hailey Merchant, a junior transfer from NC State. All of the recruits spoke about Maryland’s excellence both in gymnastics and its academics, plus its proximity to the nation’s capital, as reasons for why the program was so appealing.

The Terps had their fair share of success last year. They reached the NCAA Regionals for the sixth consecutive non-pandemic season, where they scored a program best 196.675 amongst all their times competing in Regionals. They also scored three of the program’s top 10 highest single meet scores ever, with their highest being a 197.100 at the Maryland Five Meet last March. It was the program’s sixth time ever scoring a 197 or higher in a single meet. 

But Maryland also faced some significant adversity. The night before Regionals was set to begin, junior Tasha Brozowski received a heartbreaking call that her father, Patrick, was not going to survive after being hospitalized from a motorcycle accident a week before. Nelligan made it clear to Brozowski and the team as a whole that they did not have to compete if Tasha did not want to. 

“Everyone had her back no matter what she decided to do, whether to compete or not, no one would have judged her in any way,” Komoroski said. “We all just wanted to do what she thought was best. That night, we all sat together in one of our rooms in silence for an hour or two. We’re all family, and it was really hard to see her go through that.”

When Brozowski emerged from her room in the morning, she decided to compete. Although it was a tremendously emotional day, she delivered an outstanding 9.850 performance on bars, quickly earning an emotional embrace from Nelligan and her teammates. She dedicated her routine to her father. 

That sort of family culture is what has the Terps so excited for the 2024 season. They will kick off their campaign Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. as they take on West Chester in Xfinity Center.