No. 25 Maryland gymnastics drops road meet to No. 10 Michigan State, 197.550-195.525

No. 25 Maryland gymnastics snapped its two-meet losing streak last Saturday with a win over Nebraska. The Terps looked to keep their momentum rolling as they traveled up north to East Lansing to take on No. 10 Michigan State.

But the Spartans were excellent at home. Michigan State defeated Maryland at Jenison Field House Sunday afternoon, 197.550-195.525. 

“They’re a phenomenal team and Mike [Rowe]’s done a really great job with that program,” coach Brett Nelligan said. “To be honest, I didn’t see much of [their performance], we try to stay in our own bubble and focus on our own gymnastics, but they’re a great program and well coached. I’m not surprised they came out with a great score.”

The Terps (3-3, 2-3 Big Ten) started their meet off on bars and finished with a solid rotation. Sierra Kondo led the way, finishing with an impressive 9.900. Only two other gymnasts — Rhea LeBlanc and Victoria Gatzendorfer — ended with a 9.800 or higher. The Spartans (8-3, 5-0 Big Ten) were a different story with their sixth-ranked bars in the country. Four of Michigan State’s six gymnasts recorded either a 9.925 or a 9.950 on the rotation. 

Maryland headed to vault next, where its deficit only grew. Despite good performances from Josephine Kogler and Natalie Martin, who both scored a 9.850, no other Terps gymnast scored above a 9.800. The Spartans had five gymnasts reach that mark, with one getting up to 9.900. Like its bars, Michigan State boasts the sixth-ranked vault rotation. 

The Terps competed on floor in the third rotation. Alexa Rothenbuescher continued her recent domination of the event, earning another 9.900 — she reached 9.925 and 9.950 in the past two weeks, respectively. Maddie Komoroski also had an impressive display as well, finishing with a 9.875. Michigan State’s impressive day continued, as all six of its gymnasts scored a 9.825 or higher, with sophomore Nikki Smith reaching a 9.900. 

“I think it’s her mentality,” Nelligan said of Rothenbuescher’s recent dominance on floor. “She approaches it with that aggressive, winner’s mentality. That’s one of my favorite things about her.”

Maryland ended its day on beam. The rotation was a very up and down event for the squad, as Komoroski, Martin and Emma Silberman all finished with a 9.875, but Gatzendorfer and Kogler ended with scores of nine flat — very uncharacteristic of both veteran gymnasts. Meanwhile, junior Skyla Schulte for the Spartans earned a 9.950, the highest in the rotation and tied for the highest score of the meet. 

The Terps fell into an early deficit and couldn’t come back, allowing the meet to get away from them early. 

Maryland will seek to get back in the win column next weekend as it competes in its first multi-team meet. The Terps will be traveling to State College for the Big Five Meet, taking on conference rivals No. 11 Michigan, No. 23 Penn State, No. 27 Illinois and No. 30 Iowa. 

“We just have to work on the little things,” Nelligan said. “We did 24 routines today, and I was really, really happy with 99.9 percent of them. We literally only missed two skills, they just so happened to be on the same event. I’d like us to go mistake free in the future, but if not, just not having mistakes on the same event is the key there. So we’ll tighten it up in practice this week and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”