No. 25 Maryland gymnastics finishes first in Terp Quad

Two straight quad meets, two straight first-place finishes for the Gym Terps.

No. 25 Maryland gymnastics (11-7) took care of business in its first home quad meet of the season, coming in first place over New Hampshire (195.600), Pennsylvania (195.100) and Brown (194.625). The squad recorded a score of 196.950, their best of the season thus far. 

It was senior day at Xfinity Center on Sunday, in which the team recognized both its own seniors as well as those from its competitors. Terp seniors Emma Silberman, Reese McClure, Alexsis Rubio, Aleka Tsiknias, Sophia LeBlanc and Austynn Lacasse were all honored both pre and post-meet. 

“I think we tried to make it feel like any other day, but it was a lot of fun…we had all our friends and family here and to celebrate each other at the end was super special,” Silberman said. “I think coming in here and bringing the energy like we did just boosted everything and you know, we came out with a great score.”

McClure concurred with Silberman.

“Yeah, the energy was great today…I think every senior outperformed themselves on each event,” McClure said. “It’s really amazing to see everything come together…we were really trying to focus on finding that perfect mix between focus and fun and I think today was a glimpse of what can happen when we put those two together.”

It was a very impressive day for the Terps across the board. Nelligan’s goal for his team for the past few weeks — starting and finishing hot — came to fruition. The squad started on vault, with five out of six competing gymnasts recording a 9.800 or better, with the top three scores coming from seniors. Rubio led the way for the Terps, continuing her phenomenal senior vault season with a 9.925. McClure notched a 9.850 while Silberman recorded a 9.825. The Terps’ group score of 49.200 gave them an early lead. 

The Terps lost a little bit of their momentum in the second rotation, bars, but a few performances kept them in front. Tsiknias led the Terps with a 9.900 in her anchor position. Sophomore Victoria Gatzendorfer, who had an impressive day all-around, notched a 9.875, while fellow sophomore Tasha Brozowski recorded a 9.800 despite being a recent addition to the bars rotation. 

The Terps regained their steam in the third rotation with their best collective beam performance of the season, scoring a 49.300. Beam has been an area of slight struggle in recent weeks, but today — despite it being a mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen — all the Terps looked like seasoned veterans. All six competing gymnasts recorded a 9.800 or higher, with freshman Maddie Komoroski on top with a 9.900. 

Maryland finished the meet on floor, and absolutely stole the show. Its collective score of 49.525 marked a season-best, beating its score of 49.450 just two weeks ago against Minnesota. The score is also the program’s best since 2004. Five out of six competing gymnasts recorded a 9.900 or better; sophomore Rhea LeBlanc notched a career-high 9.900, tied with Silberman, McClure and junior Tayler Osterhout. Once again, Komoroski led the pack, scoring a 9.925. 

The Terps were great all-around, and they gave the veterans a senior day to remember.

“I don’t have words, they’re really special,” Nelligan said about his seniors. “I don’t want any of them to leave, I want them to all stay forever…they’re such talented gymnasts, but more than that, they’re incredible human beings, and I have been honored to coach them. I’m so proud of them and what they’ve done for the program, taking it from where it was when they got here and bringing it to a whole nother level. Something I’ll always be grateful for.”

Looking ahead, the Terps will be back in action on Friday, as they’ll take on George Washington and Towson in D.C. at 7 p.m.