Preview: No. 21 Maryland gymnastics faces No. 17 Minnesota on the road

No. 21 Maryland gymnastics (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) hits the road for the first time in its 2024 campaign this weekend. It is set to take on No. 17 Minnesota (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) in Minneapolis Saturday evening. 

The Terps have started off on the right foot, winning their first two matches of the season against West Chester and Big Ten foe Rutgers. The team tied a program record for most points scored in an opening meet with their 196.150 showing against West Chester. 

According to Road to Nationals, the Terps also rank No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 8 in the nation on the beam rotation. Junior Josephine Kogler was a staple on the rotation last season and has continued her dominance thus far. The Terps rank No. 17 nationally on floor, led primarily by senior Alexa Rothenbuescher and sophomore Maddie Komoroski. 

Although early in the season, this matchup with Minnesota figures to be one of the toughest tests the Terps will face all season. The Golden Gophers have gotten off to a hot start, coming in first in the “Mean Girls Super 16” quad meet in Las Vegas against No. 13 Oregon State, No. 24 Southern Utah and No. 31 Brigham Young to start the season — their score of 196.850 set a new program record for highest score in a road meet to start a campaign. Their most recent meet resulted in a victory over No. 20 Iowa on Jan. 22. They are also ranked in three different rotations to start the season. 

Minnesota finished with a 10-6-1 record last season, going 4-4-1 in the Big Ten, which was good enough for fifth in the conference regular season standings. In the Big Ten championships, it finished third, while at NCAA Regionals, it finished fifth. 

Minnesota holds the all-time series record against the Terps, 5-2. Last season, it came to Xfinity Center and beat Maryland by just .150. The Terps will look to make the record a little more even, but will face an uphill battle. The Golden Gophers are 3-0 against the Terps while at home and are 19-1 at home since the beginning of the 2022 season.