Preview: No. 22 Maryland gymnastics prepares for Big Ten Championships

No. 22 Maryland gymnastics looks to continue its recent momentum as the end of the season draws closer. 

After coming in first place with a season-high 197.100 points at last weekend’s Maryland Five Meet, the Terps head to Iowa to compete in the Big Ten Championships. The Terps will compete in the first session against No. 20 Minnesota, No. 23 Nebraska, No. 24 Illinois, Penn State and Rutgers. Last year, Maryland finished sixth overall in the competition with a score of 196.450, its highest at the Championship since joining the Big Ten in 2014. 

The last time the Terps faced any of their Big Ten foes was Feb. 24 at the Big Five Meet. There, the Terps had their worst showing of the season, posting a 194.475 score en route to a last place finish. Since then however, the Terps have gone 12-1, with two first place finishes and one second place finish. They’ll need to carry their improved play with them throughout the competition on Saturday and into the NCAA regionals in two weeks. Currently, the squad sits at No. 19 on floor, No. 23 on bars and No. 25 on vault. 

The emphasis from coach Brett Nelligan in recent weeks has been starting hot and staying hot across all four events. Earlier in the season, especially in the squad’s first matchup against Minnesota Feb. 17 and at the Big Five Meet, the Terps had a slow start, allowing their opponents to run away with it. While the Terps progressively got hotter and brought it closer over the course of the meet, their slow start put them in a deeper hole than they were capable of digging out of. In recent weeks though, the Terps have accomplished that goal of starting hot and keeping their momentum, which has subsequently led to a lot of success. 

“We’re peaking at the right time,” Nelligan said. “The goal was to be four-event ready for the postseason. I think we’ve not only accomplished that, but we set ourselves up for success. We want to go into Big Tens with this same mentality, approach it the same way and just kind of see where the chips fall.”

No. 20 Minnesota will also be entering the tournament hot, winners of its last three. The Golden Gophers bested the Terps at Xfinity Feb. 17 in a close 196.800-196.650 match. Minnesota ranks No. 11 on floor, No. 13 on vault and No. 19 on bars nationally. Junior Mya Hooten, a leader of the team, ranks No. 2 on floor nationally. Floor has been one of Maryland’s best events this season, but they’ll have to be on their A-game. 

No. 23 Nebraska has been a pleasant surprise thus far. Despite a slow start, the Cornhuskers have clawed their way back to above .500, buoyed by their impressive performance at their respective Big Five Meet, where they placed second, only behind No. 9 Michigan State. Most recently, they’re coming off an impressive outing at the Master’s Classic, where they placed second behind No. 13 Denver. They recorded their best home score with a 197.275, the second week in which they have scored above a 197. They rank No. 23 on vault. 

No. 24 Illinois and Maryland last saw each other at the Big Five Meet, where Illinois placed third. The Fighting Illini are coming off of consecutive second place finishes, where both have yielded impressive results. Just two weeks ago, the Illini set a new program record on bars, and in their most recent meet, they set a new program record on floor with a 49.525. Nationally, Illinois ranks No. 19 on beam and No. 23 on floor. 

Penn State and Maryland also last saw each other at the Big Five Meet, where the Nittany Lions placed fourth. They’ll be entering this weekend with a tough loss suffered at the hands of the No. 12 Auburn Tigers. But the match featured the Nittany Lions posting a score of 197.025, tied for their sixth-highest score in program history. Penn State is tied with Maryland at No. 25 on vault. 

Although Rutgers has struggled this season, it too is carrying significant momentum. In their last time out, the Scarlet Knights bested UPenn and West Virginia at home, a meet in which they set a new program record for overall score (196.875), a new program record for collective beam score (49.400), a new individual record on vault (a 9.925 from junior Emily Leese), and a tie for the program record on collective vaults score (49.275). They currently sit at No. 23 on beam nationally.

The Terps will have their work cut out for them against five other recently hot conference rivals, but they’ll seek to handle it just like they do in all their other meets: together.

“We trust in each person…we take all 22 people and put them into one routine, and we’re all backing each other, one by one,” junior Emma Silberman said.

Saturday’s match will begin at 12 p.m.