Recap: Maryland gymnastics kicks off 2023 season with 2-0 start at West Virginia Tri

Maryland gymnastics opened its 2023 campaign in Morgantown on Friday, competing in the West Virginia Tri against West Virginia and Kent State. The Terps defeated the Mountaineers and the Golden Flashes, starting their season 2-0 for the fifth-straight season. Looking forward, the Terps still have a long way to go. 

2022 was a very streaky season for the Terps. They finished with a record of 18-9, but had major fluctuations throughout the season. After a 5-2 start, they fell into a slump, losing their next five, all conference games. Maryland responded with 12 straight wins heading into the Big 10 Championships, where it placed sixth. More consistency will be key for the Terps in the 2023 season, and starting the season off with two road wins is a great start.

West Virginia, the host of the tri, entered 2-1 after it placed second at a quad meet against the University of Florida, Lindenwood and Ball State on Jan. 6. The tri was the 2023 debut for Kent State.

Maryland started out hot, ending the first rotation, bars, on top. Senior Emma Silberman, sophomore Sierra Kondo and junior Elizabeth Debarberie had impressive performances, all posting 9.800 scores. 

However, after West Virginia’s phenomenal second rotation on beam and third rotation on floor, the Terps found themselves in second. They followed it up with two impressive outings in the third and fourth sets, the latter being vault. In the third set, four Terps finished with a score of 9.800 or better. Silberman and junior Alexa Rothenbuescher both posted a score of 9.825.

Four Terps scoring 9.800 or better on vault sealed the win for Maryland. It finished the night with a score of 195.425, slightly better than West Virginia’s 195.100 and Kent State’s 194.475. The win was Maryland’s first over West Virginia since 2015 and its first over Kent State since 2009. 

Graduate student Alexsis Rubio earned the highest score on the night with a phenomenal score of 9.875 on vault. Overall, the Terps finished with three top-five finishes in both bars and vault. 

Although an impressive team performance with notable contributions from multiple gymnasts, one Terp helped push the team over the top. Silberman posted a 9.800 on bars, a 9.750 on beam, a 9.825 on floor and a 9.775 on vault. The first three were all first place finishes amongst the Terps, and her total score of 39.150 also led the team. That total score placed second amongst all competing gymnasts. On Dec. 14, Silberman was named a member of the Big 10’s 2022-2023 gymnasts to watch list. Silberman certainly had an eye-opening start to this season.

Maryland will look to carry this success on Saturday, as it takes on Nebraska in Lincoln. In its only meeting last year, the Terps came out on top, with a 196.125-195.625 victory in College Park.