With three weeks remaining before the conference championships, the Terrapin gymnastics team made a statement during Saturday's tri-meet at Penn State: It's the team to beat in the EAGL.
Competing in front of 1,141 blue-clad fans inside Penn State's Rec Hall, the No. 31 Terps bested rival NC State, 195.125-194.625, to stay undefeated in conference play this season.
No. 11 Penn State, which beat the Terps (13-5, 5-0 EAGL) at a Comcast Center tri-meet Feb. 18, won the event with a season-high score of 197.075.
"At the beginning of the season, we created a list of goals. And one of those was to go undefeated in EAGL," coach Brett Nelligan said yesterday. "It feels really good knowing that we're still on track to accomplishing that goal."
Coming off a two-meet homestand, the Terps opened with a strong showing on floor. Led by senior Abigail Adams' 9.875, they earned four scores of 9.675 or better to grab a 48.625-48.600 advantage over the Wolfpack.
In the second rotation, the Terps earned a season-high score of 48.900 on vault. Starting with Jenn Iovino's 9.725, the team posted six straight scores of 9.7 or better.
"Vault wasn't our strongest event at the start of the season, but I think it's become one of our best," said freshman Katy Dodds, whose 9.850 vault led the Terps. "It's been really exciting to see how much we've been able to improve on it in such a short period of time."
The Terps continued their consistent play on uneven bars, another event they've come to master in recent weeks. Led by two scores of 9.800 from Adams and senior Kaitlin Joseph, the squad ended its third rotation leading NC State by six-tenths of a point.
Finishing on balance beam, the Terps captured their third straight team score of 195 or better — a feat they hadn't accomplished since 2004. Adams again paced the squad with a team-high 9.875, and the Terps posted an event score of 48.725.
"We knew that we had to hit five clean routines on beam if we were going to beat NC State," Nelligan said. "And I thought our girls did an amazing job of staying cool under pressure and finishing things up for the win."
But on a night when the Nittany Lions could seem to do no wrong, an upset wasn't in store for the Terps.
Penn State excelled from the outset, posting 17 routines of 9.8 or better to earn their second win over the Terps in three weeks.
"Penn State's a really good team, and they showed that on Saturday," Dodds said. "But I think we can be just as good."
Despite the split, the Terps will enter Friday's conference dual meet at George Washington with plenty at stake.
If they can beat the Colonials twice this week — they will also host George Washington for a tri-meet Sunday — the Terps will finish the regular season undefeated in conference play for the first time in their 15-year history in the EAGL.
"If we're able to go undefeated [in conference], I think that would say a lot about the character of this team," Nelligan said. "It'd show that we're fighters, that we're tough."
letourneau@umdbk.com
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