No. 25 Maryland Gymnastics To Battle EAGL Foes

Jan. 13, 2003

The No. 25-ranked Maryland gymnastics team travels to Raleigh, N.C., on Jan. 17 to face conference rivals NC State and Rutgers as well as Big Ten opponent Ohio State.

The Terps are 2-1 on the season and will be the only nationally ranked school at the meet. All four participants have dropped early contests in 2003.

NC State fell in its first meet of the season to Central Michigan 193.825-192.300. The Wolfpack return strong in 2003 with an upperclassman class comprised of 10 returners. Senior Marlyn Madey placed first on the bars in the season opener, with her score of 9.825. Madey, who was sidelined her first two seasons due to a foot injury, is back in top form and will be joined by junior Cheryl Potacco who also brought NC State a first place finish, winning on vault with a 9.725. Junior transfer Leah Sabo also will be a top gymnast for NC State, as she debuted with a second place finish in the all-around.

Rutgers returns in 2003 with a bulk of its competitive roster, anchored by senior tri-captain Kristen Marino, a 2002 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship alternate, and juniors Lisa Abrams and Caitlin Wight. The Scarlet Knights opened their season with a second-place finish (190.850) at the quad meet held at the University of New Hampshire. Abrams and Wight ended the day tied for third on the beam with a score of 9.675. The Scarlet Knights will participate in the George Washington Invitational on Jan. 15 before traveling to NC State.

Big Ten contender Ohio State will look to bounce back in 2003 from a 3-15 season. Seniors Sheri Greig, a Big Ten selection in 2002, Sarah Spring, Stephanie Marshall and Rickee Wirtzberger will look to lead the Buckeyes in the spring. The Buckeyes dropped their opener against No. 6 Michigan, 196.100-192.175. Freshman Shelby Warner placed third on the floor with a 9.875 against Michigan and finished fourth in the all-around with a score of 38.650.

SQUAD RETURNS HOME FROM NASSAU, BAHAMAS

The Terps placed second at the Bahamas Breeze Invitational, held Jan. 10. Ninth-ranked Louisiana State won the meet with a team score of 194.600, followed by Maryland, which finished with a 190.450. The Towson Tigers came in third with a 190.225, while Illinois finished fourth with a 190.125.

Maryland's solid performance was highlighted by freshman Cameron Logan's floor routine. Logan came in second on the floor with a 9.850, closely behind Towson's Kristen Presutti (9.875).

Junior Rachel Sibert and the freshmen trio of Kristi Skowronski, Alex Gatch and Rachel Martinez posted other notable scores.Sibert earned a team-high 9.750 on the vault, while Skowronski earned a team-high 9.650 on the uneven bars. Gatch and Martinez led the way for the Terps on the beam, scoring 9.700 and a 9.725, respectively.

LSU's Jade Jenkins won the all-around as well the vault competition. Lindsay Beddow of LSU won the uneven bars and her teammate April Burkholder captured first place on the beam.

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