Maryland Gymnastics Ranked No. 25 In Coaches Poll

Jan. 7, 2003

The University of Maryland women's gymnastics team is ranked No. 25 in the annual preseason coaches' poll, released on Jan. 1. UCLA grabbed 20 first-place votes and the country's No. 1 ranking, while Georgia and Alabama were voted second and third, respectively. The Terps finished 2002 as the No. 29 team in the country.

The Terps bring back nine returners, including EAGL Rookie of the Year Leah Brill and NCAA Regional participant Sarah Hoenig. Senior Stacey Celenski and junior Katherine Schroeder will share the responsibilities of captain and lead the six new freshmen.

The talented freshmen class is headed by Rachel Martinez, the 2002 Junior Olympic National vault champion. Martinez earned All-American honors and was a national elite vault and floor champion. Others in her class include Cameron Logan, the 2002 Florida State floor champion and Rebecca Ruppert, a Level 10 vault titleholder.

Maryland held its intrasquad meet Dec. 13 at its new home facility, the small gym at the Comcast Center. Martinez posted a team high 9.7 on the vault, followed by Rachel Sibert who scored a 9.65. On the uneven parallel bars, Kristi Skowronski swung to a Terps-best score with a 9.70. Logan came in second on the bars with a 9.45. Hoenig earned a team-high 9.75 on the beam, followed by Logan who posted a 9.65. Martinez added a mix of personality and skill to score high on the floor exercise part of the intrasquad. The freshman scored a 9.70 for her routine. Freshman Alexandria Gatch scored the second highest score on the floor portion with a 9.250.

TERPS TO TRAVEL TO NASSAU, BAHAMAS FOR INVITATIONAL

The Terps will kick off 2003 in the exotic Bahamas, taking on Towson, Louisiana State and Illinois on Jan. 10 in the Bahamas Breeze Invitational.

Louisiana State enters the Bahamas Breeze Invitational with a preseason ranking of No. 9. LSU is led by All-American Lauren Companioni and freshman April Burkholder. Burkholder recorded three scores of 9.900 or better at LSU's intrasquad, finishing first with an overall score of 39.650. LSU is part of the Southeastern Conference.

Towson is coming off an injury ridden 2002, led by seniors Kristen Presutti, the 2002 EAGL Gymnast of the Year, and Jenn Baierlein. Baierlein has competed in the all-around spot in every meet during her three-year career and is currently fourth on Towson all-time leading scorers list. Towson is the only school other than Maryland to represent the East Atlantic Gymnastics League at the Bahamas Breeze Invitational.

Illinois will look strong behind sophomore Ashley Williams. Williams, a 2002 All-Big Ten Team selection, led her team at the 17th annual Mixed Pairs exhibition, with the highest individual score of the meet, a 9.85 on the uneven bars. A Big Ten competitor, the Fighting Illini return nine letterwinners in 2003.


PRESEASON RANKINGS
Rank	Team	                 Points	
1	UCLA	                 752
2	Georgia       	         712
3	Alabama    	         702
4	Utah	                 695
5	Nebraska                 645
6	Michigan 	         627
7	Stanford	         570
8	Florida	                 492
9	L.S.U.	                 486
10	Arizona	                 444
11	Minnesota	         407
12	Oklahoma                 388
13	Oregon State	         355
14	Iowa	                 336
15	Arizona State 	         333
16	Denver	                 332
17	Washington 	         268
18	Iowa State Univ.	 257
19	Penn State Univ.	 222
20	Missouri	         144
21	West Virginia Univ.	 138
22	Kentucky	          92
23	Brigham Young Univ. 	  89
24	North Carolina	          65
25	Maryland	          62

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