No. 25 Terp Gymnasts Travel to Quad Meet at Rutgers

Feb. 26, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After cracking the nation's top-25 list this week, the Maryland gymnastics team is poised to begin its final push towards postseason action. The Terps look to set higher and higher team scores, beginning on Saturday at Rutgers, where they will also take on Temple and Bridgeport. Following the 7 p.m. quad meet in Piscataway, N.J., the team will enjoy a string of three home meets before heading to the EAGL Championships.

TERP TALK:

Rising Rankings

The Terps move to No. 25 in this week's GymInfo poll, with an average team score of nearly 195 and a season high of 196.325 set against then-No. 9 Iowa. Consistently scoring well on the uneven bars this year, the Terps are 19th in the country on the event, tying with Kentucky.

The young team sits at No. 4 in the Southeast Region which includes powerhouses No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Florida. Maryland is also ranked second in the EAGL behind only No. 19 North Carolina.

Rachel Martinez is the No. 8 gymnast in the nation, boasting an all-around regional qualifying average of 39.370. She is also ranked No. 1 ion the all-around in the EAGL and the Southeast Region.

Also attaining an individual top-10 ranking is junior Mandy Pascual, at No. 8 on bars in the region and No. 2 in the conference. Senior Sarah Hoenig has performed well on the beam for the Terps this year and is currently ranked eighth in the region and second in the conference on the event.

Sophomore Ginny Scott is No. 6 in the region and No. 4 in the EAGL on floor, working her way deep into the lineup after sitting out last year due to injury. Freshman Rachel Colon is competing in three events for Maryland and is ranked eighth in the conference on the balance beam.

Hitting the Home Stretch

Following Saturday's meet, the Terps enjoy a three-meet home stand before competing in the EAGL Championships on March 20.

First is a matchup with George Washington on March 3. The Colonials will try to prevent a Maryland season sweep, as the Terps beat George Washington, 195.400-192.975, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11.

The second installment of the three home meets is a contest with Stanford,who is currently No. 9 in the GymInfo rankings. The Terps will hope to pull off an upset and even the all-time record, which stands at 0-1 in the Cardinal's favor.

A quad meet on March 12 marks "Senior Night" for the Terps, where they will honor co-captains Hoenig and Rachel Sibert, as well as 2003 co-captain Katherine Schroeder. Maryland hosts Air Force, along with EAGL foes NC State and Pittsburgh at the 7 p.m. meet.

A Clash of Powers

The Terps' last competition was a tough tri-meet against No. 13 Michigan and then-No. 23 West Virginia on Feb. 22. Maryland finished third with a score of 194.950, with the host Mountaineers taking the meet, posting a 196.375.

Highlighting the meet for the Terps was Martinez, who set a new career high on the uneven bars and tied the school record with a 9.925. She tied for first on the event with Michigan's Elise Ray, a former Olympian. Also scoring well for Maryland was Pascual, co-owner of the bars record. She nailed a new dismount to post a 9.825.

The Terps lit up the meet on the floor exercise, combining for a 49.300 that marked the sixth-best floor score in team history. Hoenig notched a 9.850 and Scott posted her fourth 9.9 of the year on the event to tie for fifth. Martinez shared the four-way title on the event with a 9.925.

With two starting vaulters out due to injury, new Terps stepped up and produced solid scores. Freshmen Colon and Marisa St. Louis earned scores of 9.65, and sophomore Rebecca Ruppert chimed in with a 9.70. Leading the way on the event for Maryland was Hoenig with a 9.80.

Although forced to count one fall on the beam, the Terps received good marks on the apparatus from Colon and junior Leah Brill, who each scored a 9.775. Martinez's 9.850 was good enough to tie for fourth overall.

Martinez finished third all-around with a score of 39.375, behind West Virginia's Jenae Cox, who set a career-high 39.550 to place second. The all-around champion of the meet was Ray with a 39.750, who won or shared titles in every event for Michigan.

MEET THE OPPONENTS:

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers is led by head coach Chrystal Chollot-Norton, in her 16th year with the program. The Scarlet Knights are currently 10-4, and host their fourth home meet of the season at Livingston Recreation Center on Saturday.

Most recently, Rutgers competed in a quad meet at North Carolina on Feb. 22, where it took second with a team score of 194.025, losing to the Tar Heels but beating Towson and William & Mary.

The Scarlet Knights were led by senior Lisa Abrams who scored a team-best 9.850 on beam to tie for eighth place at North Carolina last week. Also performing well was junior Nicole Bradder who scored a 9.875 on floor, tying for ninth.

Rutgers was able to put up a solid showing despite having to shift several lineups due to injuries. Coming through for the team were Stephanie Zick and Sveta Shterenberg, who took third and fourth on bars with scores of 9.825 and 9.80, respectively.

The Terps are 20-4 all-time versus Rutgers, and competed against the Scarlet Knights twice last year, most recently at the 2003 EAGL Championships. Maryland won both contests, outscoring Rutgers at the conference meet 195.775-193.025.

Temple Owls

Head coach Ken Anderson, in his 17th season, directs the 2004 Temple Owls. The team is 10-9 on the year and last competed on Feb. 21 where it finished last in a quad meet against Auburn, New Hampshire and Yale.

The Owls combined for a 191.225, led by junior Alexis Zafferes, who posted a 9.725 on vault to place ninth. Earning 10th on beam was senior Paige Ozaroski with a 9.725.

The Owl rookies stepped up at the meet, as freshmen Jillian Kornett and Sarah Liebowitz each posted personal-best scores: Kornett on beam with a 9.450 and Leibowitz on bars with a 9.725.

Temple is the only team to have already competed against each of the teams in Saturday's meet, beating Bridgeport and Rutgers and losing to Maryland earlier in the season.

Maryland leads the all-time series with Temple 26-12, including this season's Jan. 31 quad meet, where the host Terps routed the Owls, 195.750-189.30.

Bridgeport Purple Knights

Head coach Shawn Simpson is in his first season as head coach of Bridgeport after serving as an assistant coach last year, and has compiled a record of 4-7.

The Purple Knights last competed on Feb. 22 in a tri-meet versus Springfield and Southern Connecticut at Springfield, where they placed third with a score of 185.675.

Highlighting the meet for Bridgeport was senior Stephanie Pink, who took first on vault, leading the Purple Knights to a meet-best 46.575. Freshman Joell Koller finished fourth on the event with a 9.350.

Bridgeport also led the way on the uneven bars, compiling a 47.00. Placing for Bridgeport on the bars were Pink and junior Kate Warner, who finished second and third with scores of 9.575 and 9.525 each, respectively.

The Purple Knights will be looking to avenge a loss to Temple on Jan. 13, where they were defeated, 186.925-183.200.

Bridgeport last competed against Maryland in 1996 where the Terps prevailed, 186.650-183.450, and the team has an all-time record of 1-5 against the Terrapins.

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