April 8, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - From the very beginning of the 2004 season, the University of Maryland gymnastics team had its sight set on greatness. The Terps aimed to make their mark on program history, on the conference and the national scene. By the end of the season, they had accomplished these goals due to a successful combination of young talent and veteran experience.

The Terps, ranked No. 29 in the preseason GymInfo poll, began the year battling three higher-ranked opponents in four meets. Although the competitions resulted in losses for the Terps, the team's high scores caused them to climb up to No. 27 by the end of January. The end of January also marked the team's first home meet, where the Terps were finally able to add the season's first wins to their record.

Maryland opened its season at No. 23 Ohio State with EAGL rival Pittsburgh on Jan. 10, and combined to score a 192.825-the second-best opening total in school history. Headlining the meet was sophomore Rachel Martinez, who took the all-around title and tied for first on the floor exercise. She also placed second on the bars behind junior Mandy Pascual, who won the event with a score of 9.850. Martinez was honored with EAGL Gymnast of the Week following the meet, an honor she would go on to receive two more times in 2004.

In a loss at No. 24 Denver on Jan. 17, the Terps improved to score the best-ever team total for the second meet of a season, a 194.650, which beat their score from the first meet by nearly two points. The floor was the best event of the evening, with three gymnasts scoring a 9.825 or better, including Martinez, senior Sarah Hoenig and redshirt-freshman Ginny Scott. Martinez's 9.850 tied her for second on the event. Other top-three finishes included Pascual tying for second on bars, sophomore Alex Gatch placing second on beam and Martinez tying for second all-around.

The Terps dropped to 0-4 after visiting EAGL rival No. 25 North Carolina, where they were narrowly edged out, 194.375-194.900. One Terp to walk away with an event title was Hoenig, who placed first on beam and tied her career-high with a 9.925. Gatch followed close behind, notching a 9.825 to tie for third. Martinez posted a 9.850 on the vault to tie for second, while tied for second on bars was Pascual, who scored her third 9.850 of the season on her specialty event.

Determined to achieve a win, the Terps dominated their first home meet of the year on Jan. 31-a quad meet against Temple, James Madison and Towson. Scoring a 195.750, the Terps finished in front of EAGL rival Towson in second (194.275), Temple in third (189.300) and James Madison in fourth (188.950). The young Maryland squad led by team score in all four events, and combined for the fifth-best vault score in program history.

Impressive individual efforts paved the way at the quad meet to bring the Terps to 3-4 on the year. Martinez won her second all-around title of the season and tied for third on bars with redshirt-freshman Rachel Colon. Senior Rachel Sibert scored a career-high 9.90 on vault, winning the event, and Hoenig followed in second place. Hoenig also placed first on beam and second on floor, earning herself EAGL Specialist of the Week honors for her outstanding three-event performance. Scott took her first event title of the year, winning floor with a 9.90, and Pascual finished second on bars. Also making her mark was sophomore Cameron Logan, who placed second on beam with a 9.80.

The Terps next took on the ninth annual Governor's Cup on Feb. 7, where they placed second behind North Carolina and in front of NC State and host Towson. The squad again excelled on the floor, totaling a meet-best 49.100, led by Martinez's 9.90 that was good enough to tie her for second. Martinez placed first on vault, followed by sophomore Rebecca Ruppert, who hit a then-season high 9.80. Totaling another meet-high score on the bars, the Terps were paced by Martinez's 9.850 and aided by Pascual and sophomore Kristi Skowronski, who each scored a 9.800. In the all-around, Martinez tied for first place with UNC's Olivia Trusty, scoring a 39.500 that was the fifth-best all-around mark in school history.

On Feb. 11, the Terps traveled to nearby George Washington and trounced the Colonials, 195.400-192.975. A Terp placed first on every event, highlighted by Martinez's title on the vault where she scored a school-record 9.950. She also took her third-straight all-around win with a 39.500 and tied Hoenig for first on beam with a 9.90. Notching their second event titles of the year were Pascual and Scott, who placed first on bars and floor, respectively. The Terps swept the top three spots on bars and beam, with Martinez in second and Skowronski in third on bars, and Colon finishing third on beam with a 9.850. At this point, the young squad rose to 6-5 but was about to face its biggest challenge yet in No. 9 Iowa.

The tough competition brought out the best in the young Terps, who hosted the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes on Valentine's Day. The Terps combined for what was then a season-best score of 196.325 that marked the fourth-best team total in school history. Despite losing the meet by less than one point, the squad achieved many new heights, including a new school record on vault with a 49.025 and the fourth-best floor score in team history-a 49.350. Additionally, all six floor competitors notched a 9.800 or higher, led by Martinez's 9.90 tied her for second. The sophomore sensation also placed second all-around, third on vault and tied for fourth on bars and beam, culminating in her second EAGL Gymnast of the Week award. Also stepping up her performance was Hoenig, who set personal-bests of 9.875 on vault and floor.

Following the Iowa meet, the Terps stumbled slightly, losing to No. 23 West Virginia and No. 13 Michigan on the road Feb. 22. The host Mountaineers pulled an upset over the Wolverines and won the meet with a 196.375. The Terps were once again led by Martinez, who tied for first-place finishes on floor and bars. Her bars score of 9.925 tied the school record held by Pascual, who turned in a 9.825 at the tri-meet. Scott, in the No. 5 position in the floor lineup for the first time, tallied her fourth 9.90 of the season, tying for fifth place. Despite the losses, Maryland's team score was good enough to propel them to No. 25, their highest ranking of the year.

The Terps next competed in a quad meet at Rutgers on Feb. 28, placing second behind Rutgers but beating out Temple and Bridgeport. Although suffering uncharacteristic falls from several key performers, the team saw a breakout performance by freshman Ashley LeVine. She delivered a 9.80 beam routine her first time in the lineup, coming to the squad's aid when three gymnasts were not able to stay on the beam. Martinez dominated the competition, winning titles on vault, bars, floor and all-around. Taking first on beam was Hoenig with her fourth 9.90 of the season.

At 8-9 on the season, the Terps looked to end their season strong with a three-meet homestand in the friendly confines of Comcast Center Gymnasium. First up was a March 3 meet against the George Washington Colonials, who were looking to avenge their earlier loss to the Terps. However, the Terps prevailed, 195.800-195.350, thanks to an outstanding performance by Martinez, who finished first on vault, bars, floor and all-around and placed second on beam. The Terps swept the top three spots on bars, beam and floor, and led the meet in all four events. They also combined for a 49.525 on floor, which marked the second-best total all-time. Outstanding individual achievements included Hoenig taking her sixth beam title of the year and Scott setting a new personal-best floor score of 9.925.

The Terps again rose to the occasion against No. 5 Stanford on March 6, setting a new school-record team score of 197.375 in a narrow loss to the Cardinal. The meet marked the Terps' best performance of the season, as they set another school record on vault and tied the school bars record. Martinez turned in a season-high 39.600 all-around score, tying for first, and garnered her third conference Gymnast of the Week award. She also tied for first on floor with a 9.95, while Pascual placed first on bars with a school-record tying 9.925 and Hoenig tied for first on beam. Many gymnasts set personal-best scores against Stanford, including sophomore Rebecca Ruppert's 9.850 vault, Brill's 9.90 bar routine, and freshman Marisa St. Louis's 9.875 floor routine. Additionally, Gatch, Colon and Martinez earned career-high 9.90's on beam, tying for third place.

March 12 marked "Senior Night" for the Terrapins, who hosted Air Force, NC State and Pittsburgh in their final home meet of the season. The Terps placed third to EAGL rivals NC State and Pittsburgh with a score of 195.350, but enjoyed an outstanding performance from Hoenig in her last home meet as a Terp. She set a new career-high score of 9.95 on the beam, tying the school record and winning her eighth beam title of the season. She also tied her career-high on vault with a 9.875, tying her for third on vault with Martinez. Martinez set a season-high 9.925 on beam, coming in second behind Hoenig. Also performing well was Scott, who took second place on floor with her third consecutive 9.925, and Pascual, who tied for third on bars. The meet served as the final-tune up for the March 20 EAGL Championships, where the Terps looked for a solid score that would assure them an NCAA Regionals berth.

At the conference championships in Pittsburgh, Pa., Martinez, the 2003 EAGL all-around champion, came just 0.025 away from repeating that feat. Instead, she tied for second all-around with a 39.550 and led the team to a fifth-place finish. The Terps were able to total a 196.025 despite having to count one fall in the meet, and solidified their spot at the NCAA Regional Championships. The Terps' bars score tied NC State for the best at the meet, while their beam total was the highest of the night. Martinez scored the second-best vault mark of the evening, a 9.925 that put her tied for fourth, and posted her third 9.95 of the season on floor, tying for second place. Sophomore Kristi Skowronski notched a season-high 9.9 on the bars, tying for second overall.

Moving on to the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, the Terps were dreaming of their first NCAA Championships berth. Unfortunately, No. 1 UCLA, the defending national champion, and No. 13 Nebraska finished first and second, leaving the four EAGL teams behind. The No. 31 Terps upset No. 22 host NC State to finish fifth overall, despite having to count two falls on bars. The young squad performed well on beam, scoring a 49.300 that was second to only UCLA. Gatch tied for third on beam with a 9.90 behind a two-way tie for first place, and Martinez tied for second on floor with the same score.

Maryland ended its season ranked No. 28 with high conference honors, as at least one Terp made it onto the all-conference team in each event and 12 gymnasts received conference academic awards. Martinez was a unanimous selection for first team All-EAGL in the all-around, also receiving first-team honors on bars, floor and vault, and second-team honors on beam. Hoenig was awarded first team All-EAGL beam for the third time and was named to second team on floor and vault. Also receiving all-conference honors were Pascual and Scott. Pascual was named first team on bars and Scott received second team All-EAGL floor honors.

Although the Terps fell short of their goal of reaching the NCAA Championships, one could argue they are the closest they've ever been. Maryland's proven ability to hang tough with national top-10 teams is a testament to its rise into the national scene. The Terps lose only three seniors next season, and with a slew of talented underclassmen and incoming freshmen, the team will be once again poised to make its mark on the school, the EAGL and beyond.