Jan. 16, 2007
The Maryland gymnastics team travels to the University of Pittsburgh this Friday to compete in a quad-meet. The Terrapins will face the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference and two East Atlantic Gymnastics League members, the Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia Mountaineers. The meet begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.
"Our aim is to compete against the highest ranked teams. This will be a tough challenge for our team," said head coach Bob Nelligan of the upcoming meet. "Both Michigan State and West Virginia scored close to a 195.00 in their season-openers and although Pittsburgh has not competed yet, they will be tough at home. At our home opener last Friday, our young team showed their ability to compete and I believe they will continue to develop as the season progresses. We look forward to this competition and testing our abilities with some of the nations best teams."
The Terps (2-0) won their season opener at home in the Comcast Center Pavilion on January 12th against the Penn Quakers and the Towson Tigers with a score of 191.750. Towson placed second with a 189.225 and Penn was third (181.825). Senior Angela Ferg tied for first on the vault (9.825) with Towson's Christina Ghani. Freshman Allison Dama placed second on bars (9.825) and senior Rachel Colon finished third on the event (9.800). On the balance beam and floor exercise, Terp gymnasts swept the top three places. With a 9.725, Morgan Fishbein won floor and Brandi George earned first place on the beam with a score of 9.650. Ghani won the all-around with a 38.375.
This Friday's meet is their first away meet of the season as well as the first time they compete against EAGL members.
~Notes on the Competition~
University of Pittsburgh (0-0)
Friday's meet will be Pittsburgh's season opener and the only time Maryland will face the Panthers before the 2007 EAGL Championship. This is Debbie Yohman's 21st season as head coach of the Panthers.
West Virginia (1-1)
The Mountaineers opened their season with a tri-meet at Michigan on Jan. 12 by finishing second with a team total of 194.800. Two of their gymnasts earned weekly EAGL honors due to their performances at Michigan. Senior Janae won the all-around with a 39.250 and was named Gymnast of the Week. Senior Tynisha Dennis score a 9.925 to win floor and earned the title of Specialist of the Week. Following this Friday's meet Maryland will see the Mountaineers in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, Jan. 26th. Head coach Linda Burdette is in her 33rd season with the Mountaineer gymnastics program.
Michigan State (0-1)
Michigan State opened its season by hosting Arizona. The Spartans fell to the Wildcats with a score of 194.925. Senior Kristen Coleman and freshman Nicole Curler tied for first in the all-around; they both posted a 39.400 in their home-opener. Head coach Kathie Klages is entering her 16th season with the Spartans. This is the only time this season that Maryland will compete against Michigan State.
History with the Competition
• The Terps have competed with Panthers 31 times in their history, with a winning record of (16-15).
• Maryland has a 15-30-1 record with West Virginia.
• The Terrapins have fallen to the Spartans three times in the past.
