Jan. 20, 2007
Rotation 1
Maryland began on balance beam earning their highest event total of 48.150; all of the Terps have difficult routines with 10.0 start values. After lead-off Gretchen Kittelberger fell on her back handspring-back handspring layout-step series, the team rallied and the next four gymnasts solidly performed their routines. Freshman Michele Brenner hit her routine (9.675) of a straddle ¾ jump; punch front; switch leap-switch side leap; back handspring lay-out step; RO double full dismount. Freshman Talia Tossone scored a 9.750 with a punch front; back handspring layout step-out; front aerial; switch leap to one-arm back handspring; Rudi dismount. After falling last week in the season-opener, co-captains Angela Ferg and Rachel Colon came back to hit their routines and scored 9.75 and 9.675. Colon's routine included a switch side leap; back handspring-back handspring - layout-step series; pike jump, straddle jump, straddle jump; RO double full. Ferg confidently completed her front tuck mount; back handspring layout- stepout layout step-out; switch leap straddle jump series; straddle jump ¾.Brandi George had a disappointing fall on her back handspring layout step-out series. However, the rest of her routine was very solid and managed a 9.30. She nailed her two skills: the George I (gainer front aerial) and the George II (gainer side aerial). She stuck her E-level dismount, a double tuck. Had she not fallen and received a .5 deduction, she would have won the event.
Rotation 2
The Terps had a rough time on the floor. The first competitor Ferg scored a 9.45, although her score did not reflect her clean routine. She completed an entertaining routine to a Justin Timberlake medley with a double tuck mount; front full punch front; front layout front layout dismount. The next three competitors, Candice King, Kittelberger and Brenner all had at least one fall on a tumbling pass. Morgan Fishbein debuted a new mount, two and half twist to a punch front. Her second pass, whip half to a front full, was solid. A low landing and step forward on her double tuck dismount costed her to only score 9.45. George rebounded from her beam fall and executed a graceful routine of a double pike mount; front full to front pike; double tuck dismount. She received the Terps' highest floor score, 9.675.
Rotation 3
On vault, injuries did not allow the team to put up the six 10.0 start value vaults that they are capable of. King led off with a layout Yurchenko (one step) and scored a 9.55. Lindsey Bonomo and Margaux Meeks both sat down their vaults. Bonomo vaulted a handspring front tuck and Meeks vaulted a tucked Arabian Yurchenko. The last two competitors, George and Ferg, turned in a pair of solid full-twisting Yurchenko vaults, scoring 9.75 and 9.85. Just as last week, Ferg tied for first place on the event. Ferg's 9.850 is the highest score a Terp has received on any event thus far in the season.
Rotation 4
In the final rotation, Maryland did not escape falls and turned in a 47.250 on the uneven bars. After a clean routine of a higgins to straddle back to handstand and uprise handstand to giant full, Meeks fell on her double tuck dismount. For the second week in a row, King hit her foot on her Tkatchev. After falling twice last week, George brought in the Terps' second highest score, a 9.625. Her skills included a back stalder to back stalder with a full turn to straddle back. Colon swung uprise high to giant half to Geinger to uprise half for a 9.550. Freshman Allison Dama anchored the event with a 9.750, the team's highest bars score for the second week in a row. She swung a giant full, Tkatchev, straddle back to handstand, toe-shoot to high bar; and a full twisting double tuck dismount.
Maryland's team total was almost two point and half point lower than last week's 191.750. Over 50% of the routines came from freshman; 14 of the 25 routines completed came from this class. Maryland wasn't the only team to encounter difficulties on the road; both West Virginia and Michigan State counted fall/routines with large errors and earned team totals that were over a point less than their season home-openers. An explosive and powerful West Virginia won vault and floor with event total of 48.825 and 48.325; Michigan took uneven bars (48.325) and balance beam (48.300). West Virginia's Janae Cox won the all-around with a score of 38.900. Maryland's only all-arounder, Brandi George, placed fifth with a 38.350.
The Terps must recover quickly as they travel again next Friday to Lexington, Ky. for a quad meet against two East Atlantic Gymnastics League member, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and the West Virginia Moutaineers and host University of Kentucky Wildcats of the SEC.
