Sept. 26, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland women's gymnastics team has announced its 2008 schedule. The Terps' schedule begins with a home meet against Ohio State on January 11, the first of four meets hosted in the Comcast Center Pavilion.
A week later, the team will host West Virginia. After starting the season with two home meets, the Terps hit the road for six of the next seven meets. On January 27, Maryland travels to Texas Women's University for a quad meet joined by Denver and USAF.
Maryland next travels to Towson to compete in the 13th annual Governor's Cup on February 1, which features schools from both Maryland and North Carolina. The Terps, Towson, North Carolina and NC State will all compete in the meet. The State of North Carolina has a 7-5 advantage in the series.
The Terps travel to Michigan State on February 9 before returning home on February 15 to host local rival George Washington in the "pink meet". The meet is dedicated to raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research. All fans are encouraged to wear pink.
The Terps go back on the road to New Hampshire on February 24, followed by a quad meet at the University of North Carolina on March 1 with William and Mary and the University of New Hampshire. On March 9, Maryland travels to George Washington for a quad meet with West Virginia and Kent State.
Maryland's final home meet will be a quad meet with Michigan, Pitt and Temple. March 15 will also be alumni and senior recognition night. The regular season ends at Penn State in a quad meet on March 29 with Nebraska and Rutgers.
"The 2007-08 schedule is one of our toughest yet", noted head coach Bob Nelligan. "Eight of our opponents are perennial top 20 ranked with Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State regularly in the top 10. The strength of our schedule is a direct result of a more rigorous recruiting effort. Even with a young team, I am confident that we can match more favorably than any time in the past few years. Youth and injuries will be our biggest obstacles, but I am confident the student-athletes are up to the challenge."
Coach Nelligan enters his 30th season as the head coach of the Terps.
"The commitment that coach Nelligan has put into this program for the last 30 years is an inspiration and an example of the level of commitment we strive for every day as his athletes", said senior captain Lindsey Bonomo. "We are excited for the upcoming season and are looking forward to competing against some of the top teams in the country."
Maryland will travel to the EAGL Championships at West Virginia on March 29th. Following the EAGL Championships, the Terps look to compete at one of the six NCAA Regional Championship sites on April 12 and then advance to the NCAA Championships at Georgia on April 24-26.
