Feb. 28, 2009
Complete Results
IOWA CITY, Iowa -
Junior Brandi George tied for first place on balance beam and the Terrapins enjoyed solid team performances on vault and floor exercise, but it was not enough, as the No. 25 University of Maryland gymnastics squad fell to No. 21 Iowa, 194.875 to 192.175, in a dual meet Saturday evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Performing away from home for the fifth time in five weeks, the Terps could not keep pace with Big Ten power Iowa, a reigning NCAA Regionals qualifier, despite another consistent effort from their team co-captain. George shared the individual title on balance beam (9.825) and tied for third on floor exercise (9.800) en route to an all-around score of 39.050. It marked George's fifth all-around mark exceeding 39.000 this season.
Maryland (10-6) was at its best against the Hawkeyes (9-4) during its middle rotations, recording team overall scores of 48.700 on vault and 48.775 on floor exercise. Sophomore Abbey Adams and freshman Kyra Phillips both tallied marks of 9.800 on vault to lead the team.
The Terps' ensuing floor rotation saw George, Adams and junior Michele Brenner each post scores of 9.800 to tie for third place individually. That trio - along with Phillips, junior Talia Tossone and sophomore Kaitlin Joseph - helped Maryland claim its second-best team floor exercise score of the season in a road meet.
Adams finished tied for third on uneven bars (9.775) for the Terps. One week after tying her career-best mark on balance beam during a win over New Hampshire, Candice King equaled her season-high score on bars Saturday evening. The junior from Plano, Texas, notched a mark of 9.675 against the Hawkeyes.
The Terrapins, whose home victory over the Wildcats last week secured head coach Bob Nelligan his 28th season with a double-digit win total, return to the friendly confines of the Comcast Center Pavilion to close out the 2009 regular season with three consecutive home meets in a span of nine days.
Maryland takes on fellow East Atlantic Gymnastics League opponent North Carolina and Temple at 7 p.m. March 6. That competition precedes a rematch with league foe Pittsburgh on March 11 and a highly-anticipated regular season finale quad meet against Arizona, Penn State and Yale on March 14. All three home meets are free and open to the public.
