Hey Everyone!

Wow! Where has the time gone this year? This past weekend we were at Penn State for the NCAA Regional Championships. We had a great week of practice leading up to the meet. Everyone was so excited to finally be at Regionals! The meet started off a bit shaky on bars, but we were able to pull it all together and finish off the meet like the great team that we are. The highlight of the entire meet was that every senior hit every routine they performed. The seniors finished on a great meet and the entire team was thrilled to be part of this moment.

The trip home included some excitement as our bus had some engine problems and we were stuck sitting in the parking lot at a gas station for a few hours. Patrick, our amazing bus driver, was able to get us a new bus and back on the road on our way home as fast as he could! All of the girls and coaches made the best out of the situation and we actually had a lot of fun!

The weather in Maryland is finally warm and beautiful. Everyone is excited for summer, and this weather is just a taste of what is to come. With the end of the semester approaching quickly everyone is extremely busy with schoolwork and getting ready for finals! We are definitely going to enjoy our week off of practice this week and use it to our advantage with school.

Thanks for reading!
Briana Melander

April 6, 2010

Hey Terps Fans!

Can you believe that it is already April! I know I can't! We are so excited to be given the opportunity to compete in NCAA Regionals. This week in the gym was full of hard and focused training, and I must say I have never seen this team look so good in practice! On Friday, the coaches decided to make practice fun but challenging at the same time. The assignments consisted of seeing how many sticks we could have and having as little deduction in the skills being done as possible! We are pumped and determined to shine and "do work" at Regional's, and most importantly be ourselves and show people the team we truly are!

This weekend was Easter and was the first weekend we have had off since January. It was a perfect weekend because the weather was beautiful and everyone had many fun plans. A few of the girls and coaches went home to see their families. The ones that did not travel home either went to teammates' houses that live nearby or to Brett's house for an Easter cookout. Brett cooked some phenomenal chicken and Talia Tossone brought along some of her tasty potato salad! The Cherry Blossom Festival is also going on in Washington DC, and since we are located so close some of the girls went and enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful cherry blossoms!

We head into another focused week of training in preparation for Regionals this weekend! This team is excited and I know our full heart will be in this competition! Keep an eye out to see how we do! Thanks for reading!

GO TERPS!
Kyra Phillips

March 30, 2010

Hey Everyone!

This past week has been a very busy week! After spring break, we returned to classes on Monday. We also got back in the gym after our great performance at senior night to prepare for EAGL championships.

On Thursday we left for New Hampshire. Traveling is one of my favorite parts of season and with our team there is never a dull moment! Whether we are playing Bananagrams or reading magazines together we always seem to be having fun! Airports are especially exciting because I love flying!

The annual EAGL banquet was held on Friday and it was a nice way to gather as a conference the night before our meet. We were very proud to have five girls on our team named to All-EAGL first teams and three on second teams. In addition, freshman Kesley Cofsky won EAGL Rookie of the Year and assistant coach Vicki Chliszczyk was named the Assistant Coach of the Year! It was great to be recognized with these awards after all of the hard work our team has put in this year. There was also a great inspirational presentation about sports psychology that got as all excited for the meet!

We competed on Saturday and while we did not have a great performance overall, there were some highlights. After three shaky events, we were able to pull it together for beam and we hit five out of six beautiful routines. Abigail Adams had a great meet overall and tied for first in the all-around! Other highlights included Ally Krikorian and Kesley Cofsky's 9.8s on vault, Kaitlin Joseph's 9.85 on bars, and Adams' 9.825 on beam as well as 9.8 on floor. Even though we counted a couple of falls, we were still able to finish with a team score of 194.20. In addition we had numerous individuals make both first and second team All-Tournament honors.

We were all a little disappointed with our performance but we will take this experience and use it to fuel our workouts for the next couple of weeks as we prepare for Regionals. In a little less than two weeks we will be heading to Penn State for Regional Championships! We are all excited and ready to show everyone what the Terps can do!

Thanks for reading and hope you will be able to follow along with us as we prepare and compete as Regionals!

Go Terps!

Becca Pang

March 19, 2010

Hey Terps Fans!

This past week has been full of energy and excitement as we head into the end of our season. After our incredible performance on the road at Penn State we are determined and driven to show who we are as a team and compete with our hearts. The meet at UPenn showed incredible character. Due to slight injury setbacks by both Abigail Adams and myself we used some new routines. Michelle Brenner did an amazing beam routine and carried it to the floor with an exciting performance there as well. Candace King showed her new Yurchenko full on vault and stuck her landing beautifully. This season has been about finishing till the end and never giving up until it's over. On bars, we did just that. We put up a season high score with a great career high lead off routine from Kelsey McDermid and career high score's of a 9.85 from Kaitlin Joseph and a 9.825 from Kesley Cofsky.

On Tuesday night of spring break, we competed at home against UNC and George Washington University. This was our meet that was re-scheduled due to the incredible snow storm we had back in February. We had to push our way through some obstacles throughout the meet, but were able to finish strong and healthy. We started on vault where Abigail Adams did a great vault to earn a 9.9. Bars were not our best, but we took our energy to beam and took control of our destiny from there. With a great lead off routine from Becca Pang, and solid performances from Talia Tossone and Briana Melander, we were able to score our second highest beam score of the year; and from there we took our excitement to floor. We finished strong and confident with great performances from our freshman, Kesley Cofsky and Ally Krikorian. We competed with our hearts and gave it everything we had. It doesn't matter who wins and losses, as long as you know at the end of the day that you did your best; and we did!

We have grown so much as a team this season and we can truly handle anything that comes our way. We have come face to face with some of the most difficult situations this year both personally and athletically. These hard times have made us stronger, better people and have taught us the importance of being a team and becoming a family. We are super excited for senior night this Saturday at home as we take on Auburn, George Washington University and Yale. This is our last home meet with our senior class and we have dedicated the meet to them. They are the heart and soul to our team and will be missed greatly. Everything we do Saturday, we do it for them! Hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading!!

Jennifer Iovino

March 6, 2010

Hey Terps fans!

Well, this past week has been quite the tester for the team's passion, dedication, and determination. I could not be more proud to be a Terp!

The meet at UNH truly showed this team's incredible character, as we refused to settle for excuses, even though we had many opportunities to do just that. Due to snow and wind, our flight to New Hampshire was pushed back a day. The next day began early for the Terps, as we met at 5:30 a.m. to head off to the airport. With last waves to Patrick, our bus driver, we boarded our flight. After a smooth landing, we piled into vans and headed off to the hotel. With only an hour to spare, we did what was necessary to be ready to compete.

As we walked into the gym, it no longer mattered that we were tired from traveling, we had a job to do. On bars we started big, with beautiful routines from both Kesley Cofsky and Candice King. We took our excitement with us onto vault, and exploded with power. Adrenalin flowing, the Terps took control on floor. Michele Brenner had an outstanding routine, as well as Abigail Adams. Heading off to beam, the team was ready to fight for every tenth. Each girl refused to give the judges anything, and the passion showed as we had big scores from both Talia Tossone and Brandi George. Overall, the team's unity drove us through to the very end, and we ended the meet with a great score of a 194.350.

As a team we know we can handle anything, and we are prepared for this weekend's meet against Penn State, Michigan, and Bridgeport at Penn State. We can't wait to get out there and show what we can do.

Thanks for reading! And GO TERPS! :)

Ally Krikorian

Feb. 22, 2010

Hey Terp fans,

What an exciting week it has been. We have been working extremely hard in and out of the gym. School has started to pick up again since our wonderful blizzard breaks. We had the opportunity to help teach a balance and motion class to a group of first graders visiting from a local elementary school. The children were extremely bright and had fun learning and demonstrating what balance and motion are. It was a lot of fun and the talk of the team Friday at practice.

In the gym this week we have been working really hard on consistency, landing and finishing. We knew our hard work would pay off and were ready and pumped up for out meet against William and Mary, and EAGL opponents GW and Pitt. I knew after this week's practice and the fire and fight I saw in each and every one of the girls that this was the week we would put it all together.

What an exciting meet it was for the TERPS. We were able to put it all together, hit 24 and 24 and finish strong. I was extremely impressed at how we stuck with it and didn't let anything get in our way. We have had some trouble in the past finishing, but this week we finished strong. We started the meet off on vault, and I must say our vault line up is no joke. They have consistently hit and hit big and it was no different this time out. We took that momentum with us to bars and fought hard. We have been working really hard in the gym on handstands and stuck landings. While we had a few mistakes on bars, we stuck with it, went 6 for 6 and fought for everything. We went to beam fired up and ready to show them how hard we have been working in the gym. We have great depth on beam and went 8 for 8. While the judging was tight we did everything in our power to show them that this beam group means business!! We took that energy to floor where we were determined and ready to FINISH. We showed strong landings, big leaps and great expression. We went 7 for 7 on floor and FINISHED strong.

While we went 24 for 24, had a lot of fun and really finished strong, we know we have little things to focus on in the gym and can't let up. We are ready to go into the gym and work hard on our handstands, landing and the little details that will make a big difference in the end. I am so proud to be a TERP and we are ready and excited to show everyone what Maryland Gymnastics is all about as we head to UNH this weekend.

Thanks for reading and GO TERPS!

Brandi George

Feb. 8, 2010

Hey Everyone!

These past few days have been some of the craziest I have experienced in all four years of being here! Last Friday the snow began to fall, and it almost feels like it has never stopped! School has been cancelled since last Friday, and is still cancelled because more snow is falling as we speak.

Unfortunately as you might know, our meet against UNC was cancelled this past Friday. We are going to reschedule for sometime in the next month, but I know we were all disappointed because we were really looking forward to another exciting home meet!

The snow has brought great excitement to many of the girls on the team. The girls from the warm states such as Florida, Hawaii, and California really took advantage of this crazy weather. Most of the team went sledding all over campus... and have the bruises to prove it!

This week in the gym, we have been working hard to get ready for our away meet against UNC. After having the weekend off we have taken the beginning of the week to get back into the swing of things, and preparing for two strong team event days on Thursday and Friday. Some of the assignments this week have been hard thus far, but in the end everything is just going to make sure more prepared for this weekend.

We are really excited to travel to UNC and show everyone what the TERPS are made of!! We expect a great meet this weekend and are focused on hitting all 24 routines.

Our next home meet is Sunday, February 21 on the Comcast main floor. Hope you can come out and show your support!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more exciting Terps Gymnastics news and updates.

GO TERPS!!!

Michele Brenner

Feb. 1, 2010

Hey Terps Fans!

Well it's been another busy week for the Terps Gymnastics team! This week we started back to school for the Spring Semester! I can't even believe how fast time flies! After being back for winter session with no one else around, it's definitely nice to see some life back on campus again! :)

In the gym we have been working extremely hard for our first meet ever on the Comcast Center Main Floor! Everyone was so excited for the time to finally arrive after lots of preparation! With Becca Pang making an amazing introduction video, to Jennifer Iovino donating flowers and all the hard work of the coaches, we definitely had a successful time on the Main Floor. With a snowstorm under way, we were glad to have all the teams and judges arrive safely, along with lots of family members! The stands were filled with family from all over; Ally Krikorian's parents travelled from California, my family came from Boston, Michele Brenner's family drove from New York, and lots of other family members came to show their support! Vicki's Mom even came from Canada! We love you all!

We started out solid on vault with lots of energy, then transferred that energy over to bars with hit routine after hit routine. Arriving at beam, the Terps went to work, where we won beam with a 48.800, a season high! Abigail Adams started beam off strong with a 9.85 routine, which got her the win. From there more beautiful routines continued to be hit, by Brandi George, Talia Tossone, Briana Melander, and Michele Brenner. The Terps finished up the meet on floor where we showed off our routines to our own choreographer, Russell! Thanks for coming!

It was another successful meet for the Terps, beating out Denver, currently ranked No. 16, and EAGL opponent Rutgers with an overall score of 193.925!

Our next home meet is next weekend, February 5th at the Comcast Center! We look forward to seeing you there! GO TERPS!

Kesley Cofsky

Jan. 25, 2010

Hey Terp Fans!!

Last week we had a hard time getting through practice because of illness, injury, and other issues, but we really leaned on each other and made it through. My favorite thing about our team is that we are family. To be an NCAA athlete, it's necessary to balance a full-time student schedule and a full-time athletic schedule. We are incredibly busy trying to be the best that we can be academically and athletically, and sometimes people forget that we are also dealing with personal issues just like most people. Our team has done an amazing job of becoming a family, and we continue to lift each other up every single day in the gym and outside of the gym. No matter what the scoreboard says, these girls are my sisters, and I'm so proud to be a part of a team that values my character and continues to grow and encourage me every chance they get. With all of that being said, thanks girls- and Brett- you guys make me proud to be a Terp!!

This weekend we competed against WVU, NC State, and GW at West Virginia. We had a great time on our first bus trip watching movies and spending time together. Also, we can't forget Patrick! He drives our Maryland Bus, and he takes GREAT care of us! Thanks Patrick!

At WVU, we led the meet after the first three events. We started on floor and realized the meet would be a battle from the beginning. The girls and I were really excited to have Michele Brenner back after an injury from a couple of weeks ago. She did a great job at her first meet back! We went to vault next and hit vault after vault, working with the problem areas and pulling out six hit vaults. Great job girls! We have been practicing perfection on bars, and it's really beginning to show as each of us continue to hit our handstands and stick our dismounts. I want to give a shout out to Kelsey McDermid for her beautiful bar routine with all handstands and a stuck dismount! Great job Kels! Unfortunately, beam didn't go as planned. We started off rough, but freshman Briana Melander pulled the team back together for a great finish. Talia Tossone got first place on beam, and I know all of the friends and family she had at WVU were so excited to see her win!

As we prepare for next week against WVU, Rutgers, and Denver, we will continue to practice perfection in the gym and push each other to be the best we can be. We will also continue to encourage each other like the family we are. We start school this week, and it's another sad realization that it's our last semester with the seniors. They do an amazing job leading our team, and I'm so excited to see what they have in store for the rest of this season.

We compete Saturday afternoon at 4 PM on the main floor of the Comcast Center Arena. We hope to see you there! Thanks for reading, and we hope you have a great week!

Remember Terps: Don't throw in the towel; Use it to wipe your sweat off.

GO TERPS! Abigail Adams

Jan. 18. 2010

Hey Everyone!

So many great things have happened this week I don't even know where to begin! Coming off of a disappointing loss at LSU last week, we were all hungry to get back into the gym and prove to everyone we are a great team! After a long week of hard work, we decided to do something a little different to help get us pumped up and excited for the meet Friday night. We all drew names Thursday after practice and made fun t-shirts for each other to wear. Everyone really got into it and they all turned out great!

As we walked into the gym Friday afternoon we all knew we had something to prove, not only to other teams around the country, but also to ourselves. We started out on vault where we came together to score the second best team vault score in Maryland's history! Everyone looked great but the standout performance on the event came from freshman Ally Krikorian who stuck her huge yurochenko full bringing in a score of 9.95. Not only did she win the event, she also tied the school record for highest individual vault score!

Both bars and beam went pretty smoothly with only a few little mistakes here and there on things that can easily be fixed in practice this week. As we moved to floor, we all had the mindset that we were in the process of doing something very big early in the season. As a team we fought for every landing and every extra tenth.

Overall, we finished the meet with a team score of 194.25 and collected 3 wins bringing our current season record to 3-1. The meet also marked Brett's first win as the head coach of Maryland Gymnastics and I couldn't be prouder to be a part of that exciting moment in his coaching career!

After Friday night's win, we are all anxious and excited to get back into the gym and prepare for another big meet Sunday against EAGL rivals WVU and N.C. State in Morgantown. It will be a big meet and I have no doubt that we will be ready!

I just want to conclude by giving a shout out to last week's EAGL Rookie of the Week Kesley Cofsky who had another solid night of competition Friday, as well as Abigail Adams who won the all-around! Great job girls!

Our next home meet is Saturday January 30 at 4 p.m. on the main floor of Comcast! Hope to see you all there!

Take care and best wishes,

Talia Tossone

Jan. 11, 2010

Wow! I can't believe season has already begun! We had our first meet this weekend at LSU! After a short week of preparation in the gym, we left for the airport Thursday around noon and made it into New Orleans by dinnertime.

When we got to the hotel we had our usual pre-meet meeting where we got pumped up for the big day. After the meeting, some of the team met to watch, "Facing the Giants" as inspiration for the next day.

The next morning we all met for lunch and headed back the hotel to get ready for the meet. Before we left we had a wonderful send-off and well wishing from Abigail Adams' family. Nearly 40 friends and family from her home state of Texas drove to Louisiana to come support Terps Gymnastics!

We arrived at the gymnasium unloaded our equipment and headed into the locker room where Kyra Phillips helped set the tone for the meet with a motivational speech.

Warm-ups went great - everyone looked relaxed and ready to take on the challenge that lay ahead. The freshman, especially, were excited to get the season started. The night started off a little shaky with a few mistakes on bars, but Kaitlin Joseph and Kesley Cofsky hit some big sets with solid full-in dismounts. The girls made a huge statement on vault with huge vaults by Abigail Adams and Ally Krikorian. Floor was a little rough, with some uncharacteristic falls, but the girls were sure to bounce back with 5 stuck sets on beam to finish out the night.

I think the most amazing part of the whole competition was how the team came together when things weren't going our way. I have never felt the same energy and excitement from this team and having a slightly different outcome to this meet than we expected really put a fire under everyone's belly to prepare that much more for the rest of the year.

Once the meet was done, we headed to dinner where Abbey's entourage as well as Candice King, Michele Brenner, and Briana Melander's families all joined us for a taste of Louisiana!

The next morning definitely came quick as we left for the airport at 6:30am, but it was all worth it because the traditional "card game" started as soon as we left the hotel : ). After a layover in Atlanta and an interesting day of travel we made it back to College Park safely with our favorite bus driver Patrick!

First away meet - check!
First home meet - this coming Friday, January 15th in the Comcast Center! Come out and support us as we take on Temple, Cornell, and Bridgeport!

GO TERPS!

Lisa Reifschneider

Jan. 4, 2010

Tumble Talk Hey Terps Fans! Happy New Year! I cannot even believe it is already 2010. Where has the time gone? Everyone returned safely from their relaxing breaks at home and it was right back into the gym because the season is finally here! Can you believe it? This week we pushed exceptionally hard in order to ensure we are fully prepared for our first competition down at LSU (not that we don't push hard every week, this week just had a special touch). With team events our second day back, three days of lift and two days of extra team cardio, the team is feeling pumped up and ready to go for this coming weekend.

Since Thursday was New Years Eve, after practice the whole team got all dressed up and took the Metro into Washington DC for a very nice dinner. It is always so much fun to go off campus, get all pretty and spend time outside the gym with one another. We always have a blast!

In the gym this week everyone looked great! One routine after the other everyone hit during our team events. The gym was full of intensity and energy! Even though the coaches challenged us with a hard week, we still hit! A team motto we have is that even when were tired, sick and have other obstacles outside the gym, WE STILL HIT! I know that we are so excited to be starting off our first competition down at LSU! We like a challenge and I hope LSU is ready for us because we have a lot to bring to the table!

One week till the start of a season to remember! We are ready but the real question is...Are you?

Thanks for reading!

Kyra Phillips

Dec. 29, 2009

Hey Terp Fans!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

I was very lucky to be able to go home to Hawaii and I had a great week spending time with family and friends in warm, sunny weather! Everyone else was also able to go home and spend some quality time with family and our team was spread out all over the country.

It felt like Christmas to me as soon as I stepped off the plane and felt the warm breeze, smelled the tropical flowers, and saw the palm trees with Christmas lights! This was a very different scene from the snow blizzard I had just left 12 hours ago. It was really nice to spend time with many of my family and friends. It was also great to go back to my old gym and catch up with my teammates and see how much they have grown and improved!

After seeing my family and friends, my next priority was going to the beach! It was very relaxing lying on the sand under the sun. Brianna Melander, who was home in Florida, and Ally Krikorian, who went home to California, also got to spend some time at the beach and Brett Nelligan who visited his Dad in Bermuda was looking forward to surfing!

One of my favorite Holiday activities is baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with my mom! We always bake a huge batch and give them out to family and friends. I also know that Kelsey McDermid, Lisa Reifschneider, and Kyra Phillips were looking forward to baking cookies as well!

Some holiday traditions that people were looking forward to included Holiday parties and other get togethers. Vicki Chliszczyk was looking forward to playing games at her family's annual Christmas party and Brandi George was looking forward to driving around with her family and looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve! One of my family traditions is going to a movie on holidays so this year on Christmas we went to see Avatar... in 3D! Besides all of our Holiday traditions, some of us got to do some pretty unique things. Candice King who lives in Texas drove to Mississippi to visit family and Margaux Meeks went to Disney World with her family!

We were all pretty busy this break but we also made sure to get some quality relaxation time in! As Abbey Adams told me, one of her favorite, and I believe to be a very important, holiday activity is catching up on all the sleep we lost this semester!

While it was a nice break, I am very excited to get back into the gym. Season is just around the corner and this year is going to be a great one!

Thanks for reading! Go Terps!

Becca Pang

Dec. 23, 2009

Wow! How exciting! My first Tumble Talk!!! I don't know where to start. Well, for starters, I am enjoying it so much here at University of Maryland. Everyone, the team and coaching staff has welcomed me with open arms and now I can not believe season is right around the corner. I had to send in our rooming list the other day to the hotel for our LSU meet which was a little pinch of reality that season is REALLY right around the corner. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!

As for our team, we had our Intrasquad on December 12th which went GREAT! Yes, there are always things that can be touched up on but for December the girls looked amazing and you can tell they are hungry and ready for season to be here!

Following the Intrasquad the girls had exams which went from Monday to Saturday. Practices were a little lighter for the girls so they can focus on there exams. The girls were able to leave to go home after practice Thursday. Vicki got to go home to Canada and Brett went to visit his mom and dad in Bermuda (I am so jealous). Some of the girls had exam's Friday and Saturday so they had to stay until those exams were done. Well....... a snow storm came through on Friday night and they canceled all exams Saturday, which I am sure the girls were happy about. The snow was so pretty and exciting to see but what was not too exciting is that five of the team members, including Brett, had their flights canceled Saturday. Some of the girls couldn't get any flights out until Tuesday which was crazy. Now, thank goodness, everyone is at there destination and enjoying their families and the holidays.....finally!

I look forward to my first year with the TERPS! It's going to be an AWESOME year for this team, so don't miss out!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Erinn Dooley

Dec. 14, 2009

Hey Terp Fans!

Wow! It's hard to believe that it is already December. This week was the last week of classes and final exams are approaching quickly. This week in the gym was also very exciting. Not only gymnastically, but it was time for Secret Santa! Every day of the week people gave their Secret Santa a small gift. Then on Sunday at our team holiday party we exchanged big gifts and finally revealed who we had been hiding gifts all week for. I know there was many times during the week that we were tempted to try and figure out who had each other, but I think everyone was happy to keep it a surprise!

Saturday was the annual Red vs Black Intrasquad meet. There was tons of great gymnastics from both of the teams! It was fun having celebrity judges and coaches. Woman's head soccer coach Brian Pensky coached the red team, and head diving coach Anton Slobounov coached the black team. A special thanks is needed for the celebrity judges and coaches in lieu of adding to the excitement of the night. Even though the black team was victorious, the red team had many great routines as well. We are all very excited to get season started, now we get to show off all of the hard work we have put into the gym. As a freshman I know I was very eager to finally get to compete in front of the crowd! I'm excited to see what this year will bring. Thanks to all the fans that came out and supported us at the Intrasquad on Saturday!

I know we all are looking forward to the much-needed break from school! Once we get through finals week, everyone gets to go home and enjoy the holidays with family and friends!

Thanks for reading! GO TERPS

Briana Melander

Dec. 7, 2009

Hey Terp fans!

I cannot believe how fast this semester has flown by! It seems like just yesterday the freshmen were arriving and we were starting a new set of classes. It's hard to grasp the fact that next week is our last week of classes before we take our finals and go home for the holidays!

This week was a great week in the gym. With our competitive season just a few short weeks away, you can feel the excitement and eagerness for our first meet at LSU. It has been amazing watching all the girls work so hard and supporting each other. Like Brett says, we're not at the point of just getting through our routines anymore, we are making them PERFECT.

Thursday we had some recruits stop by the gym. It was really fun meeting them and telling them all about our Terp family! On Friday we picked names for our annual Secret Santa gift exchange. The week before we go home for the holidays the girls all exchange gifts with each other. Every day at practice we bring a small gift for our SECRET person and hide it somewhere in the gym. Then on Sunday we go to Brett's house for a delicious dinner and to exchange our big, final gift. Hope everyone keeps their person a secret this year!

Next Saturday is our first meet open to the public, our Red vs. Black Intrasquad. Make sure to look out for next week's Tumble Talk to see how it goes!

Thanks for reading and make sure to check out the new episode of Gym Terps TV starring Jennifer Iovino and myself! GO TERPS!

Kelsey McDermid

Nov. 30, 2009

Good day Terp fans!

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving filled with scrumptious foods and family fun! I know that I sure did.

This has been quite an eventful week. In the gym we had a very short practice schedule with one team practice on Monday and individual time sets, depending on when we were going home, on Tuesday. Everyone has been working extremely hard, and you can definitely see the rewards.

After Tuesday workout it was time for some packing and then off to the airport. Following a wonderful 5 1/2 hour flight home, it was great to be back in the warm California sunshine. It was amazing to see my parents, brothers, and sister in person and no longer on the computer screen. We shared stories and laughs before heading over to my aunt's house for some pre-Thanksgiving dessert. Thanksgiving day I took a small detour down to the beach and then headed back home to help set up for dinner. My cousin and I did our job of eating up the appetizers and creating more space on the table for the main course. Dinner was spectacular, but we were sure to not forget to leave some room for dessert. After some guitar playing and singing, we drove back to my aunt's for the real Thanksgiving dessert. As we ate and talked, we watched old family videos and reminisced on old times.

It was splendid being home with the family and relaxing. I hope everyone had as much of an amazing time as I did!

This is going to be a great week of practicing and getting ready for our first open door intrasquad December 12th! Hope to see all you Terp fans there!

Have a great week and be sure to keep an eye out for the newest episode of GymTerps TV!

Ally Krikorian

Nov. 23, 2009

Phew! - It's been a crazy and exciting few months! We've been working on some new things for this season and a great deal of effort has been put towards this program taking a giant step forward this year. With Brett taking over as head coach, the addition of Erinn to the staff and with five new additions to the team it seems as though the preseason has flown by faster than ever! I mentioned last year that it is the beginning of a new pre-season that is so thrilling for me as the slate has been wiped clean and there always seems to be numerous possibilities encompassing us each and every day - and this year seems to epitomize that notion.

We are at that time in the year when our `boot camp' is over and we have shifted our focus to full routines and `pressure sets'. In order to kick start our season we had a `closed-door' intrasquad on Saturday which we held in our competition arena complete with competition warm-ups and leotards. We wanted to simulate the same atmosphere as a true competition and give the five newcomers a chance to `compete' on our competition equipment prior to the start of season.

Up until this point the girls have been doing numbers in the gym and this intrasquad gave them an opportunity to begin training the much-needed confidence behind the routines, as well as an opportunity to test their preparation thus far. It gave them an idea of how prepared they are individually, and more importantly, as a team. And it gave us coaches a clearer view of who it is that's going to step up and claim their spot in lineup. With a larger team than past years and with a depth that we haven't had the luxury of having Saturday was a great test to see what each of our potential lineups may be.

In addition, this intrasquad helps guide the girls in their transition from just doing their routines to truly performing them. From here we need to continue to build on the solid foundation that we have clearly forged thus far. Now is the time for all the `little things' - those things that separate a good team from a great one - stuck landings, small form errors, making sure every handstand is hit and performing floor routines with the desire to make the judges want to put their pens down in order to watch and enjoy the routines instead of judging them. Confidence is of great significance from here on out.

Our next intrasquad is set for Saturday December 12th at 7:00pm and will be open to the public. This intrasquad will feature guest coaches and celebrity judges from within our Athletic Department and is free to everyone! We look forward to seeing you all there where you as fans will get your first opportunity to get a peak at what the season holds for this year's 2009/2010 team. You won't want to miss it!

See you then

GO TERPS!

Vicki

Nov. 19, 2009

Hey everyone!

Another week has flown by and we are getting closer and closer to season. With our first Intrasquad only a week away we are all polishing our routines and working on consistency. My time here at Maryland has gone by so fast! I can't believe I am already in my senior year as it feels like just yesterday that I was one of six freshmen trying to find my way around campus.

On Monday we saw some big vaults from everyone. Freshman Kesley Cofsky definitely caught my eye with how consistent her vaults have been. All of the freshmen are adjusting so well to all of the new and different things being thrown at them.

After practice on Monday our team attended a Woman's Identity & Leadership Workshop in Heritage Hall with many of the other female athletes (I think there were even some athletes from the men's teams too!). The panel had a lot of positive input and it was fun to interact and listen to everyone's point of views on the different topics we discussed. One of the topics that stuck out to me the most was how female athletes express their own femininity. I was surprised at how easily I was able to pinpoint how I personally define myself being a female athlete.

Looking around the gym it is crazy to see how everything is coming together. When I think about past years it always seemed that at this time everyone was worrying about making it through their routines - but this year we are already past that step! I have never been so excited for competition season to begin to see how everything unfolds. As Kaitlin Joseph said, "Just because we are ahead doesn't mean we can let up now!" As simple as it sounds, she is exactly right. We can't, and won't let up until we accomplish everything we have set out to do.

Thursday we had our second round at team bars. We had a couple of miss steps but there were many more positive things than negative. This team is going to have depth on not only bars but also on every event - and that is something that will push us to the next step. As the weeks role on our team just becomes closer and closer and it shows in our workouts.

On Friday we warmed up as a team on beam and then assistant coach Vicki Chliszczyk split us up into two teams and she has us do team beam a little differently. It was a little friendly competition because we are all competitive by nature. Each team squared off against someone from the opposite team to get a point for their team. The team with the most hit sets won. Both teams did very well and it was another positive step in the right direction. Assignments like these build confidence in ourselves and build trust in our teammates.

This semester is winding down and school is getting really crazy but I'm looking forward to a short break for Thanksgiving. This is the first year I am going home to Texas for Thanksgiving since I came to school! Ya'll have no idea how excited I am for my Mom and Dad's home cooking... because when it comes to me cooking, I get a little lazy!

Well, I think that's all I have for now but before you go check out the newest episode of Terps TV!

Hope to see ya'll at our first open door Intrasquad in December! It's a great day to be a Terp!

- Candice King

Hey Terp Fans!

I can't believe how much time flies! It seems like just yesterday we were all starting the semester and bootcamp and making the transition from summer to fall schedules, but now we only have two weeks until our first intrasquad! This week we really buckled down in the gym, and I think that our hard work will translate into an awesome competition season!

On Tuesday's practice we had our first intrasquad on bars. We put up an impressive 11 routines, and hit almost all of them! Some stand-outs include Kelsey Cofsky's big jager and full-in dismount and Candice King's huge tkatchev. This team is practicing with more heart than I have ever seen, and Abbey Adams exemplified this during the bars intrasquad. During her routine, one of her hands slipped just a little bit, which would normally cause a person to fall. However, she somehow managed to momentarily hang on with one arm until she could regrasp to bar with her other hand, and ended up hitting a gorgeous routine! This kind of determination to win is what will give us the edge this year!

On Thursday we had our vault intrasquad. Michele Brenner's new front handspring-entry vault is coming along beautifully, and we saw lots of sky-high yerchenko fulls. This year we have more 10.0 start value vaults than ever before! The depth of this team just keeps on growing, which will really help us in competition season this year!

We also made a lot of progress on beam and floor this week. Everybody finally has their new floor routines now, so we've started adding our tumbling passes in with the choreography. And it was consistency week on beam, meaning that each day we had to do a certain number of routines and record how many we stuck. I would like to give a shout-out to Briana Melander, who had the highest consistency score, sticking 94.4% of her beam routines this week! Awesome job, Bri!

Lastly, this week was a big birthday week in the gym, with Kelsey McDermid and Becca Pang's birthdays on Monday, Kyra Phillips' birthday on Wednesday, and mine yesterday! I know that we all had great birthdays thanks to the love and support from our Terp family. The University of Maryland is the best home-away-from-home that we could ask for!

Ok everybody, well thanks for reading and keep checking the website for more tumbletalks and episodes of Gym Terps TV!

-KJ

Hey Terp Fans!

A lot has happened this week. We started off with a bang on Monday as everyone was hitting routine after routine. Tuesday we had a beam intrasquad and it was definitely challenging to get back up on the beam and compete in front of people after such a long time. I was a little nervous I'm not going to lie! Despite the pressure and nerves we had some amazing routines. Talia Tossone, Brandi George, Brianna Melander and Kyra Phillips showed confidence up there and stuck their routine without hesitation. Wednesday was another great day with a break in the week from practice but we did have our last spin of the season... and for seniors, their last spin ever! I'm sure they'll miss it :) We closed off the week with two strong practices on Thursday and Friday complete with a surprise and interesting costume from the freshmen, as we showed up at practice in gothic attire... I'm sure I surprised more than a few with my jet-black hair... quite the change from my natural blond!

Considering this weekend was Halloween we decided to have 7:30am lift on Saturday morning before heading into Washington DC to participate in the Susan G. Koman `Making Strides Against Breast Cancer' walk. So after our morning lift we took the metro into D.C where we walked in support of all those fighting breast cancer and in hopes of raising awareness to others. We were happy and honored to have special guest two-time Olympian Dominique Dawes join us on our walk! Thanks for coming out and walking with us!

Halloween is my favorite holiday because you get to wear crazy costumes and eat tons of candy. What else could be better! All the girls celebrated Halloween with some interesting costume ideas. Kelsey McDermid and Jen Iovino were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, some of the seniors and Kyra Phillips were hippies, Becca Pang was a hula dancer, Michele Brenner was a cop and her friend was a robber. Kaitlin Joseph was a ninja dressed in all black and had the funniest sword I have ever seen! Haha, it even made sound effects! Lisa Reifschneider was a detective and Marqaux Meeks was "lil" Mo with her gangster gear on. Last but not least, the freshmen, with the best costume ever, were the four seasons! Ally Krikorian was Winter, Kesley Cofsky was Fall, Brianna Melander was Summer, and I was Spring... and did we ever look good! :)

Halloween night was a great end to a great week, and with having Sunday off to catch up on some homework we are looking forward to attacking next week where we will be having both a bar and vault intrasquad! Check back next week to read all about how we did!

And check back later this week for the fourth Gym TerpsTV episode by seniors Brandi George and Margaux Meeks!

GO TERPS!

-Brooke

Hey Everyone! This week has been an incredible week in the gym with lots of exciting gymnastics and team bonding! It was our last week of boot camp and an exciting preview of this coming season! Our floor routines are officially finished and we spent some time during practice on Wednesday showing everyone our new moves!! They look awesome and make me more and more excited for our season every time I watch them!

Between putting bar routines and beam routines together, bringing our vaults out onto higher mats and practicing our floor routines with our passes on hard surface, we are raring to go! We saw HUGE vaults from Ally Krikorian and Kyra Phillips and started to perform some pressure sets to boost our confidence! We had a "mini" intrasquad on both bars and beam creating an environment full of support and excitement for our season. We looked very confident with ourselves and our teammates. Our team depth is incredible and the intensity we have will shock the world this coming season! We are unstoppable!

As for outside of the gym, we all got together Saturday and spent the evening at my house in Olney for a BBQ and a slumber party!! The weather did not hold up very well forcing us to stay home instead of going to a haunted forest. For Kesley and Allie, they were extremely content with the weather because they are petrified of haunted houses! We enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs, and later played games and watched movies all night long! It was definitely a girl's night! It was great to have the team over and have fun in my hometown!

We also collected money as a team and created a get well soon basket for our fellow Maryland family member, Alex Lee. The basket was full of wonderful things for Alex throughout his recovery. Alex is both a personal friend and Maryland teammate and he deserves all the support in the world!

I hope you enjoyed Terp Talk this week. Thanks for reading and GO TERPS!!

Jenn

Oct. 21, 2009

Hey Terps!

Things are cooling down here in College Park and it's starting to look a little more like fall. Most of us (especially us southern girls) even had to breakout the winter jackets!

This week we jumped right back into boot camp after a nice relaxing week off. We knew the week was going to be a big challenge and that it was going to be hard to keep up the intensity in the gym, but, as we saw, everyone stepped up to the plate and gave it their all.

At the beginning of the week we set individual goals and wrote them on pieces of paper. As each person achieved their goal they attached their paper to the other goals in a chain-like manner. It was awesome to see the chain growing as more and more girls accomplished their goals this week. Our team goal is to have a chain with 17 links! And, as a result of our focus we saw a lot a progress in the gym and we are starting to see everyone make the transition from soft landings to harder competition landings. On bars, Briana Melander, Kesley Cofsky, and Kelsey McDermid all brought their BIG dismounts out onto the hard ground this week and we also started to do full routines without dismounts. It was great to see so many people to accomplish this assignment easily so early in the pre-season. It is amazing to see how serious our team is this year!

The girls have been making huge progress on vault and floor too! We saw a lot of big vaults this week. Michele Brenner's new front handspring entry vault is looking awesome and Kyra Phillips looked like a million bucks this week as she showed us some beautiful full twisting Yurchenkos. On floor Brandi George brought her rudis onto the hard ground and they looked so good! I am so excited about our floor this year! And last but not least beam is also looking amazing! We are hitting beam sets left and right and the consistency this early is incredible!

Also this week we had a number of our floor routines choreographed by Russell Warfield! Everyone worked extremely hard with Russell and it definitely shows. Seeing everyone starting to do dance-thrus makes me even more excited for season to start! We have a wide variety of music for our floor routines and each girl has her own individual dancing style. It is really exciting to watch everyone groove to the beat! A special thanks to Russell for doing such an amazing job with the routines and to Vicki for her work on all the music pieces!

Well that's it for now but be sure to check out the new episode of TerpsTV coming soon! Abbey Adams, Kaitlin Joseph, and Lisa Reifschneider had a fun time video taping their adventures throughout the week!

You can also keep up to date with what is going on through following us on Facebook and Twitter! Click on `For Recruits' you'll see a link to both!

Thanks for reading Tumble Talk!

*Mo*

Oct. 13, 2009

Hey Terp Fans!

What an important week it was for the Terps gymnastics team. This was our week off boot camp and a BIG week in the gym. We all enjoyed the little extra time to catch up on schoolwork, study for midterms and get a little extra sleep!

With the week off boot camp came some pretty big challenges in the gym. The assignments picked up to full sets on beam and bars, vaulting up to mats and big endurance sets on floor. We saw some great vaults by freshmen Ally Krikorian and Kesley Cofsky. We started full sets on bars and saw huge sets from Candice King and Marguax Meeks. Briana Melander put her double layout on hard ground and they looked great. While bars was putting some pretty nice sets together, beam was up to the same challenge. I must admit we look like we have a pretty solid beam team and saw huge sets from everyone. Floor this week was just as impressive as the rest of the events. We saw some gorgeous endurance sets from freshmen Brooke Grohol and senior Michele Brenner. Abigail Adams also showed us some pretty nice piked full-ins! Along with big tumbling and endurance sets on floor, floor routines have started to be choreographed this week. It was an awesome week in the gym and really showed that we were up to the challenge.

While big things were happening in the gym, we were also volunteering our time to the community. On Sunday, we participated in the Green Festival in D.C. It was an awesome experience where we all learned a ton about recycling and composting. The whole team was able to help guide individuals by teaching them about recycling and composting and helping them put their trash in the right basket. A special thanks to Marguax Meeks for setting up the community service event up!

After a busy day at the Green Festival, we went straight to boot camp. It was our last run of boot camp (and for us seniors, our last boot camp run EVER!). Since it was our last run, Vicki came up with a `Warrior' theme so we divided up the team into two teams that were drawn randomly. The red team, or the `Red Hots' as we called ourselves, wore the red camo boot camp shirt and consisted of: myself, Michele, Allie, Talia, Mo, Candice, Kesley, Abbey and Jenn. The yellow team, the `Turtle Domination' team, wore their yellow camos and consisted of: Briana, KJ, Lisa, Ally, Becca, Kyra, Brooke, and Kelsey. We decked ourselves out in war paint, ribbons, and even a little hair dye by the yellow team. It was quite the scene and really helped fire us up to rock our last run. While this was the hardest run of the season, I must say that this team showed more HEART and determination than ever before. I am truly PROUD to be a Terp and part of this incredible team.

Additionally, I would like to give a shout-out to Allie Dama! Allie has been at every practice, lift, spin, swim and run to help us out and support us. It is great to have you back in the gym and we are all so THANKFUL for all that you do on a daily basis!

Lastly, I would like to send out a special prayer request for one of our Terp family members, Alex Lee. Alex is a member of the men's soccer team and was in a terrible accident this weekend. Please keep Alex and his family in your thoughts and prayers. We are all thinking about you and your family and want you to know that you have an entire Terps family behind you.

Thanks for reading and GO TERPS!! Brandi George

P.S. Happy birthday Aunt Sharon, you are such a blessing to my sisters and me and I love you!!!

Oct. 5, 2009

Hello Terp fans!

Pre-season is well underway and the Terps gymnastics team is looking unstoppable! This week was a long one, as most of us had our first set of exams to take, but I'm happy to say that we all survived! We just finished our fourth week of boot camp and are looking forward to a WHOLE WEEK off to rest (outside of practice, of course!).

Last Sunday we attended a required student-athlete program led by the University of Maryland's own Dr. Sawyer, a nationally renowned professor. He was one of the funniest and most interesting speakers I've been to and I know everyone else loved the program too!

Everyone's bodies seem to have adjusted to the high intensity of boot camp- we had some big things happening in the gym this week! Event assignments have gone up a notch but the team has taken them on with positive attitudes and admirable work ethics. The freshmen showed some great stuff on vault, especially full-twisting yurchenkos by Ally Krikorian and Kesley Cofsky. We are already doing ½ routines on bars and our handstands have improved tremendously is just a few weeks! Sophomore Kyra Phillips and junior transfer Jenn Iovino caught some HUGE releases and freshman Briana Melander showed her gorgeous double layout dismount. The whole team is looking rock solid on beam, thanks to creative assignments by Vicki Chliszczyk! Partner and team pressure skills are definitely preparing us for competition season- watch out for our beam line-up! Lastly, endurance has been the focus on floor and our tumbling just keeps getting better, like junior Abbey Adams' impressive full-in. This week had some of the best practices of the year so far, but I know we have only begun and even BIGGER things are to come!

I would like to take some time out to thank everyone in the Maryland family for their support over the last year. I am so glad to be back! I am feeling good and cannot wait to start gymnastics again, especially on such a cohesive and talented team! So thank you to everyone for your encouragement and get well wishes- my family and I truly appreciate it!

Thanks for checking out this week's tumble talk and be sure to come back again on Wednesday when Ally Krikorian and Kesley Cofsky's episode of Gym Terps TV is released!

GO TERPS!

Allie Dama

Sept. 28, 2009

Hey Everybody!

I'm happy to say that things are going very well for the Terps gymnastics team! We've completed three weeks of boot camp, and we're getting ready for our fourth! Everyone is looking great in and out of the gym!

This weekend, we had seven recruits come for their official visits, and we all had a blast! Friday night we had an amazing evening where we went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in Baltimore, and Saturday we had a team tailgate before we watched the Terps football team play Rutgers University. It was very rainy and wet but the recruits were able to be on the field before kickoff so that was exciting for everyone. After the game we all dried off and had a team dinner complete with a Fiesta Theme... and quite the outfit by Brandi George I must say! Margaux made Seven-Layer dip, Abbey made guacamole, Kaitlin made brownies and Brandi made 10 pounds of taco meet! We all had a great time and enjoyed getting to know our new recruits :)

This week, my roommate, Briana Melander, and myself had the privilege of taking the video camera for the week to get some footage for the next episode of Terps TV. We're really excited about showing you what we've been up to so stay tuned! And if you haven't checked out the first episode, make sure you do!!!

The past few weeks everyone has been looking great, and I'm excited to see more big things to come in the next couple of weeks!

Thanks for reading, and GO TERPS!

Kesley

Terps Recognized at Football Game

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to say that things are going great for the Terps gymnastics team!! We are entering our third week of boot camp and everyone is looking awesome! We are finally starting harder assignments and we are all in pretty good shape!

This past weekend, many student-athletes were honored at the football game for our academic achievements. Everyone with a 3.0 GPA or higher got to walk on the field during our home football game against Middle Tennessee State and were recognized for his/her academic accomplishments. I am excited to say that my parents and brother came to the game, along with many other parents and siblings from the team! Overall, it was a great day!

Many of us also attended the Terps volleyball tournament and helped work the games. Three girls each game helped shag balls and it was a lot of fun to see the volleyball players in action!

In the gym, all the girls are looking great! This week we are looking forward to flipping new vaults and twisting old ones. I personally am looking forward to seeing some big vaults from Ally Krikorian! All of the freshmen are looking great and everyone is beginning to put big skills and routines together! I am excited to see more to come these next few weeks!

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the recap of last week!

Michele

Hey Terp fans!!

WOW! I can't believe another year has already begun! As Brett previously mentioned, we have five newcomers to the team and we are so excited for the diversity they will bring to Terps gymnastics. In addition to the freshmen and transfer, we also have an amazing senior class prepared to lead the team this season. We have already started our second week of boot camp, and this is the most intense and excited I've seen this team in a long time. Boot camp is demanding and draining, yet this team has shown more energy during boot camp and practice with every challenge each new day brings.

Last weekend several of the girls spent the weekend at Woodward volunteering as counselors for Region 7 gymnasts who competed at the national level last May. We had a blast watching the up-and-coming generation of gymnasts practice. We spent time with each other playing games like Catchphrase and sliding down thirteen-foot high skate ramps. The girls that stayed behind enjoyed introducing the freshman to the first football game of the season! We definitely took advantage of our Saturday off!

Gymnastically, this team is proving to be stronger than ever. We've started working on skills, preparing to put together sequences in the weeks to come. The energy in the gym has been incredibly encouraging and motivating, and the newcomers bring excitement as the upperclassmen look to see the talent they bring to the team. It is easy to see that Terps gymnastics is more determined and focused than ever.

Look out for Gym Terps TV! Soon we will have an addition to our website! Girls on the team have been filming daily activities in the life of Maryland gymnastics. Be on the lookout for Michele and Candice, who are kicking off the series. Also, a special shout out to Becca Pang who is putting together the videos!

Last, I would like to give a special shout-out to my brother-in-law who is preparing for the upcoming Olympic trials for speed skating. We are rooting for you Chad!!

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Abbey

Sept. 7, 2009

Boot Camp Photo Gallery

- Hey everyone!

A new year is here and preseason is underway! There is so much to tell with lots going on here in College Park.

As most of you know this will be my first year at the helm of the Maryland Gymnastics program and I couldn't be more excited. I am lucky enough to welcome back six seniors, four juniors, and two sophomores. Our upperclassmen are ready to lead this team to its best season ever.

I am also excited to welcome five newcomers to the team. We have 4 freshman; Kesley Cofsky, Briana Melander, Ally Krikorian, and Brooke Grohol! We are also pleased to have transfer Jenn Iovino join the team this season. With all this talent in one place, the Terps are going to be a dangerous team this year.

I am also very happy to welcome assistant coach Vicki Chliszczyk back to the staff. Vicki and I have been working together going on five years now. Joining the staff this year will be new assistant coach Erinn Dooley. Erinn is originally from the Maryland area where she was a former U.S. National team member at Hill's Gymnastics and went on to become a 7-time All-American. We are pleased to have her back in the area and onboard for this season.

Today was the start of our annual boot camp preseason training. The girls did a great job and looked sharp in their new camouflage t-shirts and Under Armour sneakers! Great job tonight girls!

There are so many new things going on the with Maryland Gymnastics program, make sure you keep up! Follow us now on Twitter and coming we'll be coming soon to Facebook. Make sure you come out and support the Lady Terps Gymnastics team as they compete on the main floor of Comcast this year!

Thanks for reading, GO TERPS!

Brett Nelligan