Dec. 10, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
With under a month before its season-opening meet at Kent State, the University of Maryland women's gymnastics team kicked things off Friday night at the Comcast Center Pavilion in its annual Red vs. Black Intrasquad meet.
Split into two squads, the Terps conducted its meet just as they would during the regular season, which begins Jan. 9. The event provided the coaching staff and fans alike, to get a first glance at the squad, which returns nine gymnasts and welcomes five freshmen newcomers: Jessie Black, Katy Dodds, Elizabethe Manzi, Karen Tang and Ebony Walters.
"I think they did a great job," said second-year head coach Brett Nelligan. "I was impressed with their performances tonight It was a tough week in the gym, they had exams and a ton of schoolwork, so they were pretty tired. For them to come out and perform the way they did, I was very pleased."
The night's true excitement began in the first rotation when sophomore and Red squad member Ally Krikorian pulled in a perfect 10.0 score from the judges for her vault performance. Not to be outdone, junior Kyra Phillips and Dodds chipped in scores of 9.90 and 9.80, respectively, to keep the Black squad slightly ahead of Red in vault.
Sophomore Kesley Cofsky and senior Abbey Adams boosted the Red squad with its second and third perfect scores of the night during the uneven bar portion in the meet's second rotation.
In the third rotation, the Red squad hit three straight 9.9+ scores on the floor, capped by Dodds' 9.95 to close things out. For the Black squad, all three competitors, Cofsky, Adams and Krikorian, earned perfect scores for their efforts on the floor.
On the balance beam, Adams flashed brilliance again with her second perfect score of the night. The Black squad also received a 9.85 from freshman Jessie Black. Phillips of the Red squad earned her first 10.0 of the night.
With Cofsky and Adams combining for five perfect 10 scores and finishing first and second, respectively, the Black squad edged the Red by a margin of 9.650.
After opening their regular season against the Flashes of Kent State, the Terps will head home to College Park for a Jan. 15 tri-meet against Air Force and New Hampshire.
"Tonight's performance shows that we are a team that can compete under any circumstances," said Nelligan. "Our competitors need to know that we are going to bring that intensity at every meet."
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