Terps Open Season at Pittsburgh Quad Meet
1/8/2016 11:20:00 AM | Gymnastics
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The 32nd-ranked Maryland gymnastics season begins the 2016 schedule against Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan and Towson at Pittsburgh Sunday at 2 p.m.
• Sunday's quad meet will be live streamed through the Pitt Video Channel. Live results will be available at pittsburghpanthers.com.
Epperson, Tang tabbed by big ten
• Senior Kathy Tang and sophomore Abbie Epperson were named Maryland's Gymnasts to Watch by the Big Ten Conference last month.
• A well-rounded gymnast, Tang competed on all four apparatuses in 2015. Tang placed 19th on vault at the 2015 Big Ten Championships and tied for 16th on floor at the NCAA Regionals.
• A freshman standout last season, Epperson competed on vault and bars in every meet in 2015. Epperson tied for fifth on vault at the Big Ten Championships and 12th on bars at the NCAA Regionals and was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week on Feb. 2, 2015.
• Defending conference champion Michigan was named the favorite in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The B1g Time
• The Big Ten will once again be one of the most competitive gymnastics conferences in 2016 as nine of the 10 competing programs were ranked in the NACGC/W Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Terps were ranked No. 32 on the 36-team poll, which surveyed all Division I head coaches.
• The other ranked Big Ten programs include: No. 7 Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 15 Illinois, No. 17 Penn State, No. 20 Minnesota, No. 22 Ohio State, No. 26 Michigan State and No. 29 Iowa.
scouting the pittsburgh panthers
• Maryland competes at former EAGL rival Pittsburgh. The Terps hold a 33-21 all-time advantage against the Panthers.
• Pittsburgh is looking to improve after placing sixth at the 2015 EAGL Championships.
• Beam star Lindsay Offutt returns to Pittsburgh after placing sixth at the Morgantown Regional with a 9.875 and winning the beam title at the EAGL Championships.
scouting the eastern michigan eagles
• The Terps are 1-0 all-time vs. the Eagles with the lone meeting coming in 1998.
• Eastern Michigan finished 2015 with a 13-5 overall record and a fourth place finish at the MAC Championships.
• In a preseason exhibition, the Eagles defeated No. 7 Michigan, 194.050-183.350.
• Kendall Vanetin stars for Eastern Michigan after being named All-MAC Second Team as a freshman in 2015. Junior Sydney McEachern and sophomore Catie Conrad will also be key contributors for the Eagles.
scouting the towson tigers
• As former conference rivals in the EAGL, the Terps and Tigers have faced off 83 times in program history with Maryland holding a 38-45-1 all-time record against Towson. The Terrapins have won the last nine meetings against the Tigers.
• Towson finished 2015 with a 10-13 overall record and placed third at the EAGL Championships.
• The Tigers return Tyra McKellar, who tied for 11th place in the all-around at the NCAA Auburn Regional as just a freshman last season. Towson placed 10 gymnasts on all-conference teams last season.
tang stars in annual red-black scrimmage
• Senior Kathy Tang turned in an outstanding all-around performance to lead the Red Team past the Black Squad, 79.400-79.300, in the Terps' annual intrasquad scrimmage last month.
• Tang won the vault, floor and all-around titles and shared the uneven bars title as the Red Team came from behind to defeat the Black Team.
terps announce 2016 schedule
• After posting the team's highest NCAA finish in 14 years last season, the Maryland gymnastics team once again faces a challenging schedule in 2016.
• Six of Maryland's opponents finished the 2015 season ranked by GymInfo, including No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 13 Penn State, No. 14 Illinois, No. 17 Minnesota, No. 19 Arkansas, T-No. 23 Iowa and No. 25 New Hampshire.
• The Terps will host five home meets in the XFINITY Center. For the Terps' promotional schedule, visit ter.ps/gymterps.
maryland posts highest ncaa finish since 2001
• The Terps finished the 2015 season on a high note as Maryland finished third at the NCAA Auburn Regional, the program's highest finish since 2001 with a 195.150.
•Maryland posted a 48.950 team score on vault and hit 23 of 24 routines. The Terps did not count a fall at the regional.
