West Virginia
194.400
193.950
Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland women's gymnastics team received solid performances from seniors Emily Brauckmuller and Sarah Faller, but fell just short against West Virginia, 194.400-193.950, at XFINITY Center Sunday afternoon.
The meet was included in the third annual Beauty and the Beast event, with the Maryland wrestling team competing simultaneously against Navy on the XFINITY Center floor. The Terps led entering the final rotation, but saw the Mountaineers move ahead with a good performance on beam.
“We did a great job, and then we just let our guard down right at the end,” head coach Brett Nelligan said. “To be the team we want to be, we have to finish, and we know that. The thing I was most impressed with was our bars and beam were great today.”
Maryland opened the meet with a run of consistent vault scores, which gave the home team a 48.525-48.450 lead after the first rotation. Brauckmuller and Faller led the way with back-to-back 9.75's before freshman Alecia Farina anchored with a 9.725.
The Terps put together six hits on uneven bars in the second rotation, with sophomore Shynelle Agaran leading the way (9.80). Sophomore Megan McClelland notched a score of 9.775 while Faller and sophomore Amanda Bertorello recorded identical marks of 9.725.
Maryland continued to find success as it moved to the beam, once again hitting six-of-six routines. Junior Evelyn Nee topped the Terps' lineup, putting down a 9.80. Faller anchored the apparatus, and was one of three Terps' to notch a 9.75, along with Agaran and freshman Deanna Magro.
The Terps entered the final rotation with a 146.025-145.725 lead, but were surpassed by the Mountaineers. Brauckmuller's 9.80 was Maryland's top score on the event. Senior Leah Slobodin was rewarded with a 9.75 after a solid performance, while Bertorello put up a 9.70 from the fourth position.
Maryland returns to action for the Maryland Quad Meet next Saturday, January 14 at XFINITY Center. Big Ten foe Minnesota, along with Arizona and Alaska make up the competition. Action is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., and the meet can be streamed live on BTN Plus.
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