Setting The Bar: Maryland Gymnastics Embraces Transfers, Team Chemistry, and Big Ten Competition

It’s going to be an exciting season on the mat in College Park this season, and the Terps believe they have a roster built for success in what many consider to be the most exciting period of college athletics. 

“Gymnastics has never been more popular at the collegiate level,” Maryland head coach Brett Nelligan said. “When you talk about the good old days, we’re in them right now. This is the best time to be in college athletics. It’s the best time to be in women’s gymnastics. It’s the best time to be in the Big Ten.”

The Terps have a new-look quad this season after a sizable senior class graduated a season ago. Now, Nelligan has reloaded with 11 new gymnasts — six freshmen and five transfers — and has his team ready to compete in college gymnastics’ premier conference.

“I’m impressed with how well they’ve grown together,” Nelligan said. “When you bring in 11 newcomers, you expect that there’s going to be a learning curve for the team getting to know each other, getting to know the coaching staff, learning how we operate, but it seems like everybody picked it up really quick.”

The gelling process was a focus for Maryland in the offseason, and it’s already produced one of the closest teams. 

“Over the years, when we look back on our program’s history, our teams that were the most successful were also our most close-knit teams,” Nelligan said. “That was a point of emphasis for us in the preseason. I’m really blown away with how much work this team has put in to get to know one another, but I’m also just impressed with how natural it was. They seemed to click right away.”

Hours of training, practice, and the Red/Black mock meet have the Terps ready to rock the mat in 2026. 

“I loved our preseason,” Nelligan said. “They’ve worked really hard. The work ethic and attitude has been incredible. This group has just been a joy to work with all preseason, and I’m so excited to see what they can do.”

Seniors Maddie Komoroski and Taylor Rech are back, but with new tricks up their sleeves in their final seasons of competition. 

“I think it’s going to be really exciting for fans to see Komoroski on more events,” Nelligan said. “Everybody knows her as a beam and floor star, but she’s adding vault and bars this year, which is super exciting and really impressive for a senior.”

“Last one, best one,” Komoroski said. “We’ve worked really hard, and I feel like we’ve both grown so much since our freshman year. It’s fun to go in there with full confidence that we maybe didn’t have as freshmen.”

Komoroski and Rech are experienced leaders on this year’s edition of Terrapin gymnastics, but the entire team is benefiting from the wisdom and experiences of its new faces. 

“It’s also good to hear their input based on what they did at previous schools,” Komoroski said. “We don’t only have one knowledge of how to lead a team. They have their different experiences that help with that.”

Highlighting the transfer class will be two standouts from Bowling Green that Nelligan’s staff found in the portal: senior Megan Bingham and graduate student Katrina Mendez-Abolnik. 

“I think people are going to be blown away with Katrina Mendez-Abolnik on vault,” Nelligan said. “And then Megan Bingham, her work ethic and attitude, and the way she’s fitted in with the team has been really great. She’s been a leader for us right away.”

The Terps landed another star out of the portal. Aine Reade came to College Park via New Hampshire, where she earned First-Team All-Conference honors and was an eight-time Conference Rookie of the Week in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League. 

“Aine Reade coming over with all the accolades from the EAGL, she is as-advertised or better,” Nelligan said. “She is a star waiting to break out in the Big Ten, so she’ll be fun to watch all year.”

With returning success back for another season and the addition of new Terps that already know how to dominate, Nelligan’s squad is set to be a perfect recipe for victory in the Big Ten. 

“It’s been nice to have some girls who came from previous schools already,” Rech said. “To bring in five girls who have experience at other schools and get what competing at the collegiate level is right, it’s nice to have them join the team and already know what to do. They were able to join really easily.”

Maryland’s season starts on Friday with the Terrapin Quad meet. The Terps will face George Washington, Long Island, and New Hampshire in the first of five meets that XFINITY Center will host in 2026. 

“It’s a whole new team,” Komoroski said. “We’re bringing something completely new that fans haven’t seen in the past. It’ll be fun for them to see something new.”

Various backgrounds, talents, experiences and successes have come together under one common goal: united success. The Terps get their quest for Big Ten dominance started this week in what promises to be an exciting season for Maryland gymnastics.