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Gianna Ruffing Terrapin Quad

Gymnastics

Maryland Gymnastics Wins Terrapin Quad With 195.700 Score In Season Opener

The Terps placed first in all four events on Friday night in wins over New Hampshire, George Washington and Long Island.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland gymnastics got its season started with a first-place finish in the Terrapin Quad with a total score of 195.700. The Terps dominated all four events as they downed second-place New Hampshire (194.500), third-place George Washington (193.200), and fourth-place Long Island (190.400) at XFINITY Center on Friday night. 

Katrina Mendez-Abolnik and Logan Buckmon both dazzled with 9.850 marks, tied for the second-highest scores of the event, as the Terps started the night on the vault and posted a 49.000 team score. Maryland finished first in its first event of the season. Gianna Ruffing and Chelsey Dennis both earned respective 9.850 and 9.825 scores on the uneven bars in Maryland's second event. The Terps earned another 49.000 team score as they took first in the event. Ruffing's mark was the highest score on the uneven bars by any gymnast on Friday.  Maryland moved over to the balance beam, where the Terps recorded a 48.625 team score. Madeline Komoroski led the way with a 9.850 while Emily DeFrees earned a 9.725 in her collegiate debut. Komoroski's score was tied for the night's highest mark on the beam.  The Terps wrapped their season opener up with the floor exercise and capped the night with a 49.075 team score and an event win. Madeline Komoroski posted a 9.850 while Emily DeFrees impressed the judges with the same score. The two Terps tied for the top mark on the floor on Friday. Maryland flips into Big Ten competition with a perfect 3-0 record. The Scoring:

Rotation 1 – Vault: Team Total: 49.000 (1st Place)
  • George Washington (48.825)
  • New Hampshire (48.475)
  • Long Island (47.950)
Rotation 2 — Uneven Bars: Team Total: 49.000 (1st Place)
  • New Hampshire (48.775)
  • George Washington (48.425)
  • Long Island (46.900)

Rotation 3 — Balance Beam: Team Total: 48.625 (1st Place)
  • New Hampshire (48.550)
  • Long Island (47.675)
  • George Washington (47.275)
Rotation 4 — Floor Exercise:  Team Total: 49.075 (1st Place)
  • New Hampshire (48.700)
  • George Washington (48.675)
  • Long Island (47.825)
Brett Nelligan's Breakdown:
  • "They just have this ability to flip a switch. Practice was good, but they somehow know when to just flip the switch and be great when the lights are on and the pressure's on."
  • "They have this ability in them to be great when the moment calls for it, and to see that on night one is really impressive, and I'm excited to see how this season goes."
  • "I'm already blown away with how much they've grown as a team. That's what you have to do when you step out in front of fans and you;ve got the lights on and the pressure's on you. If you're not a close-knit group, it's easy to crack under pressure. We were in a pressure situation on beam and we had to fight our way through that, and I truly believe we were able to do that because of the bonds that we built as a team in the preseason."
  • This is certainly helpful for us to get back into the gum and not have anything major to fix. We get to go in the gym and say 'all right, little-detail work'. We'll reduce some wobbles on the beam and some landings on vault and floor, but we're not having to fix anything major. This is a great, nice, high starting point for us, and hopefully we can build from here."
Komoroski's Commanding Night:
  • "As a team, we just had so much fun. We went out there and did better than we could have ever wished or hoped in our first meet. We worked hard for it, but it really showed off tonight. We pulled it all together, so that was a really awesome feeling."
  • "My voice is almost gone, but I had so much fun. It's my role now to get people hyped up and everything, so I try my best to do that. I think we, as seniors, did a great job at bringing it."
  • "I think everyone did great. There were some ups and downs, but we didn't let the downs keep us down. We just moved on and had a great day."
  • "Today was a really fun experience and everybody can't wait to compete again next weekend. That's a good thing. When we go into the gym, we're excited to get better and come out here and do it all again."
Up Next:
  • Maryland hosts its first Big Ten meet of the season against Washington on Jan. 17. The meet will start at 7:30 PM and air on B1G+.
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Players Mentioned

Logan Buckmon

Logan Buckmon

5' 2"
Junior
Rayna  Engelmayer

Rayna Engelmayer

Sophomore
Josephine Kogler

Josephine Kogler

5' 2"
Graduate Student
Madeline Komoroski

Madeline Komoroski

5' 2"
Senior
Taylor Rech

Taylor Rech

5' 2"
Senior
Gianna Ruffing

Gianna Ruffing

5' 3"
Junior
Sarah  Saville

Sarah Saville

Sophomore
Aine  Reade

Aine Reade

Sophomore
Megan Bingham

Megan Bingham

Senior
Chelsey Dennis

Chelsey Dennis

Junior

Players Mentioned

Logan Buckmon

Logan Buckmon

5' 2"
Junior
Rayna  Engelmayer

Rayna Engelmayer

Sophomore
Josephine Kogler

Josephine Kogler

5' 2"
Graduate Student
Madeline Komoroski

Madeline Komoroski

5' 2"
Senior
Taylor Rech

Taylor Rech

5' 2"
Senior
Gianna Ruffing

Gianna Ruffing

5' 3"
Junior
Sarah  Saville

Sarah Saville

Sophomore
Aine  Reade

Aine Reade

Sophomore
Megan Bingham

Megan Bingham

Senior
Chelsey Dennis

Chelsey Dennis

Junior