After tying its highest season season-opening score ever last week, Maryland is off to an impressive start this season. Notable routines were Natalie Martin’s anchoring Yurchenko one-and-a-half and Rhea LeBlanc’s 9.875 on bars. This week The Terps will be looking to dial in on some of last week’s mistakes. Maddie Komoroski, who has the potential to break into the 9.9s on beam, only went 9.075 last week. Hailey Merchant and Emma Silberman had uncharacteristic mistakes on bars and are both capable of breaking into the 9.8s.
Rutgers is coming off a 194.650 at last week’s home quad meet. The Scarlet Knights had great routines on the leg events (including a floor score that beat Oregon State) anchored by Emily Leese’s 9.925, but bars remains a weak event for them after just cracking into the 48s last week.
I’m also wondering if travel fatigue could play a role in Rutger’s overall team performance. After just making it back from Monday’s canceled MLK day meet in Tennessee, I’m wondering if the quick four-day turnaround back down south could play a role in the team’s performance on Friday so keep that in mind throughout the meet.
Oh, also this is a pride meet! There’s a huge pride flag in the arena and Maryland has sleeveless pride leos.
Rotation 1: Maryland Vault, Rutgers Bars
Rech – Maryland – Vault: Powerful FTY with a bounce back. Her foot is outside one of the lines. 9.700
Lorente-Garcia – Rutgers – Vault: Maloney to Pak is a little untidy, short on half turn, double layout with a hop forwards
Weir – Maryland – Vault: FTY with small pike down but better landing control than Rech. 9.750
Manifold – Rutgers – Bars: Catches pretty close on the Ray but still manages to connect to the overshoot. Short on the blind change but super cool front 1.5 dismount – lots of leg separations though
Kogler – Maryland – Bars: Best FTY of the lineup, good amplitude and solid landing. 9.800
DiNovi – Rutgers – Bars: Maloney to Pak, leg separations, blind full to good stick on the double tuck! 9.800
Silberman – Maryland – Vault: Full-on, pike off, she actually does a pretty good job at keeping her legs together in the pre-flight but she doesn’t get tons of amplitude for the back pike, big lunge back. 9.800
Goldsmith – Rutgers – Bars: Short on the first handstand, big opening Hindorf! Catches it really close but also manages to connect to the bail, double layout with some form issues but gets a solid landing. 9.650
Rothenbuescher – Maryland – Vault: Solid Kaz full, 9.775
Daniels – Rutgers – Bars: Blind full to bail handstand, good handstand, big Tkachev, pulls in a little bit on the double layout which almost freaked me out really badly for a second but pulls it out fine.
Natalie Martin – Maryland – Vault: Big Yurchenko 1.5 – hop forwards but easily the best of the lineup so far. I feel like 9.850 is too low compared to the rest of the lineup. Her landing was a little weaker, but I wish her amplitude and pre-flight form were rewarded.
Balser – Rutgers – Bars: Big Jaegar, Pak, good handstand positions, clean stuck DLO
After 1: Maryland 49.000, Rutgers 48.750
Maryland had a solid opening vault rotation – the Terps are up 0.1 on the vault score from last week. Natalie Martin’s Yurchenko 1.5 was the highlight of the lineup and went 9.850. In the coming weeks if she can find the landing I think that can go 9.9+
Rutgers crushed their previous 47.9250 and 48.1750 for a 48.750 this week on bars so the team will be happy that bars is moving in a positive direction.
Rotation 2: Maryland Bars, Rutgers Vault
Lorente-Garcia – Rutgers – Bars: Good FTY – teeny tiny shuffle back. 9.825
Brozowski – Maryland – Bars: Solid Jargar, small leg sep on bail handstand, stuck DLO. 9.725
Jones – Rutgers – Vault: Oops! I think she was a little high on the table and FTY’d to her knees 9.450
Gatzendorfer – Maryland – Bars: Maloney, Pak, small leg separations, stalder into double tuck, almost arches over on the stalder but gets it over. Christina said she has a dismount upgrade so look forward to that in the coming weeks. 9.775
Riley – Rutgers – Vault: Nice FTY with a bounce back.
Kondo – Maryland – Bars: Big Jaegar into bail, winds up for big DLO for big lunge back.
Aird – Rutgers – Vault: Almost stuck FTY! Small shuffle in place. 9.875, highest vault score of the meet so far
Silberman – Maryland – Bars: Half turn into Geinger, short on handstand, bail handstand, winds up for stuck DLO. 9.825
Dildy – Rutgers – Maryland: FTY, short on the landing. 9.725
LeBlanc – Maryland – Bars: Jaegar, bail handstand, solid, good DLO hop in place.
Leese – Rutgers – Vault: The broadcast missed it womp womp – watching it now on replay. Good 1.5 I think she had a small slide on the landing? 9.825
Merchant – Maryland – Bars: Toe on but then she puts her feet on the bar for her Ray but then kind of NOPES off the bar, remounts, gets it this time connects it to bail, stuck full-twisting double layout. What a shame that was great besides the fall. 9.350
Raby: Exhibiton vault, a little short on FTY and sort of does a Chae Campbell on landing
Rothenbuescher – Maryland – Bars: Catches a bit close on Jaegar and tries to connect it to the bail but pings off. Full-in dismount step back. 9.125
After 2: Maryland 97.975, Rutgers 97.775
Maryland will not be thrilled with that bars rotation. Merchant had issues last week with her Ray to bail combination and had issues yet again with it this week. Still even with a less-than-ideal bars rotation Maryland is able to hold the lead by 0.200.
Rutgers had a good vault rotation breaking into the 49s for the first time this season. Aird’s nearly stuck FTY brought in the highest vault score of the meet so far. Floor is Rutger’s strong event so it’ll be hoping to gain some ground here.
Rotation 3: Maryland Beam, Rutgers Floor
Christina made a Produnova reference WE WON
Silberman – Maryland – Beam: Solid BHS BHS LOSO, good dance series, perhaps slightly short of 180, teeny hop on the 1.5 dismount.
Zannella – Rutgers – Floor: Quite deep on the opening layout + front full, good whip to double-full, ambitious switch ring to switch ring half. 9.650
Weir – Maryland – Beam : BHS LOSO, switch leap to straddle quarter, small bend at hips, slide back on 1.5 dismount. 9.575
Aird – Rutgers – Floor: Big lunge back on opening double pike, big step forward OOB on front full, great landing on the double tuck.
Martin – Maryland – Beam: I missed her LOSO series but it was solid, nice switch leap to switch leap, a bit short of 180, 1.5 dismount with a hop. 9.850
Webster – Maryland – Floor: Big full-in with several steps back, attempted switch ring to switch half, her routine is so fun! She’s having a great time. Almost loses it on the double tuck and has to take a big squat and a few steps back. 9.500
Gatzendorfer – Maryland – Beam: Lovely BHS BHS LOSO, switch leap to straddle quarter, switch leap to split, nice stuck gainer pike. 9.825
Wood – Rutgers – Floor: Rudi to HUGE LOSO, big front double-full to finish with great landing control. 9.580
Komoroski – Maryland – Beam: one arm BHS to LOSO wonderful, front aerial to beat jump, switch leap to split jump, 1.5 with a hop. Her toe point is wonderful. 9.825
Dildy – Rutgers – Floor: Nice opening punch front into double tuck, double pike is a bit low.
Kogler – Maryland – Beam: My stream cut off HELP. Nice switch leap to split jump, stuck gainer full. Based on her teammates reaction I think it was great! 9.875
Leese – Rutgers – Floor: Big full-in to start, legs are a bit scrappy in the air, punch front to double tuck with lunge back. 9.900
Hammer – Maryland – Beam: Exhibition, nice LOSO series, bobble on the front toss, short of 180 on some of her dance elements, good gainer full. 9.675
Koopman – Rutgers – Floor: Exhibition, big triple-full to open! Has to take a big slide on landing, nice 2.5 to punch front to finish.
After 3: Maryland 147.125, Rutgers 146.625
Maryland is down a bit from its beam 49.225 from last week for just a 49.150 this week. I was really happy to see Komoroski hit this week because if she can stay on the beam she is capable of bringing in a big number. Rutgers is also down a bit from its 49.200 last week for just a 48.850 this week. Emily Leese was the highlight of the rotation and was able to bring in the first 9.9+ score of the meet.
Feelings moment alert: Maryland is handing out little flowers to little kids in the audience
Rotation 4: Maryland Floor, Rutgers Beam
“Floor is about artistry, not their personality” THANK YOU!
Koopman – Rutgers – Beam: Loose form on the BHS BHS LOSO and bobble, nice switch leap to aerial combo, gainer full with a hop
Rech – Maryland – Floor: Nice front double-full, double tuck with big lunge back, some duckwalking, that’s pride meet slay! Good 1.5 to front layout dismount. I wish there were more people in the audience to appreciate this routine.
Dildy – Rutgers – Beam: I missed most of this routine but she had a really nice cat leap to front aerial to BHS combo.
Silberman – Maryland – Floor: Great 1.5 to Barani to straddle jump, crashes the front double-full to finish. 9.075
Riley – Rutgers – Beam: Clean BHS LOSO, clean aerial, hip bend on the straddle quarter jump, great 1.5 dismount!
LeBlanc – Maryland – Floor: Opening front double-full, lunges out of it, 1.5 to front layout is solid, Rudi to finish with a lunge back.
Leese – Rutgers – Beam: Front toss with slight wobble sort of-ish connected to a BHS?, I’ll be interested to see what they do with that, stuck tucked full dismount. 9.775
Komoroski – Maryland – Floor: Clean Rudi to open, nice switch ring to Ferrari, solid 1.5 to front layout to finish. 9.900
Aird – Rutgers – Beam: A little off on the LOSO series, slow to connect the switch leap to switch half but manages to connect to a split jump, still a bit slow though, gainer full dismount. 9.775 – looks like she started from a 10
Rothenbuescher – Maryland – Floor: Whip to double tuck stuck COLD, get it! Great landing on the double pike to finish. 9.925
Zannella – Maryland – Beam: Nice opening split to ring jump, solid LOSO series, aerial to back 1.5 dismount.
Martin – Maryland – Floor: Big full-in opening, some legs, nice back 1.5 to front layout, hop, double tuck with lunge back. 9.850
Rains – Rutgers – Beam: Exhibition, slight bobble on LOSO series, big leg up on front aerial, pretty solid ring position on jumps, hop on gainer full dismount. 9.500
Osterhout – Maryland – Floor: Exhibition – front tuck to double tuck is good, doesn’t really hit positions on her dance series, strong double pike to finish.
FINAL: Maryland 196.450, Rutgers 195.550
Maryland had a strong floor rotation to finish out the meet. Rothenbuescher’s 9.925 is the highest score of the entire meet and that helped The Terps round out the meet with a 49.325. Rutgers will be very pleased with its 195.550 this meet, an improvement from a 193.400 and a 194.650 from the last two meets.
VT: Elia Aird (Rutgers) 9.875
UB: Balser (Rutgers) 9.875
BB: Kogler (Maryland) 9.875
FX: Rothenbuscher (Maryland) 9.925
AA: Silberman (Maryland) 38.500
READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Taking Another Look at 9.975s – Which Judge Was Right?
Live blog by Daniel Rothwell
