Skyelar Kerico competes for Penn.

LIVE BLOG: No. 21 N.C. State, No. 36 Maryland, and No. 50 Penn at No. 57 Temple

This is perhaps the strangest time for a gymnastics meet I can remember: Midday on a Thursday? Well.

There’s a lot going on here. The Terps currently sit as the last team into regionals and will be looking to widen their gap over Southern Utah with a big road number. After a 197 at Yale, there’s momentum to build on. N.C. State is the freshly-minted first ACC regular season champion, and also scored a 197 at home last week. The Wolfpack definitely has the edge here, but Maryland could walk out victorious on its best day.

Pennsylvania is having a historic season, led by Skyelar Kerico, arguably the best gymnast in the GEC this year. The Quakers put up an Ivy Classic record of 195.800 two weeks ago. Temple comes into this two-meet homestand after a year spent largely on the road; the Owls’ season high 195.900 came at home versus Towson in January, a performance that they’ll be keen to replicate.

Rotation 1: TUG vault, UMD bars, NCSU beam, Penn floor

Adler (NCSU): Fall on her series

Gatzendorfer (UMD): MAloney Pak combo was strong, little leg sep. Stalder double tuck, stuck.

Budd (TUG): Solid Yfull

A. Kenefick (Penn): Double pike, good landing. Not huge amplitude. RO 3/2 front 1/1, really nicely done.

Monk (TUG): Yfull, piked in a bit and hop back.

Brozowski (UMD): Blind to Jaeger, nice, maybe some soft knees on the catch. Short bail hand. DLO scooted her feet back a bit.

Jennings (NCSU): Clean in her triple series. Switch to tuck 3/4, dropped her chest a little. Check on her side aerial, cocked a hip out a bit. Gainer full off the side stuck.

Weklar (TUG): Yhalf, hop forward.

Kondo (UMD): Blind to Jaeger, lovely, bail was clean. DLO moved her feet back a bit.

Ruskey (TUG): Yfull, huge, step back.

Gazdak (Penn): Front through double tuck, no deductions here. Foot form on her double pike.

Harper (NCSU): Bhs loso, solid. Cat to switch side, bit shy of 180. Check on full turn. 2/1 dismount.

Schugman (TUG): YFull, medium step back.

Silberman (UMD): Geinger was nice. Bail hand touch shy.

Aresta (TUG): Yfull, great height, hop back.

S. Kenefick (Penn): 5/2 punch front, a personal favorite pass. Popa Popa was a little imprecise. FHS 2/1 to close, okayy! little underrotated so she stepped across her body coming out.

Ortega (NCSU): Bhs onodi, great. Stuck her switch to gainer pike.

Rothenbuescher (UMD): Blind to Jaeger immediate bail, nice catch on the Jaeger. FTDB, holds the stick.

Sorry friends, I can’t do exhibitions during quads, I would die.

LeBlanc (UMD): Jaeger, nice. Bail hand to good last handstand. DLO stuck. Phew!

Shepard (NCSU): Her leaps are so gorgeous every time. Bhs loso, solid as a rock. No wobbles on the aerial. Check in her jumps, recovered quickly. Stuck dismount.

Lassiter (Penn): FHS front 1/1 tuck 1/1, that’s a fun pass. Oh her dance is PRECISE. Love it. Double pike, slid back a bit in the lunge. Switch side half Popa, little imprecise in the rotations.

Negrete (NCSU): Aerial bhs, solid. Cat to Switch half to beat, no issues. RO 2/1 hop.

Kerico (Penn): RO 3/2 front lay, great landing, just a little archy in the lay shape. Switch side half to straddle, good there. Chest was a little forward on her double tuck, but a good lunge out.

Davies (Penn): Double pike, slid back in the lunge. Front lay front full, some leg sep but top three? in the NCAA in body positions on a twisting front you heard it here first. Clean leaps. Solid double tuck landing. Great routine!

After 1: NCSU 49.425, UMD 49.350, Penn 48.925, TUG 48.500

What a comeback for the Wolfpack after starting the day with a fall! GUTSY. Maryland was also great on bars. Landings were locked in and those Jaegers were big and clean. A great start for both teams.

Penn is a treat on floor. The tumbling is big, and the choreography is fun. Just some slidey landing errors kept the score down a smidge. Temple also had some landing issues. The second half of the lineup has some big vaults, but just couldn’t lock into those landings.

Rotation 2: Penn vault, TUG bars, UMD beam, NCSU floor

DeHaan (TUG): High pike Jaeger to bail. Blind full good bit late shuffle on double tuck.

Silberman (UMD): Big check on her triple series.

Hall (NCSU): Nice Yturn to wolf. Clean double tuck. Knees on her twisting pass.

Weklar (TUG): Late blind full, double tuck, low chest, step forward.

Song (Penn): Yfull chest forward, hop forward.

Perkins (Penn): Yfull, twisted early, to the side a bit, hop in place. Great shape in the air.

Knight (NCSU):

Hammer (UMD): Bhs loso, solid. Clean front toss. Stuck dismount.

Hogan (TUG): Toe hand to Maloney, nice. Sort handstand. Late bail hand. Scooted her feet back.

Lassiter (Penn): Huge Yfull, hop.

Knight (NCSU): Clean through her leaps. Rudi to huuuuge loso, great.

Kerico (Penn): Yfull, high, came in short, hop forward.

Johnson (TUG): Maloney to bail hand, short. DLO holds the stick. Kevin Copp says he saw a step.

Martin (UMD): Bhs loso, so solid. Cat to side aerial, just some soft knees. Switch switch was a bit shy in the second.

Stallings (TUG): Short handstand. Blind to pike Jaeger, caught a touch close. Stuck double tuck.

Zultevicz (NCSU): Huge 5/2 punch front, good landing. Switch full to wolf full, low front leg in both. Nice double tuck landing.

Belkoff (Penn): Yhalf, nice body position, hop forward.

Whalen (TUG): Between the bars Tkatchev I see you! FTDB, step forward.

Gatzendorfer (UMD): Tiniest check on her triple series. Switch to straddle 1/4, nice. Hop on her dismount.

Barrow (Penn): Massive Yfull, hop.

Edwards (NCSU): Good double pike, moved her front foot a touch. Bit off balance in the air on her Popa. FHS front full front lay, arched the lay down a good bit. Better landing on the double tuck.

Komoroski (UMD): One arm bhs loso, swung one arm but didn’t budge in her body on the landing. Clean front aerial. Switch to split, clean. Small check in her shoulders on the full turn. RO 3/2, step forward.

Shepard (NCSU): Great double pike to open. Tour jete half to split full was clean. Nice landing on her front lay front full, not a ton of amplitude but she got it around fine.

Kogler (UMD): Switch to straddle 1/4, arched back on her landing but held it together. Clean triple series. Broke between her jumps and a check on her full turn. Just a bit rattled. Gainer full off the side, hop. She did break a connection there.

Negrete (NCSU): Secure on her double pike landing. Little archy in her combo pass, but a good landing. Switch half to split full, clean. No issues on the double tuck landing.

After 2: UMD 98.650, NCSU 98.500, Penn 97.625, TUG 97.450

Despite a wobbly start and finish to the rotation, Maryland crushed that beam rotation. The middle four routines were so solid. The Terps are putting together a really great day so far. So is N.C. State, which is always a treat on floor. Some landing slides hit the Wolfpack, but it was still a clean and competitive score. Still, the little errors allowed Maryland to charge ahead.

Penn’s vaults a big. The Quakers were really just a few controlled landings short of a 49. It was a good rotation all around, with Temple clean and also just short of a 49 on bars, again with just a few short handstands and steps on landings to tidy up.

Rotation 3: NCSU vault, Penn bars, TUG beam, UMD floor

Monk (TUG): slightly to the side on her series, minimal deductions. Cat to a pause. Cat to side aerial, check.

Rech (UMD): Clean opening landing. Nice double tuck.

Song (Penn): Toe hand to Maloney, some leg sep. Short handstand. FTDB, holds the stick.

Hall (NCSU): Weirdly long wait for the leadoff. Waved her off the runway. Not sure what’s up. Finally going! Yfull, huge, hop back.

Ruskey (TUG): Bhs loso, foot form on both. Bobble on her full turn. Hop forward on her dismount.

Lassiter (Penn): Arhced handstand. Blind to Jaeger, bent arms a big on the catch. Bail hand to Blind full late double tuck stuck.

Silberman (UMD): Switch side Popa was nice. FHS 2/1, form in her knees and some leg cross.

Dorunda (TUG): Great triple series. Check on her full turn. Hop forward on her dismount.

S. Kenefick( Penn): Leg sep on her Pak. Fall on a giant I think, seems like she just lost her grip. Stuck double full out of a repeated blind full after remounting.

Ortega (NCSU): Lovely Yfull, small hop back. Really clean body position.

Le Blanc (UMD): FHS 2/1, lunged across her body but nice in the air. FHS rudi to close, nice.

Zultevicz (NCSU): Some knees on her yfull.

Schugman (TUG): Oh I missed this whole routine I’m sorry!

Knight (NCSU): Missed this one too!

Tsu (Penn): Blind full, late double tuck maybe but my stream cut out whaaat.

Sorry folks, ESPN+ fully crashed, I missed a bunch!

Adler (NCSU): Big yfull!

Komoroski (UMD): Nice combo. Switch ring to ring full, bit of a low front leg on the full. RO 3/2 front lay, low on the lay and arched but a good landing.

Negrete (NCSU): Yfull, small hop forward.

Stallings (TUG): Bhs bhs loso, small check in her upper body. RO 3/2 hop forward.

Kerico (Penn): She was going into her Ray and something weird happened in the toe on, falls. Penn is counting one now.

Rothenbuescher (UMD): Whip to double tuck, solid landing. Switch side popa was a little cheated. Stuck double pike, chose to take the lunge Raena Worley-style.

A judges’ conference! Apparently one judge has a 9.900 SV. Not sure what she would’ve missed. Ah okay, 10.0 SV.

Martin (UMD): Full-in, bit out of control on the landing. RO 3/2 front lay to stag, nice there. She’s so powerful she just tip toes into her tumbling. Short switch half to wolf full. Hop back on her double tuck landing.

After 3: UMD 147.700, NCSU 147.450, TUG 146.350, Penn 145.675

Apparently today is the day for shaky beam leadoffs! But like N.C. State and Maryland, Temple recovered really well for a solid rotation overall. Penn really struggled on bars, with the two falls, but it was good to see Lassiter in the lineup! Notably, Kerico didn’t finish after her fall, which makes enough sense. Already counting one, why tax your top all arounder when you don’t need to.

Vault was just okay for N.C. State, again, it was largely landing issues. Maryland is a great floor team, but like everyone else in this quad so far, some landing errors depressed the score somewhat. Still, the Terps did enough to maintain the lead and stay on 197 pace: A 49.300 is the vault magic number.

Maryland raised to a 147.775, and N.C. State to a 147.500. Lotta judging…weirdness? Here. Nothing bad or egregious, just slowness and changes. Now the Terps need just a 49.225 to hit 197.

Rotation 4: UMD vault, NCSU bars, Penn beam, TUG bars

Adomidas (NCSU): Maloney to Pak, clean. Stalder to double tuck.

Weir (UMD): Huge yfull, Copp says stuck I say hop.

Belkoff (Penn): Switch to sheep, repeated the switch once after breaking the connection.

Dorunda (TUG): Bounce out of her double tuck. Front lay rudi, low chest.

Rech (UMD): Yfull, stuck cold!

Childs (NCSU): Blind full was good, double tuck stuck.

Kerico is scratching beam, hopefully that bars fall wasn’t due to any injury.

Kogler (UMD): Yfull, clean in the air, step to the side.

Reed (NCSU): Toe hand to Maloney, short on that first handstand. Pak was clean. FTDB, step back.

Weklar (TUG): Freshman’s first floor routine. RO 3/2 front lay, really pulled the lay around but landed well.

Silberman (UMD) Full-on pike, big step. Was that our fist 10.0 start.

Oniki (Penn): Managed to hold on her series. A few bobbles throughout.

Harper (NCSU): Nice Gienger. Bail hand was done well. Stuck DLO. Great routine!

Rothenbuescher (UMD): Tsuk full, little off balance on the landing but holds it I think.

Schugman (TUG): Switch side half Popa little short on each rotation.

Ortega (NCSU): Nice Hindorff, short on her bail hand. Stuck DLO. Bars is cooking!

Martin (UMD): Y1.5, so high! Swum her arms, has to hop forward.

A. Kenefick (Penn): Wobbly on her leaps. RO 3/2 hop forward.

Shepard (NCSU): Clean on her Pak. Oh, arms buckled on her low bar pirouette, falls. Very weird for her!

Ruskey (TUG): Front through double tuck, great landing. Switch side half Popa, little under on the half. Clean double pike landing.

Marr (Penn): Nice bhs loso. Switch to straddle 1/4 was good. Cat leap aerial, no issues. Tiniest check on the full turn. Bhs gainer full, hop back.

Monk (TUG): Front through double pike, slid her foot a little. Tour jete half split full, little off balance but good splits. Clean 2/1 landing, little leg form.

Perkins (Penn): Split to split ring, leg up check, another one a front aerial. Bhs 3/2 soft knees, hop back.

Donabedian (TUG): FHS rudi loso, pretty, little low in the loso. Switch ring to switch full, nice there. Another FHS 2/1 dismount okay very nice!

Werlen (Penn): Held the aerial. Bhs loso, dropped her chest. Bhs 3/2 step forward, really nice for getting plopped into the anchor!

FINAL: Maryland 197.050, N.C. State 196.725, Temple 195.450, Penn 194.225

What a meet for the Terps! That’ll help the NQS. N.C. State was also excellent, even with Chloe Negrete just not quite as crisp as we’re used to seeing her. Temple will also be happy with the second half of this one. Penn has to just be concerned about Kerico; hopefully just resting after that fall.

VT: Knight 9.925
UB: Ortega 9.950
BB: Martin 9.950
FX: Rothenbuescher, Shepard 9.900
AA: Silberman 39.075

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Live blog by Emily Minehart

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