The Terrapins had an uneven 2025 season but finished with a bang, qualifying to the second round of regionals, where they posted a program-record score for a regionals meet. They’ll want to build on that in 2026 but have to contend with a huge turnover of athletes; a dozen gymnasts from the 2025 roster graduated, retired, or transferred. However, head coach Brett Nelligan secured excellent freshman and transfer classes to bring in 11 new team members. The newcomers will need to get to work right away, as the Terps return only 10 routines from their postseason lineups.
Today will offer the first look at Maryland’s rebuilt team, and of particular interest will be the uneven bars squad, where sophomore Sarah Saville is the only returner. New routines to look out for are graduate student Katrina Mendez-Abolnik’s Yurchenko one and a half and sophomore Aine Reade on floor, both of whom could anchor their respective events. The meet will also be the first look at Maryland’s top 25 freshman class and, hopefully, can provide an update on the status of junior Layla Hammer, who was spotted in a sling during the offseason, and graduate student Josephine Kogler, who missed the 2025 season but has contributed on three events in the past.
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Good afternoon, and get ready to enjoy some gymnastics to ward off those Sunday scaries! It looks like both squads will do the same event at the same time, and we have celebrity judges, nine other Maryland student-athletes.
Hammer marched out with the team, but still has her right arm in a sling.
Per commentators, senior Maddie Komoroski will be doing all-around. Previously she’s only competed beam and floor.
Rotation 1: VT
Kogler (Black) – Yurchenko full with a bit of pike and small hop back. Hah, celebrity judges give her a 10.000, so not going to worry too much about scores.
Komoroski (Red) – Yurchenko full, a bit underrotated and steps forward. More pike than Kogler.
Engelmayer (Red) – On her full, she is also a tiny bit underrotated and has to step forward.
Reade (Black) – She sticks the Yurchenko full and has great distance.
Rech (Black) – A small hop back on her Yurchenko full, good dynamics.
Buckmon (Black) – A medium hop on her Yurchenko full. She has good dynamics but also a noticeable pike.
Mendez-Abolnik (Red) – Great height and distance on the Yurchenko one-and-a-half, and she sticks it!
Gershuny (Red) – Small step back on the Yurchenko full, not as high as some of the others.
Mullen (Red) – Yurchenko full with a medium hop back. Replay shows she didn’t have a great block, which might have contributed to the pike in the skill.
AFTER ONE: Red 50.000, Black 40.000
The celebrity judges are being very kind, as expected. The highlight of the rotation was definitely Mendez-Abolnik’s debut. If she can manage landings similar to that during the season, she’ll score very well. Overall, the vault squad looks steady and should be a strong event for Maryland again this year.
Rotation 2: UB
Per commentators, Bingham is dealing with some injuries and limited to bars today, but expected to add other events later in the season.
Saville (Black) – Short on her first handstand. Leg separation on Maloney, but clean form on the Pak salto. She dismounts with a double layout, medium step back.
Ruffing (Red) – Jaeger to overshoot, double layout dismount with a small step back. Loses her toepoint throughout the routine.
Bingham (Black) – Free hip to Tkatchev, also loses toepoint through here. It looks better on bail to handstand and final handstand. Doesn’t do a dismount.
Reade (Black) – Half turn to Gienger, leg separation on the catch, straight to overshoot. Double layout dismount, and she sticks – two for two so far today.
Dennis (Red) – She starts with piked Jaeger to overshoot. Toe-on pike half dismount and lands with her chest very low, takes a step forward.
Gershuny (Red) – Ray to overshoot – she misses a hand and comes off the bar. She’s talking with the coaching staff – seems like she may have jammed her finger. She won’t get back up on the apparatus.
Komoroski (Red) – She starts with a Jaeger, through to a Pak salto. Very nice last handstand, and the toepoint is lovely throughout. Dismounts with a double layout, but comes up short and has to take a big hop forward.
Defrees (Red) – She opens with a Tkatchev, then does toe-on to bail to handstand. High full-in with a medium step back. Strong handstands throughout the routine.
Rech (Black) – Half-turn to Tkatchev to start. Short of handstand on bail to handstand. Dismount is a double layout with a medium step forward. Replay shows huge leg separation during the double layout.
AFTER TWO: Red 90.00, Black 80.000
Five of the nine bar routines we saw were from freshmen or transfers, which was not unexpected since only one routine returned from the 2025 postseason. There is potential for bars to be a strong event again this year – it was the Terps’ top-ranked event in 2025. Most of the errors shown today – missed handstands, underrotated dismounts – are not unusual in the preseason and should show improvement over the coming months.
Rotation 3: BB
Commentators are interviewing Rech. She says she’s “played around” with the Yurchenko one and a half over the summer, but not planning to compete it.
Reade (Black) – Back handspring layout stepout off the top. Cat leap to switch 1/2, under split and has to take a leg-up wobble. Switch leap to pike jump, pretty good position, but one leg is lower than the other. Round off to one and a half twist and…she sticks. Now three for three on sticks today.
Buckmon (Black) – Starts with beat jump to front toss. Switch leap, pause and a wobble before straddle 1/4 with a small lean back. Back handspring to layout stepout and she’s off. Back handspring to Gainer full, stuck. She has very nice carriage on beam – good posture and work on releve.
Defrees (Red) – Back handspring to layout stepout, falls. Side aerial, no problem. Cat leap to switch side, she has good position on the cat leap, higher than most get. Round off double twist with a small step back.
Dennis (Red) – Wobbles a bit getting in position for the wolf turn, but gets it around without problems. Back handspring layout stepout – a bit off, but corrects well. Front aerial, one leg comes off the beam, but she doesn’t panic and manages only a small balance correction. Split leap to sheep jump, and unusually, the split is under, but the sheep jump position was great. Back handspring gainer full, stuck.
Kogler (Black) – Switch leap to straddle 1/4. Two back handsprings to layout stepout, a small correction. Switch leap to split leap, the second element looked a smidge under. Gainer full, medium hop back.
Komoroski (Red) – Starts with the Hollie Vise pose – both legs over the head. From the top, her toepoint has my attention. One arm backhandspring to layout stepout, small correction. Front aerial, really well done. Switch leap to split jump, great split positions. Round off to one and a half twist, medium hop forward. She looks ready to pick up where she left off on this event.
Engelmayer (Red) – Beat jump to split ring jump and she has a pretty good head release. Back handspring layout stepout, right on. Aerial roundoff. Side aerial to one and a half twist with a stuck landing.
Crochet (Black) – Back handspring to layout stepout, lands off and has to step to correct. Switch 1/2 with a big wobble and a few steps. Switch leap to split jump. Gainer pike right off the end, step back.
AFTER THREE: Red 129.300, Black 119.450
Like on bars, there are a lot of newcomers to this beam lineup. Komoroski will lead them with her stability and precision, and athletes like Buckmon and Dennis also have the potential to score very well and rival Komoroski in presentation. While we saw a few falls, there was nothing concerning for this point in the preseason.
Rotation 4: FX
Ruffing (Red) – She opens with a double back, landed deep, so she has to take a big step back. Switch side 1/2 to Popa, lack of precision on the landings. Choreography is dramatic with some ballet inspiration. Last pass is one and a half twist to barani to double stag jump.
All right, they’re mixing it up now and alternating with some bar routines.
Buckmon (Black) – UB – Free hip to Shaposhnikova to bail to handstand. Giant full to double back with a small step back. Showed good handstands and toepoint.
Defrees (Red) – First pass is a double back, overrotated and she takes a big step back. Front layout to front full to front tuck. Choreography and music with a Middle Eastern vibe. Switch side to straddle jump.
Crochet (Black) – UB – Toe on to Tkatchev, decent height. Moves on to the Pak salto with a bit of leg separation. Giant full to double back, stuck.
Kogler (Black) – Double back is landed well with a controlled step back. Switch leap full to wolf jump one and a half, solid landing positions. She finished with a one and a half twist to front layout, and she has to arch the layout to get around.
Komoroski (Red) – She opens with a Rudi. Switch ring to switch ring full, she has good head release position and rotates the second element very well. She has great extension in this dramatic choreography. One and a half twist to barani to split jump with great control on the jump.
Rech (Black) – She mounts with a punch front double full that looked a tad underrotated and some lack of control on the step out. Double back is a tiny bit under, and she steps forward. Switch leap full to wolf full. One and a half twist and she sits down on the front layout after missing her punch.
Reade (Black) – Round off double layout is good, a bit underrotated, but so impressive. Leap series looked good. Front layout to front full, noticeable leg separation in the layout. Her music is a mix of pop songs, including Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, very upbeat. This will only get better as the season goes on.
Engelmayer (Red) – She does front handspring to front double full to front tuck, but she’s underrotated on the last two elements and takes a fall. Switch leap full to split jump full. One and a half to front layout, the layout could show more rise.
Ritchey (Black) – Music starts with Justin Timberlake. Front handspring to front double full, a bit short of the twist. Front handspring to Rudi to layout stepout, she’s crooked but handles it. Switch side to Popa.
FINAL: Red 169.000, Black 159.100
Nelligan is talking with the commentators. He describes last year’s regionals result as just the beginning. He credits the newcomers with “raising that bar” rather than just trying to fill spots. He says that Komoroski was limited in bars and vault training after she subluxed her shoulder midway through sophomore year. He calls her junior year more of a “rehab year” and praises her dedication and focus to get to the point that she can compete all-around.
Well, the question marks about the Terps’ lineup holes have largely been answered, as they showed at least eight routines on every event. They can easily try out different lineups early on to find their top six. The 11 transfers and freshmen featured throughout the meet, and Reade really stuck out as a star in the making. It seems like the team will take the roster turnover in stride and build on their postseason success in 2025.
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Live blog by Diana Scroggins
