COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Although the Tigers went into the final rotation with a narrow lead, 26th-ranked University of Maryland (4-1) came from behind to edge the Tigers (3-1) and Ball State (0-4) in a tri-meet at the Comcast Center Pavilion on Friday evening.
After three rotations, the Tigers owned a narrow 0.025-point lead over Maryland. However, the Terrapins responded with a 48.95 score on the floor exercise to win the meet.
Maryland won the meet with a 191.975 team score while the Tigers finished second with a 190.325 score. Ball State took third in the meet with a 189.975 team score.
"We had a good meet," said Towson Coach Vicki Chliszczyk, who spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Maryland. "Before the meet, I sensed that the team was a little nervous. Then, we had a few falls on beam. But we came back and did very well.
"When we went into the final rotation and we had such a narrow lead, I knew it would be hard for us to win," she added. "Maryland was competing on floor where the scores had been high and we were competing on bars where the scores were not as high."
Competing as an all-around for the first time in her college career, freshman Alexa Davis was the Tigers' top performer. With a 38.35 all-around score, she finished third in the meet.
"Alexa had a great meet for us," said Chliszczyk. "When we were struggling on beam, she came through for us and brought us. She also stepped into the vault lineup for us when Kady Sullivan was injured."
With a 9.70 score, Davis tied for third place on beam. She also finished third on bars with a 9.625 score.
Junior Kacy Catanzaro also earned a 9.70 beam score to tie for third place with Davis.
The Tigers, who began the competition on balance beam, got off to a slow start. After junior Lindsay Poplaski led off the meet with a solid 9.675 score. However, the Tigers had three consecutive falls on beam. Davis responded with an excellent effort on beam and posted a 9.70 score. Catanzaro completed the rotation with a 9.70 score for the Tigers.
On floor exercise, the Tigers turned in a very strong performance. One week after compiling a 48.75 team score in the season opener at Brown, the Tigers posted a 48.45 floor score. Junior co-captain Avis Hixon led the Tigers with a 9.80 score on floor while Davis earned a 9.775. Senior co-captain Megan Wooden contributed a 9.725 on floor while freshman Allison Antenucci had a 9.65 score. Competing in her first college meet, freshman Sasa Golob earned a 9.50 score on floor.
Despite their struggles on beam, the Tigers owned a slight lead at the midpoint of the meet. The Tigers had a 95.475 team score while Maryland was slightly behind with a 95.425 score. After two rotations, Ball State was third with a 93.775 score.
After floor exercise, the Tigers moved to vault. Junior Alyssa Dittman earned a 9.475 to give the Tigers a promising start. But the Tigers had a hard time building on that score. Poplaski earned a 9.50 before Catanzaro came through with a 9.75 score. Hixon completed the rotation with a 9.70 vault as she took an extra step on her landing.
After three rotations, the Tigers had a 143.150 team score while Maryland had a 143.025.
In the final rotation, Abigail Adams earned a 9.925 score on floor exercise as the Terrapins pulled out the meet. Led by Adams, Maryland had a 48.95 team score on floor while Towson earned a 47.175 score on bars.
Adams won the all-around competition with a 38.85 score. She also finished first on floor exercise.
Towson returns to action on Saturday, January 29 when the Tigers host George Washington University in the Towson Center at 4:00 p.m.
Team Scores: 1. Maryland 191.975; 2. Towson 190.325; 3. Ball State 189.975
VAULT: 1. Katy Dodds (UM), 9.775; 2. Kacy Catanzaro (TOW), 9.750; Brittney Emmons (BS), 9.750. BARS: 1. Kaitlin Joseph (UM), 9.675; 2. Nicole Allen (BS), 9.65; 3. Alexa Davis (TOW), 9.625.
BEAM: 1. Abigail Adams (UM), 9.85; 2. Jenn Iovino (UM), 9.775; 3. Kacy Catanzaro (TOW), 9.70; Alexa Davis (TOW), 9.70.
FLOOR: 1. Abigail Adams (UM), 9.925; 2. Nicole Allen (BS), 9.875; 3. Katy Dodds (UM), 9.825; Brittney Emmons (BS), 9.825.
ALL-AROUND: 1. Abigail Adams (UM), 38.85; 2. Nicole Allen (BS), 38.725; 3. Alexa Davis (TOW), 38.35.
