DENVER – The University of Denver women's gymnastics team yet again improved on its season high with a 197.525 on Friday night in a Big 12 Conference showdown at No. 4-ranked Utah.
DU bested its previous season high of 197.125, set five days prior on February 16 at home against Oregon State, Ball State and Texas Woman's.
Host Utah claimed the win on the night with a 198.075, though Denver kept the meet close throughout, holding the lead after the first rotation and being within .025 after the second.
COACH'S NOTES
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach
Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "I'm very proud of the performance and how well they stayed in their own bubble, even though it was an incredibly loud environment. Everyone stayed together and was present in the moment, and I thought that led to a more confident, consistent and complete performance.
"We're working toward confidence and consistency in each and every meet, and we're getting a little bit stronger in that from week to week. They're getting stronger and definitely moving in the right direction."
SIGNIFICANT STATS
- Denver's 197.525 became the seventh highest road score in program history.
- Additionally, the team's 49.525 on bars ties the 10th highest overall score in DU history and the fifth highest on the road.
- Sophomore Ashley Gallen made her official collegiate debut, slotting into the full beam lineup for the first time after competing in exhibition three times previously.
- Combined, DU gymnasts earned five scores in the 9.900 range, a new season high.
- All 20 of DU's counted scores were above the 9.800 threshold, marking a first for the team in 2025.
- In total, 21 of the team's 24 routines scored at least a 9.800.
- In the all-around, sophomore Madison Ulrich tallied the highest score by a DU gymnast so far this year and also equaled her career high with a 39.550.
BARS RECAP
Denver set the tone on bars with its first season-high event score of the night, posting a 49.525 in what is now the team's highest single-event score of the year so far. Fifth-year
Rosie Casali led off with a 9.900 that was just .025 from her personal best. Junior
Cecilia Cooley scored a 9.925 for the second meet in a row, which is her career high, and Ulrich had the rotation's top score with a 9.950 – also only a quarter tenth from her personal best. Junior
Kiley Rorich and graduate student
Rylie Mundell had DU's final counted scores with matching 9.875s.
VAULT RECAP
DU continued to build momentum on vault with another season-best performance. All six vault earned scores at or above the 9.800 mark, highlighted by back-to-back stuck Yurchenko 1.5s from sophomore
Maddison Reidenbach and Casali, scoring a 9.875 and 9.925, respectively. Mundell equaled Reidenbach's mark with her own Yurchenko 1.5 with a slight adjustment on the landing. Ulrich gave Denver its first of four 10.0 starts and hit her best front handspring front pike half of the year, tallying a season-best 9.850. Junior
Mila Brusch and graduate student
Bella Mabanta kicked off the lineup with powerful Yurchenko fulls for a 9.800 and 9.25, respectively.
FLOOR RECAP
Denver narrowly missed its best floor rotation of the season by only .025, adding a 49.250 to its team tally with five counted scores between 9.825 and 9.875. Rorich and Brusch both scored 9.825s to start things off while Mabanta would earn a 9.850 later in the lineup. Cooley finished just off her career high with a 9.875 off controlled tumbling and leaps, and Ulrich would match that score and her season high in the No. 5 spot with similar control on all three of her tumbling passes, including her double layout.
BEAM RECAP
Once again, Denver adjusted its beam lineup and ended with its highest score of the year by more than a tenth, a 49.400. Cooley continued in the critical role as leadoff performer and set the tone with a personal best-tying 9.875. Senior
Momoko Iwai followed with what would be Denver's top score of the night on any event, boasting a massive 9.950 in the No. 2 spot. In what was the team's moment of the night, Gallen slotted into the full lineup for the first time in her career and delivered a sturdy routine with a stuck gainer pike dismount. She was immediately enveloped by her teammates in a group hug while they awaited her 9.850 to be shown.
Graduate student
Abbie Thompson started the back half of the rotation with a 9.850, her third straight score at or above 9.825. After a few adjustments from Mundell in the No. 5 spot, Ulrich stepped in as the anchor once again and delivered her second consecutive 9.875 – which marked the ninth time in her career that she has achieved the career-high score.
EXHIBITION NOTES
Denver also earned hit routines across all four of its exhibitions. Sophomore
Amanda Hargraves took the vault and floor spots once again, scoring a 9.700 and a 9.825, respectively. Reidenbach again claimed the bars exhibition and earned a 9.650. Freshman
Sophia Hampp posted a 9.625 in her second beam exhibition this year as well.
PODIUM FINISHES
Vault
Casali: First Place (tie) – 9.925
Mundell: Third Place (tie) – 9.875
Reidenbach: Third Place (tie) – 9.875
Bars
Ulrich: Second Place (tie) – 9.950
Beam
Iwai: Second Place – 9.950
All-Around
Ulrich: Third Place – 39.550
NEXT UP:
Denver continues its final stretch of Big 12 Conference competition when it travels to Iowa State for a tri meet with NC State on Friday, February 28.
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025 University of Denver gymnastics season are now on sale and can be
purchased online, by calling 303-871-4625 or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.
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