U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Despite winning two individual events, a disastrous rotation on the balance beam sent the 12th-ranked University of Denver gymnastics team to its worst team score in two years at the Rocky Mountain Open at the Air Force Academy on Saturday night. The Pioneers (4-1) scored 192.325 points to finish second behind No. 15 Brigham Young (194.325). The host Falcons totaled 191.775 points to finish third.
The Pioneers opened on the uneven bars and improved over a point from last week by scoring 48.975. Freshmen Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas) and Lindsay Fitzgerald (Spring, Texas) led off with career highs of 9.7 and 9.75, respectively, freshman Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla.) shattered her career high with a 9.85, and junior Melanie Schiff (Highland Park, N.J.) won the event with a 9.875 in her first bars trip of the season.
Denver then suffered through a tough balance beam rotation after counting two falls and seeing all six competitors struggle through their routines. The Pioneers scored just 46.6 points and, after leading through the first rotation, were more than a point behind BYU halfway through the meet.
The floor exercise was an improvement for Denver, which scored 48.625 on the apparatus. Shible led the Pioneers with a 9.825, and senior All-American Jenny Ebdon (Marietta, Ga.) added a 9.75. The Pioneers finished solidly on vault, led by Shible's event-winning 9.825, yet Air Force closed with a strong floor exercise rotation.
In addition to her vault win, Shible also tied for the floor exercise title, finished second on bars behind Schiff and also finished second in the all-around with a career-high 38.6.
"We had a really tough time on beam tonight," said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "There were some people that fought through on floor and vault after we finished beam, but we're inexperienced, we're young, and this should serve as a wake-up call that our athletes need to get serious."
The Pioneers remain on the road next weekend, as they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to face Louisiana State on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m. MST.
No. 12 DENVER GYMNASTICS - Rocky Mountain Open at USAFA, Colo. (Cadet Gym)
FINAL TEAM SCORES:
1. No. 15 Brigham Young, 194.325; 2. No. 12 DENVER, 192.325; 3. Air Force, 191.775.
TOP INDIVIDUALS:
ALL-AROUND: 1. Kelly Parkinson (BYU), 39.25; 2. Ashley Shible (DEN), 38.6; 3. Jeni Lopez (BYU), 38.2; 4. Elizabeth Weber (AFA), 37.875; 5. Emily Bankhead (DEN), 37.6. VAULT: 1. Ashley Shible (DEN), 9.825; Kelly Parkinson (BYU), 9.775; 3. (tie), Jenny Ebdon (DEN) and Angie Hickman (BYU), 9.65; 5. Emily Bankhead (DEN), 9.625. UNEVEN BARS: 1. Melanie Schiff (DEN), 9.875; 2. Ashley Shible (DEN), 9.85; 3. (tie), Kelly Parkinson (BYU) and Brogan Jacobsen (BYU), 9.825; 5. (tie), Michelle Kasuga (DEN) and three others, 9.8. BALANCE BEAM: 1. (tie), Kari Dye (BYU) and Karen Froerer (BYU, 9.85; 3. Kelly Parkinson (BYU), 9.825; 4. Bethany Stott (AFA), 9.725; 5. (tie), Melanie Schiff (DEN) and Trisha Driggs (BYU), 9.675. FLOOR EXERCISE: 1. (tie), Kelly Parkinson (BYU), Ashley Shible (DEN), Amy Hultin (AFA) and Kristi Delcour (AFA), 9.825; 5. Jeni Lopez (BYU), 9.8.
