DENVER - Freshman Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla. / East Lake HS) and Junior Melanie Schiff (Highland Park, N.J. / Highland Park HS) each won an individual event and the pair finished second and third in the all-around as the University of Denver gymnastics program finished third in the annual Burnsley Invitational at Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The Pioneers (11-6) scored 194.650 points to finish behind No. 12 Penn State (195.375) and No. 9 Florida (195.150). Air Force finished fourth with a 194.075.

Schiff scored a career-high 9.925 on the balance beam to take top honors on the apparatus, while Shible won the floor exercise for her 17th overall title of the season with a 9.875. Shible also was second on the vault (9.925) and scored a solid 39.475 in the all-around to post the fourth-highest score in school history; Shible already owns the school record at 39.575. Schiff's excellent balance beam paved the way for a four-event total of 39.375 to place third behind Penn State's Katie Rowland (39.550) and Shible in the all-around.

Denver scored a strong 48.550 on the vault to open the meet, yet was forced to count a fall on both the uneven bars (48.375) and balance beam (48.325) to prevent any chance of an upset win. The Pioneers did score 49.100 points on the floor exercise to close the meet, posting the eighth-best score in school history on the apparatus.

Senior Christina Parratt (Reno, Nev. / Reno HS) scored a career-high 9.800 on the floor exercise 9.75 to tie her career high, while freshman Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas / Stratford HS) scored a career-high 9.825 on the uneven bars.

"Melanie Schiff and Ashley Shible did an incredible job tonight. Melanie seems to do the job time after time again," said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "We didn't take care of any opportunities tonight, though. We had some great moments, and we missed a great opportunity to beat two great programs at home. We beat ourselves."

The Pioneers conclude their three-meet road trip on Monday, when Denver travels to Boise, Idaho, to face Boise State at 7 p.m. in the Boise State University Pavilion.

DENVER GYMNASTICS
Burnsley Invitational at Denver, Colo.
(Hamilton Gymnasium)

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. No. 12 Penn State, 195.375; 2. No. 9 Florida, 195.150; 3. DENVER, 194.650; 4. Air Force, 194.075.

TOP INDIVIDUALS:
ALL-AROUND: 1. Katie Rowland (PSU), 39.550; 2. Ashley Shible (DEN), 39.475; 3. Melanie Schiff (DEN), 39.375.
VAULT: 1. Rowland (PSU), 9.950; 2. (tie), Shible (DEN), Katie McAvoy (PSU) and Gabby Fuchs (UF), 9.925.
UNEVEN BARS: 1. (tie), Nikki Bonggiovanni (PSU) and Erin Pendleton (UF), 9.925; 3. Schiff (DEN), 9.900.
BALANCE BEAM: 1. Schiff (DEN), 9.925; 2. (tie), Leslie Bair and Rowland (PSU) and Kara Waterhouse (UF), 9.900.
FLOOR EXERCISE: 1. Shible (DEN), 9.875; 2. (tie), Emily Bankhead (DEN) and Lindsey Miner (UF), 9.850.