BOISE, Idaho - Junior Melanie Schiff (Highland Park, N.J. / Highland Park HS) won two of the four individual event titles, finished second on a third and won the all-around with a career-high 39.500 as the University of Denver gymnastics team posted its best team score of the season Monday night at the Boise State University Pavilion.

The Pioneers (10-5), who on Monday morning fell out of the top 25 rankings for the first time this season, tallied 195.925 points to finish second behind the host Broncos (196.000) and defeat Southern Utah (193.275). Schiff’s all-around score is the third-best in school history behind only the back-to-back school record performances by freshman Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla. / East Lake HS) in February. The team total is the fourth-highest score in school history.

Denver began the night in spectacular fashion, scoring a season-high 49.075 on the balance beam to post the fifth-highest total in school history on the apparatus. The first three gymnasts up for the Pioneers - sophomore Michelle Kasuga (Defiance, Ohio / Defiance HS), freshman Lindsay Fitzgerald (Spring, Texas / Klein HS) and sophomore Jamie Martini (Houston, Texas / Jersey Village HS) - all hit for career highs: Kasuga for a 9.775, Fitzgerald for a 9.825 and Martini for a 9.800. Schiff, Denver’s last gymnast, hit for a career-high 9.925 to win the event for the second time this season. Bankhead tied for fourth.

A consistent floor rotation gave the Pioneers a .105-point lead halfway through the meet after the Denver sextet scored 49.025 on the floor. Senior Christina Parratt (Reno, Nev. / Reno HS) tied her career high with a 9.75, and freshman Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas / Stratford HS) led the team with a 9.85.

Martini started the vault rotation by hitting for a career-high 9.7 and Bankhead and Schiff tied their career highs with scores of 9.8 and 9.85, respectively, before Shible stormed down the runway and stuck her landing for a winning score of 9.875 - the seventh vault title of the season for the nation’s seventh-ranked vaulter. Yet the Pioneers were forced to count a fall and registered a 48.500 on the event.

Boise State led by .125 points heading into the final rotation on the floor exercise, while the Pioneers moved to the uneven bars. Denver rocked the apparatus with a 49.325 - the second-best score in school history - with the help of a career-high 9.925 from Kasuga and the same score from Schiff as the pair tied for the event title. Shible added a 9.900 to place fourth.

"The team refused to quit tonight, and I think they’re finally learning how to compete on the road," said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "Even though we’ve had the difficulty of having eight underclassmen and a number of injuries, we might end up peaking at just the right time. Melanie Schiff did an unbelieveable job tonight, and showed that she is really an incredible athlete. She looked great out there; very confident, and she threw a harder tumbling pass than I was expecting The freshmen came through, and it was just a great night for us."

The Pioneers return home this weekend to host the annual Burnsley Invitational, which features No. 9 Florida, No. 12 Penn State and the Air Force Academy. The meet begins this Saturday night, March 10, at 6:05 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.

DENVER GYMNASTICS - at Boise, Idaho (BSU Pavilion)
FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Boise State, 196.000; 2. DENVER, 195.925; 3. Southern Utah, 193.275.

TOP INDIVIDUALS:
ALL-AROUND: 1. Melanie Schiff (DEN), 39.500; 2. Ashley Shible (DEN), 39.350; 3. Tiffany Weston (BSU), 39.250; 4. Emily Bankhead (DEN), 39.175. VAULT: 1. Shible (DEN), 9.875; 2. Schiff (DEN), 9.850; 3. Annie Kaus (BSU), 9.825; 4. (tie), Jamie Johns and Breanne Holmes (BSU), and Bankhead (DEN), 9.825. UNEVEN BARS: 1. (tie), Schiff and Michelle Kasuga (DEN) and Kaus (BSU), 9.925; 4. Shible (DEN), 9.900. BALANCE BEAM: 1. Schiff (DEN), 9.925; 2. Debbie Thompson (BSU), 9.900; 3. Weston (BSU), 9.875. FLOOR EXERCISE: 1. Jessica Berry (BSU), 9.925; 2. Weston (BSU), 9.875; 3. (tie), Johns and Tiffany Garrett (BSU) and Bankhead (DEN), 9.850.