Jan. 19, 2002

Complete Results

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Depite winning just two individual apparatus titles, the University of Denver women's gymnastics team defeated Penn State 193.250 - 192.750 Saturday night at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University. The Pioneers (2-0) won their second consecutive meet to begin the season and captured just their first road dual meet win of the season.

Denver had just two gymnasts compete in every event, with sophomore Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas) posting the Pioneers' top all-around score at 37.925. Sophomore Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla.) tied for the top score on the floor exercise with a routine of 9.875 and finished second on the vault and came in with a 37.850. Penn State's Katie McAvoy won the all-around title with a score of 39.150.

Denver began the night on the uneven bars and were led by junior Jacquelin Young's (Colorado Springs, Colo.) score of 9.750. Shible was Denver's next highest finisher as she scored a 9.725 in her routine.

The vault was next for Denver, as Shible once again led the way for the Pioneers as she tied for the best score in the meet with a 9.8, just under her season-best score of 9.85 set last weekend against Oregon State. Senior Jill Gunter (Lincoln, Calif.) was next for the Pioneers as she set a season-best score with a 9.75. Following the first two rotations, the Pioneers held a slim lead over the Lady Lions, 96.7 - 96.550.

The third rotation saw the Pioneers on the floor exercise, and Shible's 9.875 was top score for Denver and tied for the top score in the meet with Penn State's McAvoy. Junior Michelle Kasuga (Defiance, Ohio) also had an excellent performance, as her 9.85 was Denver's second highest score and helped lead Denver to a team win on the apparatus.

The final event of the night for Denver was the balance beam and freshman Courtney Young (Colorado Springs, Colo.), in the first competition of her collegiate career, led the Pioneers with a score of 9.75, setting a career high. Junior Jamie Martini (Houston, Texas) posted a season-best for her with a score of 9.675 in finishing with Denver's second-best score on the apparatus.

"I'm really proud of our athlete's tonight," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. "We had to pull Karyssa Ancellotti after a fall in the warm-up and Melanie Schiff's shoulder was really bothering her and we pulled her. So to pull two of our top athletes, we really needed to count on some freshmen tonight and they came through. The scoring was low and we had some mistakes, this is a big road win for our program."

Denver is next in action next Saturday, Jan. 26 when it continues its three-week road trip at No. 6 Alabama at 6 p.m.