April 6, 2002
Complete Results
DENVER - The University of Denver gymnastics team, in front of the largest home crowd in school history, found itself on the outside looking in Saturday night at Magness Arena, as the Pioneers finished in third place at the NCAA North Central Region Gymnastics Championships.
The Pioneers, who advanced to the NCAA National Championships last season for the first time in school history, scored a regional school-record total of 196.000 points, yet missed qualifying for a repeat appearance at Nationals by the slim margin of 0.125 points. Georgia and Stanford, the top two seeds at this regional - one of six occurring around the country Saturday night - finished in a tie for first after both amassed 196.125 points. The GymDogs and Cardinal advance as the regional's two representatives to the National Championships, slated for April 18-20 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Sophomore Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla.) will represent the Pioneers as an individual all-arounder in Tuscaloosa, after she scored a 39.300 on the four events to place third overall.
"In one respect, I'm really proud of our team. This is our highest regional score ever," said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "I'm impressed with the way the team fought back. It hurts to be 0.125 points away from winning, but I'm glad that Ashley will be going to Nationals."
The Pioneers began the evening on the uneven bars, where junior Michelle Kasuga (Defiance, Ohio) led the Pioneers with a 9.875. Shible and junior Jacquelin Young (Colorado Springs, Colo.) both were tied for second on the Pioneers as both scored a 9.775. Sophomore Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas) was next for Denver with a 9.65 and freshman Jessica Kennedy (West Chester, Pa.) rounded out the scoring with a 9.65. The Pioneers' team score of 48.550 placed them fourth following the completion of the first event.
The second event for Denver had the Pioneers on the balance beam, where the Pioneers posted a solid 49.075 in the event. The Pioneers posted four scores of 9.8 or higher, led by senior Melanie Schiff (Highland Park, N.J.), who posted a 9.875 to finish tied for third overall. Right behind her was Kasuga, who scored a 9.825 and both Bankhead and sophomore Rose Kiernan (Aspen, Colo.) scored 9.8s for the Pioneers. Denver was with Missouri in third place following two events.
The third event for Denver was floor exercise, where the Pioneers posted their second-best score of the season and third-highest score in school history with a 49.400. Bankhead led the Pioneers with a season-best tying score of 9.925, a score that placed her in a tie for third in the meet. Shible and Kasuga were both excellent for Denver as well, as both posted scores of 9.9. Sophomore Karyssa Ancellotti (Sugar Land, Texas) tied her career-best score with a 9.875 and Schiff rounded out the Pioneer scoring with a 9.8.
The fourth and final event for the Pioneers was the vault, where Shible led the Pioneers for the 10th time this season with a vault of 9.9.
