March 14, 2003

Complete Results

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 13 Denver gymnastics team scored above 49.000 on three events and came from behind after the first two rotations with a strong floor exercise and vault to win a triangular meet at Kentucky Friday night in front of 462 fans at the Memorial Coliseum. The Pioneers (13-7) won the meet with a score of 195.450, edging Kentucky (194.700) and Southeast Missouri State (192.950). Denver won its first road meet since Feb. 24 at Air Force.

The uneven bars were the first event for Denver, and the Pioneers registered a team score of 49.025. Senior Michelle Kasuga (Defiance, Ohio) led the Pioneers for the ninth time this season on the event with a 9.875 to finish second and junior Ashley Shible (Palm Harbor, Fla.) was right behind her in third with a 9.85. Kentucky's Julia Gore took top honors with a 9.95.

Balance beam was next for Denver, and Kasuga again led the Pioneers with a 9.825 to finish fourth in the meet. Junior Emily Bankhead (Houston, Texas) was next for Denver as she finished fifth with a 9.775 and Shible was third for Denver with a 9.625.

Denver's strongest event, the floor exercise, was the third event for the Pioneers and a 49.250 helped the Pioneers get back into the meet after trailing after two rotations. Bankhead continued her strong season on the event with a first-place 9.925, just edging Kasuga's 9.90. The win was Bankhead's eighth floor exercise title of the season, the most for any Pioneer. Shible and sophomore Karyssa Ancellotti (Sugar Land, Texas) both finished tied for fifth for Denver with scores of 9.825 as the Pioneers had four of the top six finishers in the event.

Vault was the final event for the Pioneers, and Denver captured the top two individual spots and scored a 49.125 to hold off Kentucky in the final rotation. Ancellotti and Shible tied for the top spot with scores of 9.875 to lead Denver's second-best vault score of the season. Three Kentucky gymnasts tied for third at 9.85 and Bankhead and freshman Cassidy Willingham (Mountain View, Calif.) were next for Denver in a tie for sixth at 9.80.

Kasuga finished third in the all-around with a 39.350 behind Kentucky's Michelle Gales and Gore, who tied for first at 39.400. Bankhead was fourth at 39.275 and Shible was fifth at 39.175.

Denver is next in action next Saturday night, March 22 when they host Senior Night in Magness Arena against Arizona and West Virginia at 6 p.m.