DENVER Junior All-American Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) won the all-around and balance beam titles and the No. 15-ranked University of Denver gymnastics team treated a sellout crowd on hand to see Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner to a 194.900 190.475 win over Washington Saturday night in Hamilton Gymnasium. The Pioneers improved to 3-1 on the season.

Comaneci and Conner were DU’s special guests of honor for the home opener, DU’s first home meet since finishing a program-best 10th in the nation last season.

Four different Pioneers won event titles, as Lpez and junior Nikki Brown (Louisville, Ky.) won on balance beam, junior Courtney Butler (Naperville, Ill.) on uneven bars and senior Sasha Sullivan (Glen Allen, Va.) on floor.

DU began the meet on vault, and posted a season-high 49.000 team score that featured three scores of 9.8. Butler and junior Liz Meals (Gibsonia, Pa.) led the way with scores of 9.85, followed by Kelley Hennigan’s (The Woodlands, Texas) 9.8.

DU struggled a bit on bars Saturday, with Butler winning the title with a 9.775 and the Pioneers posting a team score of 48.500. Finishing in a two-way tie for second place was freshman Annamari Maaranen (Tampere, Finland) and Brown, who both posted scores of 9.75.

On balance beam, Lpez and Brown split the title as both posted scores of 9.85.

Sullivan won her first title of the season on floor exercise with a 9.850, finishing just in front of Lpez’s 9.825.

Washington’s Ashley Houghting won the vault title with a 9.875 and tied Sullivan on floor exercise with a 9.85.

“I thought the team performed well in front of a great home opening crowd,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “It’s a long season and there’s still a lot of gymnastics left but I think we are getting better each meet.”

DU is next in action next Sunday, Jan. 20 when the Pioneers host Auburn at 2 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.