DENTON, Texas Junior All-American Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) posted a career-high 39.500 in the all-around and won the individual title on vault, uneven bars and balance beam, leading the No. 16 University of Denver gymnastics team to a first-place finish in a quad meet at Texas Woman’s University Sunday afternoon. DU posted a season-high team score of 195.700, easily outdistancing second place Maryland (192.625). Host Texas Woman’s University finished third (192.175) and Air Force was fourth (184.125). The Pioneers improved to 6-1 on the season.
Lpez led the Pioneers to season-high scores on all four events. She won the vault with a career-high score of 9.925, followed that up with her first uneven bars title of the season with a 9.85, and won her second beam title of the season with a 9.875. Lpez’s all-around score of 39.500 is the seventh-highest all-around score in DU history.
DU began the meet on floor exercise, and the Pioneers posted five scores at 9.725 and higher in scoring a season-high 48.950. Senior Sasha Sullivan (Glen Allen, Va.) led the way with a 9.875 to finish second overall, just in front of Lpez’s 9.85. Amie Boles of Texas Woman’s University won the floor title with a 9.9.
DU easily had its best output of the season on vault, as the Pioneers had three scores at 9.85 and higher, led by Lpez’s meet-winning 9.925. Right behind her in a tie for second place was senior Courtney Butler (Naperville, Ill.), who scored a 9.875 and finishing alone in fourth place was sophomore Kelley Hennigan (The Woodlands, Texas) with a 9.85.
The Pioneers were also very strong on uneven bars on Sunday, posting a season-high 48.825. DU took all three of the top places, led by Lpez’s 9.85. Right behind her in second place was Butler with a 9.825 and finishing third was Annamari Maaranen (Tampere, Finland), who posted a career-high 9.8.
DU rounded out the meet on balance beam and scored a 48.875 to finish the meet out strong. Hennigan led off the lineup with a season-high 9.8 to finish in a four-way tie for third place, and later junior Nikki Brown (Louisville, Ky.) posted the same score. Lpez won the beam title with a 9.875.
DU showed no real ill-effects of its 15-day layoff, after the Pioneers didn’t compete last Sunday after its scheduled meet against Auburn was postponed due to inclement weather in the Southeast.
“I am very proud of the way we competed today, we had some really great individual performances,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “The team did really well considering the layoff we had.”
DU is next in action next Saturday, Feb. 2 when the Pioneers travel to take on Illinois of the Big 10. The meet begins at 6 p.m. MST.
