DENVER The No. 22 University of Denver Pioneers are scheduled to host No. 8 Oklahoma in the annual Burnsley Invitational/Link to Pink meet for breast cancer awareness this Saturday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.
In the second annual Link to Pink meet, the Pioneers will wear pink leotards and sell pink Denver Gymnastics t-shirts for $10 during the meet. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the meet and will have the opportunity to donate via pledge cards called “Stick it to Cancer,” with all profits going to the Denver Komen Foundation.
“We’re really looking forward to this special meet and the opportunity to compete against a quality team like Oklahoma,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “Our line-up is likely to be shuffled around yet again because of a flu bug spreading through the team, but I’m confident that our gymnasts will be up to the challenge.”
Tickets for the meet can be purchased by calling the DU Ticket Office at 303-871-2336. Tickets are also available on-line at www.DenverPioneers.com.
DU Meet Notes
Last time out: Coming off its highest score of the season on Colorado Club Night, Denver took second to then-No. 9 Alabama last weekend. DU scored 193.350, while the Crimson Tide scored a season-high 197.025. Denver fell to 10-5 on the season and 0-4 all-time against Alabama.
Nation’s No. 2 All-Arounder: Senior All-American Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) has posted back-to-back 39.500 all-around scores, earning her the No. 2 national ranking for the second straight week. Last weekend, Lpez tied for first on bars and floor en route to winning her second consecutive all-around crown. Lpez is currently tied with Stanford’s Nicole Ourada for No. 2 in the country behind Georgia’s Courtney Kupets, who sports a 39.583 all-around average.
Season-best performances at Alabama: Five Pioneers posted season-high scores last weekend. Lpez scored a season-high on bars (9.925) and tied her 2009 bests on floor (9.900) and in the all-around (39.500). Junior Kelley Hennigan (The Woodlands, Texas) tied her season-highs on beam (9.700) and floor (9.750) en route to tying her personal best all-around score (38.975). Senior Liz Meals (Gibsonia, Pa.) tied her season best with a 9.775 on vault and improved her 2009 floor score with a 9.725, while sophomore Amanda Johanson (Park City, Utah) tied her career high on vault with a season-best 9.725 and fellow sophomore Annamari Maaranen (Tampere, Finland) tied her season-best 9.775 on bars.
DU vs. Oklahoma all-time: DU is 8-21 all-time against Oklahoma. The last time the teams met in the regular season was on Feb. 9, 2008 at Denver’s Paige Smith Invitational. The Pioneers took second to Oklahoma, 195.925-195.700, followed by Utah and Air Force in third and fourth, respectively.
Scouting Oklahoma: No. 8 Oklahoma comes off a 196.175-196.000 loss at No. 12 Nebraska last weekend. The Sooners have a 196.075 average. Oklahoma ranks fifth on beam (49.035), seventh on vault (49.095) and floor (49.015) and ninth on bars (48.930) in this week’s national poll. Ashley Jackson is 18th in the nation with a 39.242 all-around average, while Natalie Ratcliff ranks 19th with a 9.837 beam average.
2009 Pioneer All-Arounders: A trio of Pioneers has competed in the all-around competition in 2009. Senior Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) made her 2009 all-around debut on Colorado Club Night. She has posted back-to-back scores of 39.500 and currently is tied for second in the country in all-around. Freshman Brianna Springer (Arvada, Colo.) competed in all four events at three of DU’s meets this season, posting a career-best 38.675 in the Winterfest Invitational. Junior Kelley Hennigan (The Woodlands, Texas) has competed all-around three times, twice scoring a personal best 38.975.
Program-record performance: Senior All-American Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) posted a 9.975 to place first on beam in the Winterfest Invitational. The score tied the second-best beam mark in Pioneer gymnastics history. Lpez tied fellow senior Nikki Brown (Louisville, Ky.) and Emily Bankhead with her 9.975. On March 14, 1997, Robyn King scored a perfect 10.0 on the beam to set the DU program record.
On the horizon: The Pioneers host Texas Women’s College and San Jose State in Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.
Olympic Connections: The Pioneers hosted 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin as their special guest at the Alumni Classic meet earlier this season. Liukin and her father Valeri Liukin helped present the meet awards. 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Sasha Artemev was Denver’s guest of honor on Colorado Club Night. The Pioneers also boast their own Olympic gymnast in senior All-American Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela). Lpez competed for her native Venezuela at the 2008 Olympic Games, placing 43rd in the all-around with a score of 56.175. She became the first DU gymnast to ever compete in the Olympic Games.
International Flavor: The 2009 Denver gymnastics squad represents five different countries. Senior Jessica Lpez hails from Caracas, Venezuela, while sophomore Annamari Maaranen comes to DU from Tampere, Finland. Junior Ellen McCarthy represents Canada, hailing from Aurora, Ontario, and freshman Louise Mercer is from Nottingham, England. The remaining 10 gymnasts come from eight different states in the U.S. with only Pennsylvania and Colorado repeated.
2009 Pioneer Seniors: Senior All-American and 2008 Venezuelan Olympian Jessica Lpez (Caracas, Venezuela) led the team in all four events last season and finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation in the all-around. Lpez’s 9.975 on beam earlier this season tied the second-highest beam score in Pioneer history. Senior Nikki Brown (Louisville, Ky.) competed on three events last season and is one of the team’s best balance beam workers. She has primarily worked on beam and bars this season. Senior Lauren Garan (Cos Cob, Conn.) has been a three-year staple on beam for the Pioneers and added a powerful vault last season. Garan scored a career-best 9.825 on vault earlier this season. Liz Meals (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounds out the senior class and is one of the Pioneers’ most consistent gymnasts. Meals competes primarily on vault and floor.
2009 Pioneer Juniors: Denver has just two juniors in Kelley Hennigan (The Woodlands, Texas) and Ellen McCarthy (Aurora, Ontario). Hennigan has scored career-bests on vault, bars, floor and all-around already for the Pioneers this season, while McCarthy is back after competing in every meet last season on bars, beam and floor exercise.
2009 Pioneer Sophomores: Amanda Johanson (Park City, Utah) leads the sophomore class after competing in every meet last season on floor exercise. Johanson has been training all four events and looks to make her all-around debut in 2009. Kristina Coccia (Bethlehem, Pa.) brings a superb floor routine to DU’s lineup, while Taylor Sanford (Omaha, Neb.) particularly excels on vault. Annamari Maaranen (Tampere, Finland) rounds out the sophomore class and returns after battling a knee injury last season.
2009 Pioneer Freshmen: The Pioneers added three talented newcomers to the roster for 2009. Brianna Springer (Arvada, Colo.), a two-time Junior Olympic qualifier, made her debut as an all-arounder in the team’s first meet of 2009, and former English Champion Louise Mercer (Nottingham, England) has been especially impressive on vault and bars. Four-time JO regional qualifier and 2008 JO National qualifier Alex Winslow (Broomfield, Colo.) made her collegiate debut with a 9.700 on beam and continues to work her way into the DU lineup.
DU at NCAA Nationals All-Time: Denver has made three NCAA National meet appearances in school history, all under head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. Denver’s first appearance was in 2001, when the Pioneers became the first small private school to ever qualify and finished 12th. DU made its second appearance at Nationals in 2007, where the team finished a program-best No. 10 in the country. Last season, the team made its second straight appearance and placed 12th overall.
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