DENVER - The No. 18 University of Denver gymnastics team posted a season-high score of 49.450 on floor to come back in the final rotation to defeat No. 12 Arkansas 195.725-195.700 on Saturday night before 1,693 fans in Hamilton Gymnasium on Senior Night.
"I'm so proud of the character we showed tonight," said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. "Even though we lost two athletes to injury this week, other people stepped up and delivered. We still have areas where we can improve, but I couldn't be any more proud of the team's effort tonight."
Denver started off strong on the vault in the first rotation, led by a 9.900 from junior Brianna Springer (Arvada, Colo.). Freshman Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) added a 9.875, and fellow freshmen Jorie Hall (Denver, Colo.) and Kaitlin Moorhead (Palo Alto, Calif.) posted career-high scores of 9.825 and 9.800, respectively as DU took a 49.200-47.975 lead into the second rotation.
The Pioneers scored a 48.625 on bars, led by senior Annamari Maaranen (Tampere, Finland) who posted a 9.850. After two rotations, Denver held a 97.825-97.250 lead over the Razorbacks.
DU was forced to count a fall on beam, but still managed to record a 48.450 after another career-high score of 9.875 from Hall. Arkansas held a slight 146.550-146.275 lead headed into the final rotation.
Career-high scores of 9.925 and 9.900 from Springer and Moorhead, respectively, propelled Denver in the final rotation on floor, and a 9.875 from senior Kristina Coccia (Bethlehem, Pa.) clinched the comeback victory.
Maaranen, Coccia, Amanda Johanson (Park City, Utah) and Taylor Sanford (Omaha, Neb.) were honored after the meet for Senior Night.
Jaime Pisani of Arkansas took the all-around title with a score of 39.425. Freshman Melodie Pulgarin Linero (Barcelona, Spain) finished in fourth place in the all-around with a career-best 39.050, while Springer finished in fifth with a score of 38.825.
Next up, Denver will visit Air Force on Monday for the final meet of the regular season. The meet begins at 6 p.m. with live blog coverage available on www.DenverPioneers.com.
