DENVER - The No. 19 University of Denver gymnastics squad hosts its first of two quad meets this season, welcoming No. 13 Missouri, No. 24 West Virginia and Western Michigan to the Winterfest Invitational in Hamilton Gymnasium, this Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. The Pioneers enter the meet with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 195.270, the figure that determines seeding in NCAA postseason competition.
Media and Ticket Information
Live stats and a live blog will be available on DenverPioneers.com. The meet will also be streamed live on Pioneer Vision. Individual and season tickets are on sale for the 2012 season. For information, please visit www.DenverPioneers.com or call the Ritchie Center Box Office at (303) 871-2336.
Head Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart
Head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart is in her 14th season at the helm of the University of Denver gymnastics program. In her career, Kutcher-Rinehart has led the Pioneers to a 234-126-2 record and three NCAA Championship appearances. In 2007, the Pioneers finished 10th at the competition.
WAC Honors
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, sophomore Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) and senior Louise Mercer (Nottingham, England) were named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Week and Specialist of the Week, respectively. Martin's award was the fifth for the sophomore this season. This was the second consecutive week that the Pioneers swept the two WAC awards. A week ago, sophomore Melodie Pulgarin Linero (Barcelona, Spain) earned WAC Gymnast of the Week, while Martin was the Specialist of the Week.
Earlier this season, Pulgarin Linero was also named the WAC Event Specialist of the Week (Jan. 17). A week prior, Ellese Sakai-Hart (Aptos, Calif.) earned WAC Gymnast of the Week honors.
Ahead of Their Time
DU's freshmen and sophomores have combined for 123 of the Pioneers 199 routines so far this season. Pulgarin Linero has won two All-Around competitions and a Beam title in 2012. Martin has won an All-Around title, three Vault titles, a share of another, a Floor title and a Bars title. Sophomore Jorie Hall (Denver, Colo.) has set a career-high on Floor four times this season, most recently posting a 9.875 in the Pioneers last home meet, on Feb. 4, against Iowa State and Alaska. The Pioneer sophomore equaled that mark in each of the last two meets. Hall joined senior Brianna Springer (Arvada, Colo.) at Nationals last season. Sophomore Kaitlin Moorhead (Palo Alto, Calif.) has brought consistent performances to both Vault and Floor for the Pioneers, averaging a 9.794 and 9.775, respectively.
Freshmen Alix Angelopulo (Burlingame, Calif.), Kayla Carlsen (Douglasville, Ga.), Sakai-Hart, Arizona State sophomore-transfer Emily Warfield (Lafayette, Colo.) and sophomore Paige Tollefson (Longmont, Colo.) don the Crimson and Gold this season for the first time.
Eye on the Polls
This week is the first week that the rankings are based off a squad's Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). The Crimson and Gold enter this weekend's quad meet ranked 19th (RQS: 195.270). DU is currently 15th on Vault (49.045), 21st on Bars (48.735), 23rd on Beam (48.600) and 13th on Floor (49.010). Florida remains No. 1 for the second-consecutive week, improving its RQS to 197.195. Individually, Martin is fifth in the Vault rankings, holding a 9.910 RQS entering Saturday's meet. Mercer is tied for 29th on Bars (9.835), Hall is 20th on Floor (9.850) and Pulgarin Linero is 29th in the All-Around (39.050).
Scouting the Broncos
Western Michigan is currently 32nd in RQS, with a 193.995. The Broncos are 31st on Vault (48.675), 23rd on Bars (48.685), 49th on Beam (47.700) and 25th on Floor. Lauren Bledsoe comes into Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday as the reigning MAC Gymnast of the Week. Bledsoe ranks No. 63 in the nation on Vault. WMU does not have an All-Around with an RQS this season, but was led by Taylor Zondervan in the competition against Ball State last weekend (38.725). As a team, the Broncos top score came against Bowling Green (Jan. 29) as WMU turned in a 195.300 in the MAC competition. Head coach Dave Kuzara is in his third season at the helm for WMU. The Crimson and Gold are 1-0 all-time against the Broncos.
Scouting the Mountaineers
West Virginia comes into Saturday ranked No. 24 in the nation, posting a RQS of 194.670 through its first eight meets. Hope Sloanhoffer leads WVU in the All-Around, sitting 21st in the nation with an RQS of 39.165. The Mountaineers are 21st on Vault (48.895), 26th on Bars (48.675), 27th on Beam (48.475) and 20th on Floor (48.925). Head coach Jason Butts is in his first season as the WVU head coach, after serving five years as an assistant for the Mountaineers. The Pioneers are 4-4 all-time against WVU.
Scouting the Tigers
Missouri enters Saturday No. 13 in the nation with an RQS of 195.790. Mary Burke is the lone Tiger gymnast with an RQS, sitting in 13th with a 39.260. Burke is tied for 20th on Vault (9.875) and 26th on Bars (9.840). Freshman Rachel Updike has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week seven times this season. Updike is tied for 36th in the nation of Floor (9.835). As a team, the Tigers are ranked 13th on Vault (49.070), 15th on Bars (48.845), 16th on Beam (48.805) and 16th on Floor (48.975). Rob Drass is in his 13th season as the Missouri head coach. Tigers assistant coach John Figueroa will return to Denver for the first time since being on the Pioneer staff in 2007. DU is 8-7-1 all-time against the Tigers.
"MisseditByThatMuch"
Earlier this season, the Pioneers fell to then No. 20 Missouri by 0.1 points in Columbia, Mo. In the storied 38-year history of Denver gymnastics, the Pioneers have competed in 19 meets that were decided by 0.1 points or less. The Crimson and Gold are 9-7-3 in those 19 meetings. Under Kutcher-Rinehart, the Pioneers are 8-5-2 in 15 meets decided by a tenth of a point or less. Denver will look to avenge that loss this weekend.
Last Time Out: Sacramento State
The Pioneers tallied a season-high 196.400 in last weekend's WAC meet against Sacramento State. Martin won the All-Around, combining for a career-high 39.425. Mercer tied Venezuelan Olympian, and 2009 DU alum, Jessica Lopez for the third-highest Bars score in school history (9.975). Pulgarin Linero won her first Beam title of the season, tallying a 9.825, and Martin added a Floor title with a career-high 9.900, giving the Pioneers their second event sweep of the season. DU also got career-highs last weekend from Moorhead on Vault (9.850), Castro on Bars (9.850) and Sakai-Hart on Beam (9.800). Last Saturday was the Universities first WAC competition.
Olympic Bound
In between the first two meets of her junior season, Simona Castro (Santiago, Chile) placed 55th at the London Test Event on January 11. Her performance earned her a spot in the 2012 Olympic Games beginning this July in London. Former Pioneer, Jessica Lopez (Venezuela) qualified for her second Olympic Games at the same event. 2011 grad Annamari Maaranen qualified for the Olympics, but did not compete due to injury.
Time to Shut it Down
Springer, who competed in just five events through the first three meets, will miss the rest of the 2012 season as she continues to recover from mono. The senior will return for a fifth year in 2013. Springer has qualified for Nationals each of the last two seasons and will look to get back there in her redshirt-senior season.
Top of the WAC
The Pioneers were picked to finish atop the WAC in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. DU finished with 15 points in the poll, and earned three first-place votes from the other four coaches. Southern Utah finished second with 13 points, earning two first-place votes. San Jose State and Utah State tied for third in the poll with nine points, and Sacramento State was picked last with four points. The WAC Championships will take place on Saturday, March 24 in Logan, Utah.
