DENVER - The University of Denver gymnastics team held its annual postseason banquet on Thursday evening in the Gottesfeld Room inside the Daniel L. Ritchie Center, celebrating the accomplishments of the 2012 season.
Sophomore Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) received the team's Most Valuable Gymnast Award. Freshman Ellese Sakai-Hart (Aptos, Calif.) was the only gymnast to take home multiple awards on the evening, earning the Coaches' Award and the Freshman of the Year Award. Sophomore Melodie Pulgarin Linero (Barcelona, Spain) was named the Most Improved Gymnast in 2012.
"The postseason banquet has always been a nice conclusion to our season," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. "It's nice to review highlights and honor the student athletes for all of their hard work and dedication throughout the season. This has been an enjoyable group to coach."
The banquet also focused on recognizing the upcoming graduation of senior Louise Mercer (Nottingham, England). Mercer won the Jack Pommrehn Spirit Award, for her passion and zeal for gymnastics which characterized Pommrehn's affiliation with the program. The lone Pioneer senior earned First Team All-WAC honors on bars and floor at the 2012 WAC Championship. On Feb. 28, Mercer was named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Specialist of the Week for her 9.975 on bars against Sacramento State. That mark tied Jessica Lopez for the third-best bars score in school-history.
"Louise has been a staple in our lineup during her four years at DU," Kutcher-Rinehart said. "It has been an honor to watch her grow in all areas of life during her time at Denver. Her ability to take charge of this team this year and lead by example is something this program will never be able to repay her for. It's always difficult to say goodbye, but Louise will be a part of this program and this University forever.
In addition to her team award tonight, Martin also received the Gymnast of the Year award for the North Central Region. Martin extended the Pioneers streak of sending at least one gymnast to the NCAA Semifinals to 13-straight seasons. She finished 12th in session II at the event. The Pioneer sophomore finished fourth in the all-around with a score of 39.200 at the Champaign Regional to qualify for Nationals. At the WAC Championship, Martin earned First Team All-WAC honors in the all-around and on vault, and Second Team All-WAC honors on bars and floor. Martin was named Verizon WAC Gymnast of the Week once (Feb. 28) and WAC Event Specialist of the Week five times.
The Coaches' Award is given to the gymnast who demonstrated a commitment, a work ethic, a positive attitude and a desire to do what is necessary to help the team succeed. Sakai-Hart wasted no time getting her feet wet in college gymnastics, tallying a 9.750 on vault, a 9.725 on beam and a 9.750 on floor in the Pioneers opening meet at Georgia. The following Tuesday, Sakai-Hart was named the WAC Gymnast of the Week. Sakai-Hart competed in 35 events in her rookie campaign and competed in the all-around in the final three meets of the season.
In the Pioneers first WAC Championship, Pulgarin Linero earned First Team All-WAC honors in the all-around and on vault, and Second Team All-WAC honors on floor. Martin and Pulgarin Linero won a share of the vault title at the WAC Championship. Pulgarin Linero finished seventh in the all-around at the Champaign Regional. In individual events, Pulgarin Linero improved her vault average by 0.045, her bars average by 0.160, her beam average by 0.072, her floor average by 0.121 and her all-around average by 0.565.
2011 NCAA Semifinal qualifier Jorie Hall (Denver, Colo.) earned the Unsung Hero Award, presented to the individual who contributes significantly to the team's success, but their efforts go largely unnoticed. Hall broke her career-high on beam that she set to qualify for Nationals at the 2011 North Central Regional, tallying a 9.925 in the Pioneers upset over No. 9 Oregon State (March 10). After competing on floor just four times during her freshman year, Hall made an appearance on the event in all 14 meets this season. At one point in the campaign, Hall set career-highs on floor three-consecutive weeks, capping that off with a 9.875 at the Burnsley Invitational. Hall matched that mark three more times in 2012.
Sophomore Paige Tollefson (Longmont, Colo.) earned the Scholar Gymnast of the Year honor, highlighted by her 4.0 grade point average in business. Tollefson competed in seven meets on bars for the Pioneers in 2012.
Freshman Kayla Carlsen (Douglasville, Ga.) was also honored at the banquet. Carlsen, who led the Pioneers in beam average (9.744) this season (minimum four meets), made the decision to retire (shoulder).
The 13-woman squad turned in the second-highest Regional Qualifying Score in school history (196.090) to finish the regular season ranked 14th, tying the program's third-highest mark since the GymInfo Poll began in 1997. The Pioneers earned the first conference title in program history, posting a 196.350 in the Western Athletic Conference Championship at Utah State. DU's victory not only gave the Pioneers their first conference trophy, it also propelled them four spots in the national rankings to 14th heading into Selection Monday. Denver finished fourth at the Champaign Regional with a 194.875.
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