DENVER – The postseason ranked No. 20 University of Denver gymnastics squad finished 24-6 in the 2013 campaign, and capped off its season with a fourth-place finish at a deep Tuscaloosa Regional. For the second-consecutive season, junior Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) qualified as an all-arounder to the NCAA Semifinals. In 2013, Martin finished second on vault in the first session of this year's event.
Denver ended the regular season ranked No. 15 in the nation with a 196.470 Regional Qualifying Score, and its current No. 20 national ranking came off a 391.475 National Qualifying Score.
“I thought that we had one of the most consistent regular seasons we’ve had in years,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “Only having to count one fall on bars and one fall on beam in the regular season was a step in the right direction. I thought the girls really performed with a lot of confidence all season, and I think they really exemplified the character, teamwork and excellence piece that we talk about every day in the gym. The goals are still to finish in the top 10 in the country athletically and academically, and we look to continue to strive for that.”
Martin, who became the fifth Pioneer gymnast to earn All-America honors, tallied a 9.825 on vault at the NCAA Event Finals, her 14th score of 9.825 or higher this season, including her last 12.
“Moriah represented the University very well at Nationals,” Kutcher-Rinehart said. “Qualifying for the event final was a great accomplishment, as was being honored as a First Team All-American.”
Classmate, and vault and floor specialist Kaitlin Moorhead (Palo Alto, Calif.) had a breakout season for the Pioneers, leading Denver in vault average 9.871, tallying a 9.825 or higher in all 14 meets in 2013. Martin also gives Moorhead’s 9.950 on vault on March 16 credit for giving her the opportunity to notch Denver’s fifth perfect 10 on the apparatus.
Sophomore Nina McGee (Cincinnati, Ohio) rehabbed during the entire 2012 season and the 2013 preseason to get into the team, after having rods placed in both shins in the fall of 2012. McGee set a high bar in her debut, inking a 9.900 on bars. The Pioneer rookie would put together 13 routines of 9.900 or higher in 2013, including a 9.975 on floor on March 9.
Denver’s seven-gymnast freshman class was highlighted by the emergence of Emily Barrett (Norman, Okla.), who saw action in all 14 meets on vault in 2013, in addition to making seven starts on bars and eight starts on beam. Barrett was in the leadoff position on vault for most of the campaign, posting five vaults of 9.800 or higher in the campaign.
Junior Jorie Hall (Denver, Colo.) made 13 starts on beam and 14 starts on floor in 2013, tallying 18 scores of 9.800 or higher in the campaign.
Prior to Regionals, redshirt senior Brianna Springer (Arvada, Colo.) turned in 11-straight routines of 9.800 or better across her three events (vault, bars and beam). Fellow senior Simona Castro (Santiago, Chile), who became the first Chilean female Olympic gymnast in 2012 capped off her career with four 9.800s or higher in her last five meets on vault, including a 9.800 in the Regional.
Prior to the 2013 campaign, only four programs had won a national title since the first was awarded in 1982, and two of those four programs (Alabama and Utah) were assigned with Denver in a deep NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. The Pioneers finished fourth, but Martin stretched Denver’s streak to 14-consecutive seasons of sending at least an individual to Nationals.
The Pioneers opened the 2013 campaign with a pair of wins against Pioneer alumna Gretchen Goerlitz’s Lindenwood squad in its first meet in program history, and No. 16 Penn State. DU completed its opening homestand with its first Regional Qualifying Score of the season, a 196.600 against Air Force.
Denver would then suffer their only two setbacks of the regular season, at No. 3 Oklahoma and at Arkansas.
The Crimson and Gold would then reel off 15-straight wins, starting with their first quad meet victory of the season against No. 24 North Carolina State, Air Force and WAC foe San Jose State. After the meet, Denver would reclaim its No. 11 ranking, its highest of the season, and a spot Denver would find itself in for three weeks in 2013.
DU would improve to 2-0 in the WAC in its next meet, a road conference victory at Southern Utah, posting its first road RQS score, a 196.400.
An injury during floor warm-ups to junior Melodie Pulgarin Linero (Barcelona, Spain), and their only fall on beam would dampen the mood of Denver’s victory at Illinois-Chicago, after the Pioneers were on pace for a 197.000 through three events. Pulgarin Linero would go on to miss her floor and beam routines at UIC, not returning to any of Kutcher-Rinehart’s lineups until six weeks later.
The Pioneers kept the winning streak alive with back-to-back quad victories, positing a 195.800 at the Winterfest Invitational and their second road RQS, a 196.800 at West Virginia.
2012 Olympian Jordyn Wieber made an appearance at the University of Denver campus for the Pioneers second meet in March, and the Pioneers didn’t disappoint with the additional exposure, combining for a 197.200, the fourth-highest mark in school history.
After a rare Monday meet that saw Denver post a 196.150 at Air Force, the Pioneers sold out their second meet in eight days, and rewarded the returning contingent with a 196.400 on Senior Night against Michigan State.
Denver’s winning streak was halted with a second-place finish to Boise State at the Western Athletic Conference Championship, as the Broncos edged the Pioneers by a one-tenth in both squads final meet before Regionals.
The 2014 Pioneers will lose 2013 seniors Springer and Castro, but will add NLI signees Julia Ross (Henderson, Nev.), Leah Lomonte (Katy, Texas) and Rachel Fielitz (Walden, N.Y.).
“The good news about having a bigger team is the energy and enthusiasm,” Kutcher-Rinehart said. “We have three incredible people. We are excited about the energy, the depth and the school level that they will bring to our team. I’m certainly looking forward to this coming year. We are on target. We have some very seasoned athletes on our team, and bring back a very strong senior class.”
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