DENVER – Paced by a season-high 49.525 on floor, the No. 20 University of Denver gymnastics team topped Boise State and Iowa State in its final home meet of the 2014 season on Saturday evening in front of 2,647 fans at Magness Arena. The Pioneers 196.725 team score ties for seventh in the Pioneer Record Books, while the team’s 49.525 on floor ties for sixth-best in school history.
Boise State finished second with a score of 195.925, while Iowa State posted a 194.250 on the night.
“I was really proud of our student-athletes tonight,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “I thought they did a great job tonight, especially considering they are in the middle of finals. They were able to pull their energy together and really focus on getting a great team win tonight.”
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Senior Moriah Martin (Lake Mary, Fla.) won the vault with a score of 9.9, making it the 19th straight meet she has finished with a 9.8 or higher on the event and the her seventh vault title of the season. Freshman Rachel Fielitz (Walden, N.Y.), senior Kaitlin Moorhead (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Kelsey Black of Boise State all finished second with a 9.875. Fielitz’s score tied her career-high on the event.
On bars, Iowa State’s Camille Santerre-Gervais won the title with a 9.9, while junior Nina McGee (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior Melodie Pulgarin Linero (Barcelona, Spain) and Iowa State’s Henrietta Green tied for third with a 9.850.
Senior Jorie Hall (Denver, Colo.) won the beam title with a 9.850, taking home her fourth beam title of the season. Martin, Pulgarin Linero, Iowa State’s Caitlin Brown and Boise State’s Kelsey Morris tied for second with a 9.8 on beam. This is the second straight meet Martin has finished with a 9.8 or higher.
Stretching her streak to five, McGee once again finished with a 9.8 or higher, inking a 9.950 on floor to take home her fourth floor title of the season. Her score marks the highest individual floor score for the Pioneers this season. Moorhead, Martin and sophomore Maggie Laughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz.) all tied for third with 9.9. Martin’s and Moorhead’s 9.9 marked season-highs for the seniors, while Laughlin’s marked a career-high.
Martin won her fifth all-around title of the season with a 39.425, the second-highest score posted this season. McGee finished in third with a 39.275.
2014 seniors Martin, Hall, Pulgarin Linero, Moorhead and senior Paige Tollefson (Longmont, Colo.) were all honored in a post-meet ceremony.
Denver heads back on the road, traveling to the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championships at BYU on Saturday, Mar. 22 in Provo, Utah. The meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
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