DENVER - The No. 19 University of Denver women's gymnastics team opens February on the road with a trip to Provo, Utah, for a Saturday meet at BYU. Fellow Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference team No. 15 Boise State will also compete. The meet is set for 1 p.m. MST.

About Denver
Head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart leads the Pioneers for the 17th time in 2015. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Kutcher-Rinehart is looking to advance the team to the NCAA National Championships for the fourth time in her career, last coming in 2008 where the Pioneers finished 12th. Denver has qualified for the NCAA Regionals in each of Kutcher-Rinehart's 16 seasons.

In 2014, the Pioneers won the inaugural MRGC title after setting a school record on vault (49.475). They will look to defend their title when the 2015 Championships come to Magness Arena on March 21.

Last Time Out
DU welcomed the No. 1 team in the nation--and defending NCAA co-National Champion--Oklahoma to Hamilton Gymnasium in a rare Thursday night meet on January 29. The Pioneers posted their second-highest team score of the season with a 195.900, while also setting new season-bests on bars (49.050) and beam (48.600).

Senior Nina McGee (Cincinnati, Ohio) won her fourth all-around title (in five meets), scoring a 38.875. She also finished second on floor (9.925) and third on bars (9.875).

Freshman Nikole Addison (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) continued to show improvement throughout her inaugural collegiate campaign, competing three more routines for the Pioneers (and a fourth in exhibition). She bested two of her career highs against the Sooners, scoring a 9.825 on bars and a 9.850 on floor. Sophomore Rachel Fielitz (Walden, N.Y.) also posted a new career best, hers coming on beam with a 9.775. Junior Katie Menhinick (Paramus, N.J.) tied a personal best on bars as well (9.775).

First-Place Finishes
McGee continues to add to her list of titles on 2015, led by four all-around wins (1/9, 1/17, 1/19, 1/29)--including in the first three meets of the season. In each of those first three meets, she also brought home titles on three individual events. So far in 2015, she has 13 individual wins. The MRGC named McGee the Gymnast of the Week for three consecutive weeks (1/12, 1/19 and 1/26) to open the season after posting the highest all-around total in the conference for the week.

Fielitz also has two titles this season, each coming on vault (1/9 and 1/17), one of which she shared with McGee, another with junior Emily Barrett (Norman, Okla.).

Eyes on the Polls
Denver moved up one spot to No. 19 in the GymInfo Poll for the week of February 2, compiling an average team score of 195.355. The team continues to be one of the best in the nation on floor, coming in at No. 8 with a 49.110 average. The vault squad also continues to be ranked, this week at No. 15 (49.085). The Pioneers entered the top 25 on bars for the first time this season at No. 25 (48.735).

McGee leads the team on floor and is tied for No. 5 in the nation with an average of 9.915.

Boise State is ranked No. 15 in the overall team standings (195.742), No. 9 on bars (49.075), No. 10 on vault (49.208) and No. 11 on beam (48.883). BYU is not ranked inside the top 25 on any event.

DU's 2015 schedule features seven teams inside the top 25, including No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 9 Georgia. Future meets will feature No. 18 Arizona (3/14), No. 21 Southern Utah (2/27) and No. 22 Ohio State (3/7).

About BYU
The Cougars last competed in an MRGC match up on January 30 at Southern Utah, narrowly edging out a 195.675-195.650 win. Four BYU gymnasts ended with event titles: Eliane Kulczyk on vault (9.850), Makenzie Johnson on beam (9.900), and KayCee Gassaway and Jill Van Mierlo tied on vault (9.825).

BYU's only other conference meet was January 23 against Utah State where BYU lost by two tenths (195.500-195.300).

About Boise State
Boise State is coming off a 195.750 win against Utah State (194.275) and UC Davis (193.550) on January 30 in Logan, Utah. Senior Ciera Perkins scored a perfect 10.0 on vault, earning her conference Specialist of the Week honors.

The Broncos have an MRGC win over Utah State (1/30) and have split two meets with Southern Utah (winning on 1/31 but losing on 1/16).

The Match Up
DU holds a 43-29-1 combined edge over both opponents. The teams last met at the 2014 NCAA Regionals in Seattle on April 5, with Denver (195.625, third place) finishing ahead of Boise State (195.275, fifth place) and BYU (194.650, sixth place). The Pioneers also topped both teams on their way to winning the 2014 MRGC Championships in Provo, topping second-place Boise State by only .025 (196.925 - 196.900). BYU finished fourth with a 196.100.

In the regular season, DU and BYU last met on January 31, 2014, in Provo where the Pioneers won 196.550 - 196.425. DU and Boise State faced off on Senior Night in Denver on March 15, 2014, with the Pioneers finishing on top 196.725 - 195.925.

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