DENVER - After competing twice in three days and recording its highest home and away meet scores of the year, the No. 18 University of Denver women's gymnastics team will finish its regular season on the road with a trip to No. 17-ranked Arizona on Saturday. The meet is set for a 4 p.m. local start/5 p.m. Denver time.

About Denver
Head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart is in her 17th season with the Pioneers and is seeking another team berth to the NCAA National Championships in Dallas/Fort Worth on April 17-19. Kutcher-Rinehart has led the squad to 16 consecutive NCAA Regionals appearances and is the program's all-time winningest coach.

After winning the inaugural MRGC championship in 2014, the team will look to defend its title when it hosts the 2015 Championships in Magness Arena on March 21.

Last Time Out
Denver is coming off its highest road score of the season, a 196.450 win at Air Force with Alaska-Anchorage on Monday, March 9. The Pioneers also recorded their highest bars score of the season (49.325), which ties the fourth highest total in program history. Four DU gymnasts won or shared four event titles during the meet: senior Nina McGee (Cincinnati, Ohio) on vault, bars and beam; sophomore Rachel Fielitz (Walden, N.Y.) on vault; junior Katie Menhinick (Paramus, N.J.) on beam; and junior Maggie Laughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on floor.

The Pioneers competed two nights prior at home in Magness Arena on Saturday, March 7, and celebrated Senior Night with a season-high 196.925, tying the seventh highest score in program history. McGee set a new personal best in the all-around with a 39.625, tying the third highest all-around total in program history as well. McGee also won the bars and floor titles. Fielitz recorded a personal-best 9.950 on her way to the vault title, while sophomore Julia Ross (Henderson, Nev.) set a new career high 9.925 on beam to win the title.

Best in the Nation
McGee is tied for No. 1 in the nation on floor this week with an RQS of 9.945, matching LSU's Lloimincia Hall and Florida's Kytra Hunter at the top of the rankings. Her No. 1 ranking is the first for a DU gymnast in the RQS rankings. Jessica Lopez was the last Pioneer to be ranked No. 1 during the season, doing so on beam on January 19, 2009, prior to the release of RQS rankings.

During the 2015 season, McGee has competed on floor 10 times, tying her career best (9.975) three times. She has won or tied for the event title eight times.

Back-to-Back Awards for Rachel
For the second consecutive week, Fielitz was awarded MRGC Specialist of the Week honors, this time for her 9.950 event-winning vault on Saturday night. Fielitz also scored a 9.900 on beam and 9.875 on floor, each setting new career bests.

Pioneers have now won eight MRGC awards in 2015: McGee three times as Gymnast of the Week; Ross once as Gymnast of the Week; sophomore Leah Lomonte (Katy, Texas) once as Specialist of the Week; and Laughlin once as Specialist of the Week.

Eyes on the Polls
DU is No. 18 in the GymInfo poll for the week of March 9 with a 196.100 RQS. The Pioneers are also ranked inside the top 25 on three events: No. 9 on floor (49.290), No. 11 on vault (49.265) and No. 25 on beam (48.810).

In addition to her tie at No. 1 on floor, McGee is No. 25 in the all-around (39.260). Fielitz also enters the top 25 for the first time, coming in tied at No. 23 on vault.

In the MRGC, DU is once again second overall and first on vault and floor. McGee is first on floor, second in the all-around and third on vault. Fielitz is second on vault, while Laughlin is tied for second on floor.

Arizona is one spot ahead of DU in this week's poll at No. 17. The GymCats are also ranked No. 15 on bars and beam, No. 18 on floor and No. 25 on vault.

About Arizona
Arizona is coming off a season-high 197.125 on Sunday against Texas Women's, scoring the third highest team total in its history and winning event titles on vault (Shelby Edwards, 9.875), bars (Selynna Felix-Terrazas and Allison Flores, 9.875) and beam (Jessica Sisler and Lexi Mills, 9.950). The GymCats swept the vault and bars podiums.

The GymCats are 9-4-0 overall in 2015 and 3-3-0 in the Pac-12, last competing in a conference meet against California on February 28 where Arizona won 196.425-196.100.

The Match Up
Denver is 7-16-0 all-time against Arizona, including the teams' last meeting on April 2, 2011, when DU hosted the NCAA Regionals. DU finished in fourth with a 195.625, topping Arizona in fifth place with a 195.400. The teams last competed in Tucson against one another on March 6, 2009, where Arizona earned a narrow 195.350 - 195.025 win.

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