DENVER - The University of Denver women's gymnastics team competes at home for the second straight weekend, hosting Minnesota on Saturday, February 18, at 6 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium. It will be the teams' second meeting of the season.

MEET #8: No. 11 Denver (11-4, 0-2 Big 12) vs. Minnesota (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten)

Date and Time: Saturday, February 18, at 6 p.m. MT
Location: Hamilton Gymnasium/2,200 (Denver, Colo.)
Tickets: Buy Tickets
Live Stats: Meet Info: DU meet notes | MINN meet notes
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BIG 12 HONORS KARR
Freshman Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) earned the Big 12 Conference Gymnast of the Week award this week following last weekend's meet against Boise State. Karr tallied the fourth-highest all-around score in program history (39.675) while posting new personal bests on bars (9.900), beam (9.925) and floor (9.950). All four of her scores were at least 9.900s, and she won the all-around title, as well as a share of the vault, beam and floor titles.

Karr's award marks Denver's second Big 12 Conference honor so far this season. Fellow freshman Sam Ogden (Allen, Texas) was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the week of January 23.

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Denver's last meet against Boise State on February 11 saw the Pioneers earn some of the highest scores in program history. Overall, DU finished with a 197.125, which became the program's sixth-highest team score.

The bars squad tied the school record with a team score of 49.400, matching the previous record set on March 22, 2001.

Karr set the fourth-highest individual all-around score with a 39.675-only one tenth off the program record (39.775) set by Nina McGee last year. It is the highest all-around mark by a freshman in program history, besting the previous high of 39.625 set by Ashley Shible in 2001.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Vault: For the second straight meet, DU competed with six student-athletes on vault, though the sixth was only a Yurchenko layout. Denver's five counted scores were all 9.800s or higher, highlighted by Karr's 9.900 that tied for first overall. Senior Julia Ross (Henderson, Nev.) matched her season high with a 9.875 to tie for third, and fellow senior Rachel Fielitz (Walden, N.Y.) was close behind with a 9.850.

Bars: The Pioneers tied the school record on bars last weekend with a 49.400 team effort and five scores of 9.850 or higher. Ogden and Karr each set new personal bests with a 9.925 and 9.900, and tied for first and third, respectively. Sophomore Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) tied her career high with a 9.850. Seniors Leah Lomonte (Katy, Texas) and Ross rounded out DU's counted scores with a respective 9.850 and 9.875.

Beam: Two Pioneers set career highs on beam last weekend: Karr with a 9.925 and sophomore Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) with a 9.900. Junior Nikole Addison (Fort Myers, Fla.) had DU's third-best score on Saturday, a 9.825, which was only .025 off her personal best. Fielitz returned to the beam line-up, earning a 9.775, matched later in the rotation by fellow senior Ross.

Floor: Denver continues to only compete with five student-athletes on floor. Karr and Addison anchored the floor line-up again last weekend, each earning personal-best 9.950s-the highest scores on any event by a Pioneer this season. Freshman Courtney Loper (West Des Moines, Iowa), led off the event with a 9.850, which was just .025 off her career high.

EYE ON THE RANKINGS
Denver moved up one spot in the rankings this week to No. 11 with a 196.161 season average. The Pioneers continue to be ranked nationally on all four events, holding top 20 spots for each. The team is No. 11 on bars (49.061), No. 12 on floor (49.111), No. 13 on beam (49.079) and No. 20 on vault (48.911).

This is the sixth straight week that DU has at least two student-athletes ranked in the all-around. Karr moved up to No. 12 nationally with a 39.393 average while Ross sits at No. 24 with a 39.289 average.

DU's highest individual ranking belongs to Ogden, who entered the top 10 on bars, tying for No. 10 with a 9.883 average. Karr holds two more top-25 spots, coming in tied for No. 16 on vault (9.875) and tied for No. 22 on floor (9.879).

This is the final week that rankings are determined by season average. Beginning next week, rankings will reflect teams' Regional Qualifying Score (RQS).

LAST TIME OUT
DU posted the sixth-highest team score in program history last Saturday to edge No. 8 Boise State 197.125-197.075. The Pioneers earned a share of all four event titles while Karr took home the all-around win with a 39.675-a new personal best and the fourth-highest score in school history. Karr also shared the vault, beam and floor titles. Ogden earned a share of the bars title while Addison shared the floor title, each with new career highs on the event.

Denver also earned podium finishes by Ross on vault, Karr on bars and Schou on beam.

In total, five Pioneers set or tied seven new career highs across bars, beam and floor. Six of those scores were at least 9.900s.

ABOUT MINNESOTA
Minnesota traveled to Big Ten Conference opponent Nebraska last weekend, finishing second 194.900-196.550. Ivy Lu tied for the bars title with a 9.875, and Ciara Gardner won the floor title with a 9.900. Gardner also finished second the in all-around with a 39.300 total.

The Gophers are outside the top 25 as a team in this week's rankings but are No. 8 on floor and No. 25 on vault. Gardner has Minnesota's highest individual ranking, coming at No. 22 on beam.

THE MATCH-UP
This will be the second meeting between Denver and Minnesota this season. DU traveled to Minnesota for the season opener on January 7, coming out on top 195.875-194.725. During the meet, Karr won the all-around with a 39.500-the highest mark by a DU freshman in her collegiate debut in program history. She also won at least a share of the vault (9.925), beam (9.875) and floor (9.900) titles. Ogden made her debut on bars with an event-winning 9.850.

DU leads the all-time head-to-head record against Minnesota 12-8-1. The Gophers last visited Denver on March 4, 2016, a meet in which DU would come out on top 1976.825-196.175.

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