DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team continues to hold the No. 5 spot in the Road to Nationals rankings, released on Monday. It's the third consecutive week that DU has been ranked No. 5 in the nation, which is the highest ranking that the program has ever held.
 
Denver recorded the highest postseason score in program history (197.250) at Saturday's Big 12 Championship, giving the team a final National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 197.545, which is also the highest in DU history by more than half a tenth.
 
NQS, previously known as Regional Qualifying Score (RQS), is calculated with the six highest scores of the season, at least three of which must be from away meets. The high score is dropped, and the remaining five scores are averaged.
 
DENVER'S NQS
197.775 – Away
197.725 – Home
197.675 – Home
197.625 – Home
197.450 – Away
197.250 – Away
NQS: 197.545
 
This week marks the final event and individual rankings of the season. Final team rankings will be released following the NCAA National Championships on April 19-20.
 
DU finished the season ranked inside the top 10 on all four events for the first time in program history, and all four of Denver's final event rankings either match or set program records as well.
 
The Pioneers' No. 5 ranking on beam and final NQS of 49.445 are both new program records. Denver is also tied for No. 5 on bars with a 49.430 NQS, both school records.
 
On floor, Denver finished ranked No. 6 – the highest in program history – with an NQS of 49.415, which is DU's second-highest all-time. DU is No. 7 on vault, matching the program record from 2017. Its final vault NQS of 49.300 is the third-highest in program history.
 
Four Pioneers ended the season with individual national rankings, each of them finishing in the top 10 on at least one event.
 
Junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) tied the highest final all-around ranking in Denver history, holding the No. 4 spot to match Nina McGee's final ranking in 2016 and Jessica Lopez's tie for No. 4 in 2008. Karr's NQS of 39.665 is a new DU record, besting her own of 39.630 last year.
 
Karr also finished the season ranked No. 4 on vault, also tying the DU all-time record first set by Moriah Martin in 2013. Her NQS of 9.940 is the second-highest in DU history. On bars, she is tied for No. 9 with what is now Denver's highest all-time NQS (9.940). She also finished tied for No. 12 on beam (9.915).
 
Sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) joins Karr in the top 10 in the all-around, finishing No. 7 in the nation with an NQS of 39.615, which is the third-best mark in DU history. She is tied for No. 4 on floor, and her final NQS of 9.960 is DU's second-highest all-time. Brown is also tied for No. 10 on vault (9.915) and tied for No. 14 on bars (9.920).
 
Freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) holds the No. 6 spot in the final beam rankings, which is a new program record. She finished with an NQS of 9.935, which is also a new DU record.
 
Senior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) is ranked inside the top 10 in the nation on beam for the second year in a row, tying for No. 8 (9.925).
 
The University of Denver gymnastics team, presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, has advanced to NCAA Regionals for the 21^st consecutive season. The team will learn its placement during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, March 25, at 3 p.m. MT, which will be streamed on NCAA.com.
 
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