Saturday, April 20
Fort Worth, Texas
5:00 PM MT
University of Denver
at
NCAA Championship Final
Photo by: Brittany Evans
No. 5 DU Gymnastics Ready for First NCAA Four on the Floor
4/20/2019 10:21:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Denver competes in first-ever NCAA Team Final on Saturday
FORT WORTH, Texas – For the first time in program history, the University of Denver women's gymnastics team will compete in the NCAA Team Championship, set for Saturday, April 20, at 6:00 p.m. CT/5:00 p.m. MT.
WATCH: ESPNU | All-Around | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor
Joining DU will be Oklahoma, UCLA and LSU. The meet will be televised live beginning on ESPNU.
This will be the first-ever "Four on the Floor" meet following the NCAA postseason format change this year. Under the previous format, the team final meet featured six teams in the "Super Six."
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Denver's trip to the NCAA Team Final continues the Pioneers' historic season.
DU attained the program's first-ever top-five national ranking in 2019 and finished the regular season ranked No. 5. Denver spent the entire season ranked inside the top 10 nationally and was never ranked lower than No. 8.
Denver finished the season ranked in the top 10 on all four events for the first time ever. All four of DU's final event rankings either set or tied the program record for highest final ranking.
FLOOR QUEENS
Sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) won a share of the floor national title, becoming Denver's second NCAA champion. She joins Nina McGee, who became DU's first NCAA national champion on floor in 2016.
Brown's 9.950 on floor during Friday's competition also matches McGee's score from 2015 and 2016 as DU's highest-ever at NCAA Nationals on floor.
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Five Pioneers captured postseason All-American nods during Friday's semifinals – the most in a single season in DU history, topping the two Denver gymnasts in 2017.
Brown's win on floor earned her first-team honors on the event. She added first-team recognition in the all-around while winning second-team nods on bars and beam.
Junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) earned first-team All-American status on bars for the first time in her career while also capturing second-team honors in the all-around. She now owns five career postseason All-American awards.
Freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) and senior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) brought home two more awards on beam, Vasquez earning first-team and Schou second-team.
Freshman Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) gave Denver three All-Americans in the all-around with her second-team honor.
BIG (12) STATEMENT
In the first NCAA Four on the Floor, half of the field will be represented by teams from the Big 12 Conference in Denver and Oklahoma. UCLA from the Pac-12 and LSU from the SEC will be the other two teams in the competition.
It's the first time that two Big 12 schools have advanced to the team championship round since Oklahoma and Nebraska competed in the 2011 Super Six.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Vault: Karr and Brown led the team with matching 9.850s on vault in Friday's semifinal competition, and both shared the Big 12 Conference vault title. Karr owns three near-perfect 9.975s on the event this season. Sophomore Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.) competed on vault in the semifinals for just the third time this season and set a career high with her 9.825.
Bars: In Friday's second semifinal, both Karr and Brown secured top-six finishes on bars. Karr's 9.9125 becomes DU's highest-ever bars score at NCAA Nationals while Brown's 9.900 ties for the second-highest. Senior Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) set up DU's finals-clinching rotation with a hit routine and continuing her streak of competing on bars in every meet of her career.
Beam: Vasquez shared the Semifinal II lead on beam and tied for fourth overall with her 9.9125 performance on Friday. Both her score and spot on the podium are now school records at the NCAA National Championships. Brown and Schou added 9.875s during the semifinals and finished just outside the top 10 overall. Karr joined Vasquez and Schou in earning regular season All-Americans nods on the event.
Floor: Brown's 9.950 on floor sealed her first NCAA individual national title and only the second in DU history. Schou had DU's second-highest score on Friday with a 9.850 to tie the eighth-best NCAA Nationals floor score in program history. Karr, Ruiz and Kern added three more scores of at least 9.800 during the semifinals.
LAST TIME OUT
Denver competed in Friday's second semifinal and finished in second with a 197.0375, which shatters the program record for highest NCAA Nationals team score (previously 196.475 in 2017). The team also set new DU nationals records on all four events.
Brown's 39.575 in the all-around placed sixth overall – both new program records at the NCAA National Championships. Karr finished tied for 11th with a 39.3875, which is now DU's fourth-highest mark at NCAA Nationals. Ruiz also finished in the top 15 with a 39.300.
THE MATCH-UPS
This will be the fifth meeting in 2019 between Denver and Oklahoma following Friday's semifinal competition. This will be the third time the teams have met at the NCAA National Championships after doing so in the semifinals in 2017.
Denver and UCLA have met during DU's previous three trips to NCAA Nationals. Both teams met in the same semifinal session in 2017, 2008 and 2007. The 2017 NCAA Semifinals is their most recent meeting.
DU and LSU have one prior meeting at the NCAA Nationals Championships, doing so in the semifinals in 2007. They most recently met at the 2015 NCAA Regionals in Ames, Iowa.
- PIONEER TOGETHER –
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Gymnastics on Facebook.
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Gymnastics on Twitter.
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Gymnastics on Instagram.
WATCH: ESPNU | All-Around | Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor
Joining DU will be Oklahoma, UCLA and LSU. The meet will be televised live beginning on ESPNU.
This will be the first-ever "Four on the Floor" meet following the NCAA postseason format change this year. Under the previous format, the team final meet featured six teams in the "Super Six."
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Denver's trip to the NCAA Team Final continues the Pioneers' historic season.
DU attained the program's first-ever top-five national ranking in 2019 and finished the regular season ranked No. 5. Denver spent the entire season ranked inside the top 10 nationally and was never ranked lower than No. 8.
Denver finished the season ranked in the top 10 on all four events for the first time ever. All four of DU's final event rankings either set or tied the program record for highest final ranking.
FLOOR QUEENS
Sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) won a share of the floor national title, becoming Denver's second NCAA champion. She joins Nina McGee, who became DU's first NCAA national champion on floor in 2016.
Brown's 9.950 on floor during Friday's competition also matches McGee's score from 2015 and 2016 as DU's highest-ever at NCAA Nationals on floor.
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Five Pioneers captured postseason All-American nods during Friday's semifinals – the most in a single season in DU history, topping the two Denver gymnasts in 2017.
Brown's win on floor earned her first-team honors on the event. She added first-team recognition in the all-around while winning second-team nods on bars and beam.
Junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) earned first-team All-American status on bars for the first time in her career while also capturing second-team honors in the all-around. She now owns five career postseason All-American awards.
Freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) and senior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) brought home two more awards on beam, Vasquez earning first-team and Schou second-team.
Freshman Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) gave Denver three All-Americans in the all-around with her second-team honor.
BIG (12) STATEMENT
In the first NCAA Four on the Floor, half of the field will be represented by teams from the Big 12 Conference in Denver and Oklahoma. UCLA from the Pac-12 and LSU from the SEC will be the other two teams in the competition.
It's the first time that two Big 12 schools have advanced to the team championship round since Oklahoma and Nebraska competed in the 2011 Super Six.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Vault: Karr and Brown led the team with matching 9.850s on vault in Friday's semifinal competition, and both shared the Big 12 Conference vault title. Karr owns three near-perfect 9.975s on the event this season. Sophomore Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.) competed on vault in the semifinals for just the third time this season and set a career high with her 9.825.
Bars: In Friday's second semifinal, both Karr and Brown secured top-six finishes on bars. Karr's 9.9125 becomes DU's highest-ever bars score at NCAA Nationals while Brown's 9.900 ties for the second-highest. Senior Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) set up DU's finals-clinching rotation with a hit routine and continuing her streak of competing on bars in every meet of her career.
Beam: Vasquez shared the Semifinal II lead on beam and tied for fourth overall with her 9.9125 performance on Friday. Both her score and spot on the podium are now school records at the NCAA National Championships. Brown and Schou added 9.875s during the semifinals and finished just outside the top 10 overall. Karr joined Vasquez and Schou in earning regular season All-Americans nods on the event.
Floor: Brown's 9.950 on floor sealed her first NCAA individual national title and only the second in DU history. Schou had DU's second-highest score on Friday with a 9.850 to tie the eighth-best NCAA Nationals floor score in program history. Karr, Ruiz and Kern added three more scores of at least 9.800 during the semifinals.
LAST TIME OUT
Denver competed in Friday's second semifinal and finished in second with a 197.0375, which shatters the program record for highest NCAA Nationals team score (previously 196.475 in 2017). The team also set new DU nationals records on all four events.
Brown's 39.575 in the all-around placed sixth overall – both new program records at the NCAA National Championships. Karr finished tied for 11th with a 39.3875, which is now DU's fourth-highest mark at NCAA Nationals. Ruiz also finished in the top 15 with a 39.300.
THE MATCH-UPS
This will be the fifth meeting in 2019 between Denver and Oklahoma following Friday's semifinal competition. This will be the third time the teams have met at the NCAA National Championships after doing so in the semifinals in 2017.
Denver and UCLA have met during DU's previous three trips to NCAA Nationals. Both teams met in the same semifinal session in 2017, 2008 and 2007. The 2017 NCAA Semifinals is their most recent meeting.
DU and LSU have one prior meeting at the NCAA Nationals Championships, doing so in the semifinals in 2007. They most recently met at the 2015 NCAA Regionals in Ames, Iowa.
- PIONEER TOGETHER –
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Gymnastics on Facebook.
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Gymnastics on Twitter.
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Gymnastics on Instagram.
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