CORVALLIS, Ore. – The No. 5-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team secured a spot in Saturday's NCAA regional final with its 196.975 performance and first-place finish in the NCAA second round on Friday.
 
DU gymnasts captured at least a share of the top scores on every event including in the all-around where sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) and junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) tied atop the standings, each with a 39.525.
 
Denver led the meet with a 196.975, which becomes the program's second-best score at an NCAA Regional meet. No. 12 Boise State finished in second with a 196.225 and will advance to Saturday's regional final along with DU. No. 18 Washington was third (195.900), and No. 24 Southern Utah finished fourth (195.350).
 
"Today was a good warmup for tomorrow," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. "It was a steady performance that built throughout the day."
 
DU began the meet on vault with the top team score of the day, highlighted by Karr's 9.850 that tied for the highest individual score. Brown added a 9.825 to finish fifth overall on the event. Freshman Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) led off the rotation with a 9.775 while senior Diana Chesnok (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) earned 9.750s.
 
The Pioneers moved to bars for the second rotation, scoring a 49.325 overall, tying the second-highest NCAA Regionals score in program history on the event. Karr again had the meet's top score with a 9.925. Four Pioneers tallied matching 9.850s: Brown, Chesnok, Ruiz and sophomore Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.).
 
Denver recorded a 49.475 on beam, the highest score for any team on any event in the competition. It shatters the previous program record for highest NCAA Regionals beam score (49.225 in 2017) while also tying the fourth-highest score in program history. Freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) posted her fourth 9.950 of the season to lead the meet. Brown also tied her career best with a 9.900, which senior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) matched later in the rotation. Karr added a 9.875 while Sundstrom scored a 9.850.
 
On floor in the final rotation, DU scored a 49.225, led by a meet-high 9.950 from Brown. Karr tied for second overall with a 9.875. Sundstrom contributed a 9.825 while Ruiz had a 9.800. Senior Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) returned to the floor lineup and posted a 9.775 for Denver's final counted score.
 
Looking ahead to Saturday's regional final, Kutcher-Rinehart said, "We need to stay calm, confident and aggressive – just stay in the moment and stay consistent."
 
Saturday's NCAA regional final meet is set for 7:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. MT. Joining Denver and Boise State will be the top two finishing teams from Friday's evening session featuring No. 4-ranked Florida, No. 15 Oregon State, No. 25 Stanford and Iowa.
 
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