DENVER – The No. 11-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team wrapped up February with a 196.475 win over Air Force (194.650) in front of DU's largest home crowd of the season on Sunday.
 
COACH'S NOTES:
From head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "A huge thank you to everyone who came out today. The team felt the energy and support and excitement, and we really appreciate it.
 
"People stepped up from last week to this week, especially on floor, and we saw the improvement in competition. We look forward to getting Abbie (Thompson) back and Alexandria (Ruiz) and Emily (Glynn) fully back. I think we'll get stronger and stronger, and our goal is to be peaking in postseason. In the meantime, other student-athletes are getting a tremendous amount of experience, which will benefit us in the future.
  
SIGNIFICANT STATS

• Denver swept the event titles with sophomore Jessica Hutchinson claiming at least a share of four event wins – including her fourth straight all-around victory.
• Junior Callie Schlottman stepped into the floor lineup at the last minute, marking her collegiate debut on the event and counting the score toward DU's team total.
• Schlottman also came in clutch on beam, hitting her routine immediately following a fall and helping guarantee Denver would not count the fall.
• Five Denver floor workers set or tied personal bests including sophomores Bella Mabanta (9.900) and Rylie Mundell (9.800).
• Freshman Momoko Iwai joined the career high group on floor by tying her personal best (9.875) while also matching her career high on vault (9.775).

VAULT RECAP
After competing five-up, five-count last weekend, Denver returned to a complete lineup of six vaulters this week. Mundell led the way with a title-winning 9.875, her second vault win of the season. Hutchinson tied for second overall with a 9.825. Senior Alexandria Ruiz returned to the rotation, adding a 9.800. Iwai led off the rotation with a career high-tying 9.775, which senior Emily Glynn also scored.
 
BARS RECAP
Denver's best rotation of the meet came on bars with five counted scores of 9.800 or higher. Hutchinson and Mundell finished out the rotation with matching 9.875s immediately following a fall. Freshman Mia Hebinck and Ruiz each earned a 9.825, and sophomore Rosie Casali scored a 9.800 for the second week in a row. DU would finish with the five highest bars scores of the competition.
 
BEAM RECAP
DU again had the competition's top five beam scores, led by Hutchinson's 9.900. Mabanta scored 9.850, and Mundell had a 9.825 to complete DU's podium sweep. Schlottman once again came in with a hit routine despite the pressure of a fall earlier in the lineup and posted a 9.800. Iwai got back on track after an uncharacteristic mistake last week to hit her routine in the leadoff role today.
 
FLOOR RECAP
Hutchinson tied her career high of 9.950 on floor for the second week in a row, this time earning a 10.0 from one judge. Mabanta and Mundell both earned redemption with new career highs of 9.900 and 9.800, respectively, after falls last week. Again in the first routine of the rotation, Iwai tied her personal best with a 9.875. Schlottman, who was originally slated for the first floor exhibition of her career, was added to the full lineup at the last minute and helped improve DU's team total with a 9.625.
 
MORE COACH'S NOTES:
Kutcher-Rinehart added, "Callie is our MVP today after stepping up on beam and then having to fill in for Emily at the last minute on floor. I'm so proud of her."
 
PODIUM FINISHES
All-Around
Hutchinson: First Place – 39.550
Mundell: Second Place – 39.375
 
Vault
Mundell: First Place – 9.875
Hutchinson: Second Place (tie) – 9.825
 
Bars
Hutchinson: First Place (tie) – 9.875
Mundell: First Place (tie) – 9.875
Hebinck: Third Place (tie) – 9.825
Ruiz: Third Place (tie) – 9.825
 
Beam
Hutchinson: First Place – 9.900
Mabanta: Second Place – 9.850
Mundell: Third Place – 9.825
 
Floor
Hutchinson: First Place – 9.950
Mabanta: Second Place – 9.900
Iwai: Third Place – 9.875
 
NEXT UP:
Denver travels to Penn State with Cornell on Saturday, March 5, for its final regular-season road meet of the year before returning home on Sunday, March 13, to host a Power-5 showdown with Oregon State, Arkansas and Nebraska.
 
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES
Masks are required at all indoor athletic events. For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2022 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship are now on sale and can be purchased online or by calling 303-871-4625.
 
SHOP PIONEERS
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