AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 15-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team continued to fight as it has all season long to advance to the NCAA Regional Final on Saturday after placing second in the NCAA Regional Second Round on Thursday.
DU used its strongest floor rotation of the year to seal the team's 197.075, sending Denver along with No. 2 Florida (198.125) to Saturday's competition. No. 17 Ohio State was third (196.925), and Iowa State placed fourth (196.725).
COACH'S NOTES
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach
Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "This whole season, our strength has been resilience, and nowhere was it stronger than tonight. It was a collectiveness toughness with a bold approach. This is one tough team. They have tremendous heart, and they just continue to fight.
"Thank you to all of our family, friends and supporters, and to everyone who continues to believe in us. We appreciate all of your energy tonight and all season."
SIGNIFICANT STATS
- DU rebounded from a fourth-place standing after the first rotation, gradually working back up to second place following floor.
- Denver's 49.450 on floor was not only a season high but was also the second highest score in DU's NCAA Regionals history.
- DU also tied its third highest NCAA Regionals bars score (49.325) and set its fourth highest NCAA Regionals beam score (49.300).
- The team filled all six lineup spots on each event and hit all 24 routines.
- Five of Denver's floor workers either tied a career high or were within .025 of their personal bests.
VAULT RECAP
Denver opened the meet on vault, led by sophomore
Jessica Hutchinson's season high-matching 9.875. Fellow sophomore
Rylie Mundell added a 9.850, and senior
Alexandria Ruiz scored a 9.800. DU's final counted scores came from freshman
Momoko Iwai and sophomore
Rosie Casali. Freshman
Mia Hebinck slotted made her first career vault appearance to give DU a sixth score in case there was a need for a tiebreaker at the end of the meet.
BARS RECAP
DU used five counted scores of 9.850 or higher to tally a 49.325 on bars in the second rotation. Three DU bars workers contributed 9.875s: Hebinck, Hutchinson and Mundell. Ruiz and Casali scored matching 9.850s in the first two routines for Denver. Sophomore
Abbie Thompson competed on bars for the first time since March 2021 to again give DU a sixth score, a 9.775.
BEAM RECAP
Hutchinson and Thompson helped lead Denver to its 49.300 on beam, both with a 9.900. Sophomore
Bella Mabanta was just off their pace with a 9.875, and Ruiz led off the lineup with a 9.825. Iwai earned a 9.800, and Mundell posted a 9.775.
FLOOR RECAP
Tied with Ohio State after three rotations, Denver excelled under pressure with its best floor rotation of the year, securing its spot in the NCAA Regional Final with a 49.450 off six scores above 9.800. Iwai set the tone with a 9.850 in the leadoff that was just .025 from her personal best. Ruiz returned to the lineup for the first time since February 13 and also nearly hit her career high with a 9.900. Mabanta did tie her personal best, adding another 9.900 to DU's total. Mundell followed with a 9.875, only a quarter tenth from her career high as well. Thompson scored a 9.825 to mathematically secure the win over OSU while Hutchinson anchored with a 9.925, which was yet another score just .025 from her career best.
NEXT UP:
Denver will compete in the NCAA Regional Final on Saturday night against No. 2 Florida, No. 7 Auburn and No. 10 Kentucky. The top two teams will advance to the NCAA National Championships on April 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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