AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 15-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team tallied its third best score of the year, a 197.225, in Saturday's NCAA Regional Final.
 
DU placed fourth overall. No. 2 Florida (198.775) and No. 7 Auburn (197.775) advanced to the NCAA National Championships, and No. 10 Kentucky was third with a 197.500.
 
COACH'S NOTES
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "This team has been so outstanding this last month of the season, showing true grit, resiliency and determination. We maximized everything we had, and I can't be any more proud of them.
 
"Sometimes success isn't measure in wins, but it's measured in how people come together to support each other and overcome adversity. We succeeded this weekend at our highest possible level."
  
SIGNIFICANT STATS

• DU improved over its NCAA Regional Second Round team score (197.075) while also increasing its event scores on vault, bars and beam as well.
• Denver's 49.350 on bars ties the program's second highest NCAA Regionals score while its beam and floor scores finished in the top five in program history.
• Through three events, DU had scored a 147.875, which ties the team's third best three-event score of the season.
• Three Denver sophomores set or tied career highs in the meet. Rylie Mundell scored a new personal best in the all-around with a 39.550. Jessica Hutchinson and Bella Mabanta both tied a career high of 9.900, Hutchinson on vault and Mabanta on floor for the second meet in a row.
• DU opted to compete with just five student-athletes on bars and floor, and still did not count a fall.

BEAM RECAP
Denver began its night with a 49.325 on beam, counting five scores at or above 9.825 to give DU a higher team score on the event than in the Regional Second Round. For the second time this postseason, freshman Momoko Iwai had Denver's top beam score, this time a 9.900. Mabanta and Hutchinson each had a 9.875 while Mundell anchored with a 9.850. Senior Alexandria Ruiz led off the rotation with a 9.825, and junior Callie Schlottman returned to the lineup.
 
FLOOR RECAP
DU again had one of its top floor performances of the year, earning a 49.375 that became the season's third best score despite competing with only five student-athletes. For the third straight meet, Hutchinson scored a 9.925 to lead the lineup. Mabanta was just below that mark with a career high-tying 9.900. Three Denver floor workers added 9.850s in Iwai, Mundell and Ruiz.
 
VAULT RECAP
Hutchinson tied her personal best of 9.900 to top Denver's vault lineup, helping DU get to a 49.175, which was its top score since March 5 and was a top five season score. Mundell, too, scored a 9.900 while sophomore Rosie Casali and Iwai scored 9.825 and 9.800, respectively. Ruiz's 9.750 was the team's final counted score, and Mabanta made her collegiate debut in DU's sixth spot.
 
BARS RECAP
DU finished on bars with a five-up, five-count rotation highlighted by Mundell's season high-tying 9.950. Freshman Mia Hebinck was just .025 from her career high with a 9.925, and Ruiz started the lineup with a 9.850. Casali's 9.825 and Hutchinson's 9.800 gave Denver its 49.350 and secured the team's 197.225 overall.
 
MORE COACH'S NOTES
From Kutcher-Rinehart: "I can't say enough about the incredible mental toughness and competitiveness of this team when you look at having only five competitors up on multiple events and how they handled that intensity and expectation. This weekend, we had some of our best scores of the year.
 
"This particular team has built off our culture, embraced our philosophy and set the path for amazing things to come."
 
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