DENVER – The No. 10-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team shattered multiple program records in its home regular-season finale on Sunday, including its 198.150 final team score.
Additionally, DU broke the school record on floor with a massive 49.825 in the final rotation while tying the beam record (49.650) and just missing the bars record by .025 (49.600).
Junior
Jessica Hutchinson scored her second perfect 10.0 of the season, this time doing so on beam. Graduate student
Lynnzee Brown followed Hutchinson's lead with her own perfect 10.0 on floor – the third of her career on the event and her program-leading fifth overall.
In the final team standings, Denver finished ahead of Towson (195.950).
COACH'S NOTES:
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach
Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "I am so proud of this team. Even after a bit of a slow start on vault, they showed resiliency with a strong bars rotation and built momentum into beam, tying a record. They continued that success on floor with an outstanding performance and a new DU record. I believe today's success came from intentional, focused and deliberate practices' and they looked strong, effortless and confident in their gymnastics.
"Even though there were outstanding individual performances today, it was a true team achievement. Scoring a 198 or higher is only possible with a full team effort. Everyone embraced their role. We still have more opportunities to improve, which makes it incredibly exciting.
"Thank you to our incredible fans. The energy, support and enthusiasm from the crowd pushed the team forward, and we're counting on that same energy and support for NCAA Regionals."
SIGNIFICANT STATS
- Denver's 198.150 marks the first time that the program has eclipsed the 198+ mark.
- It toppled the long-standing previous record by nearly fourth tenths (197.875 on February 14, 2004).
- The DU floor record fell for the first time in 20 years.
- Sunday's tally of 49.825 was nearly two full tenths above the previous record (49.650 on February 22, 2003).
- It was the first time DU has scored in the 49.8+ range on any event. Prior to Sunday, all four Denver event records were 49.600-49.650.
- Sunday marked the first time Denver had two different gymnasts score a perfect 10.0 in the same meet.
- Three times, DU has seen multiple 10.0s in the same competition, but all three times have been by the same gymnast, most recently Brown on bars and floor at the 2021 NCAA Regional Final.
- In total, seven DU gymnasts set or tied a combined nine career highs across three events and the all-around.
VAULT RECAP
Denver began the day with two stuck vaults right out of the gate from freshman
Mila Brusch and junior
Bella Mabanta, both scoring 9.850s. DU followed with its four 10.0 start values, led by Brown's 9.875.
BARS RECAP
The DU bars squad started to build momentum for the rest of the meet, kicking off with a personal-best 9.950 from graduate student
Alexandria Ruiz that marked the fifth-year student's first-ever score of 9.950+ on any event. All four of DU's remaining counted scores were in the 9.9+ range, starting with three 9.900s from Brown and juniors Hutchinson and
Rosie Casali. Junior
Rylie Mundell capped off its first 49.6+ rotation of the day by mirroring Ruiz's leadoff 9.950 in the anchor position.
BEAM RECAP
Denver carried momentum from bars into the third rotation, tying the school beam record of 49.650 with five counted scores at or above 9.875. Brown matched her personal best of 9.950 in the leadoff position, a score that sophomore
Momoko Iwai would later match to also tie her career high. Mabanta and fellow junior
Abbie Thompson both posted 9.875s. Mabanta's tying her season high. Hutchinson anchored the lineup with a stunning routine to land DU's first 10.0 of the day, her first on the event and besting her previous career high of 9.950.
FLOOR RECAP
The team secured the program record with a stellar floor rotation that featured all six scores at or above 9.900 with four career-best performances. Ruiz again led off the lineup, hitting a 9.900 that became a new season high and was only a quarter tenth from her career high. Thompson followed it with a 9.925 that did tie her personal best, and Mabanta increased her career high by a half tenth with her 9.950. Casali pulled a 10.0 from the head judge for a near-perfect 9.975, improving on her previous personal high by a full tenth. Hutchinson, too, nearly had another perfect score, just narrowly missing it with a 9.975. With the overall team and floor records already in hand, Brown collected 10.0s from both judges – garnering the perfect score in just her fourth floor routine back from a season-ending Achilles injury in 2022.
EXHIBITION NOTES
Denver had three different student-athletes compete in exhibition: Thompson on bars (9.825), senior
Callie Schlottman on beam (9.900) and Brusch on floor (9.825). DU opted not to compete with an exhibition on vault after pulling Ruiz from the spot just prior to the start of the rotation.
MORE COACH'S NOTES:
About Hutchinson's 10.0 on beam: "Congratulations to Jessica. We've been seeing that kind of excellence in practice on a consistent basis, and it's exciting to see her achieve her goal of a 10.0 in competition. Her routine is elegant, and everything from her execution to her artistry was confident and stunning."
About Brown's 10.0 on floor: "The amount of grit, resiliency and determination is takes to come back from two season-ending injuries is inspiring. Most athletes in that situation would come back just to play a role, but Lynnzee came back as one of the best performers in the country. She is truly a role model for how to overcome obstacles and adversity."
About the senior class: "
Victoria Fitts and
Callie Schlottman are intelligent, thoughtful, awesome human beings with hearts of gold. They've contributed to this program in and out of the gym, and their dedication and determination has helped move this team forward and inspired us."
PODIUM FINISHES
Vault
Brown: First Place – 9.875
Brusch: Second Place (tie) – 9.850
Mabanta: Second Place (tie) – 9.850
Bars
Mundell: First Place (tie) – 9.950
Ruiz: First Place (tie) – 9.950
Beam
Hutchinson: First Place – 10.000
Brown: Second Place (tie) – 9.950
Iwai: Second Place (tie) – 9.950
Floor
Brown: First Place – 10.000
Casali: Second Place (tie) – 9.975
Hutchison: Second Place (tie) – 9.975
All-Around
Brown: First Place – 39.725
Hutchinson: Second Place – 39.625
NEXT UP:
DU concludes its regular-season slate with a trip to Nebraska with Air Force on Saturday, March 11, at 6 p.m. CT/5 p.m. MT.
NCAA REGIONALS ARE COMING TO DENVER:
The University of Denver will host the 2023 NCAA Regional Gymnastics Championships on March 30 – April 2, 2023, in Magness Arena. All-session tickets are now on sale and can be
purchased online or by calling 303-871-4625.
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