DENVER – University of Denver gymnasts Rylie Mundell and Madison Ulrich captured two of the Big 12 Conference's "Of The Year" awards, the conference announced on Saturday.
 
Mundell was named the 2024 Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year while Ulrich earned 2024 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition. The awards were presented following the end of the Big 12 Championship on Saturday evening.
 
To be eligible for the Event Specialist of the Year, student-athletes may only have an NQS on one or two events. The Newcomer of the Year must be in her first year of eligibility at a Big 12 institution. Both awards, along with the Gymnast of the Year, are determined by a head coaches' vote.
 
Mundell had the single highest NQS of eligible Big 12 gymnasts for the event specialist nod with her 9.925 on bars entering the championship meet. She was ranked sixth in the Big 12 on the event while adding a 9.880 NQS on vault, ninth-best in the conference.
 
Ulrich earned a Big 12-best six Newcomer of the Week honors during the regular season and ranked sixth in the conference in the all-around as a freshman. Additionally, she was fifth in the Big 12 on floor and eighth on bars.
 
Both Mundell's and Ulrich's wins are just the second in each category by a Denver gymnast since DU joined the Big 12 Conference as an affiliate member in 2016. Mundell joins Alexis Vasquez (2020) in winning Event Specialist of the Year honors while Ulrich joins Lynnzee Brown (2018) as DU's only Newcomers of the Year.
 
DU has won at least one of the annual awards from the Big 12 in every season it has been a member.
 
TICKETS:
Season ticket deposits for the 2025 University of Denver gymnastics season are now on sale and can be purchased online, by calling 303-871-4625 or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.
 
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