DENVER – The No. 11-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team saw a notable improvement over its season opener on its way to winning a home quad meet on Sunday afternoon.
 
DU used increased team tallies on vault and beam to post a 196.575 overall – nearly nine tenths better than its first meet of the year – to finish ahead of No. 5 Missouri (196.1725), preseason No. 14 Georgia (195.975) and LIU (188.075).
 
COACH'S NOTES:
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "I'm proud of their performance and improvement from last week, and we continue to have areas to improve. I want them to have the freedom to compete with confidence, and we have lots of people ready to step into lineups. It's early in the season, and it's good to be tested now so that we're ready come postseason. We just need to take it one meet at a time. The potential is there, and we're excited about getting better each week."
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS

• On beam, Denver increased its team score by 1.15 points from its season opener against Michigan. The team also improved on vault by more than two tenths.
  • DU's 49.125 on beam was the top score for any of the four teams on the event, topping next-closest Missouri by more than five tenths.
  • Denver had the meet's second-highest team tallies on vault and bars as well, and was tied for second on floor.
• Graduate student Rylie Mundell won the all-around title, her first since February 17, 2023.
  • She also won a share of the bars title for the second meet in a row, bringing her career title haul to 38 so far, just six away from DU's top 10 all time.
• Senior Momoko Iwai again led off the beam lineup for Denver and won a share of the title as well – her second time doing so as DU's first competitor on the event.

VAULT RECAP
DU opened up the competition with a strong vault lineup that earned six scores of 9.800 or higher. Mundell nearly stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 for the second meet in a row to lead Denver's lineup and tie for second overall. Sophomore Maddison Reidenbach also competed her recently-upgraded Y1.5 again and equaled her score of 9.850 from the season opener. Fifth-year senior Rosie Casali returned to the lineup after subbing out at the last minute in the team's last meet and stuck her Y1.5 to also score a 9.850. Sophomore Madison Ulrich gave DU a fourth 10.0 start vault and another score in the 9.800 range. Junior Mila Brusch and graduate student Bella Mabanta led off with big Yurchenko fulls that both counted toward the team total.
 
BARS RECAP
The only lineup for Denver that remained the exact same from the season opener was bars and resulted in a 49.200 this time around with five counted scores of at least 9.800. Mundell again tied atop the podium with her second 9.900 in as many meets, coming after Ulrich finished just off her pace with a 9.875. Casali started the rotation with a 9.825 while Iwai and junior Cecilia Cooley both added 9.800s.
 
BEAM RECAP
After an uncharacteristic start to the year on beam, DU got back on track on Sunday with its 49.125 off five hit routines. Iwai came back from a fall last week to nail her routine this time, tying for the top score of the meet with a 9.900. Cooley, who competed on the event for only the second time in her career, improved by a half tenth over the season opener for a 9.850, and Mundell got back on track on the event with a 9.825. Graduate student Abbie Thompson made her 2025 debut after sitting out the first meet and contributed a 9.800 to DU's team total while classmate Mabanta anchored the lineup with a hit routine immediately following a flukey fall from Denver's previous competitor.
 
FLOOR RECAP
Denver closed out the meet with a 49.000 on floor and was led by Cooley for the second consecutive meet after the junior posted a 9.900 in the No. 2 spot – an improvement over her collegiate debut on January 5. Brusch equaled her score in the season opener with a career high-tying 9.850 to begin the rotation for DU, and Iwai landed another 9.8+ for Denver later in the lineup. Ulrich hit her routine in the anchor position to help DU not count a fall from earlier in the rotation, and Mundell had the team's final counted score.
 
EXHIBITION NOTES
After not being allowed to compete exhibition performances in the season opener, DU took full advantage of them on Sunday with one on all four events. Sophomore Amanda Hargraves went on vault and improved by a tenth over her vault from January 5. Junior Kiley Rorich made her first appearance in any capacity of DU this year, hitting her bars exhibition. Brusch competed in the beam spot for DU, just her second such routine on the event in the last two years. Reidenbach took the floor exhibition slot and also delivered a hit routine.
 
PODIUM FINISHES
Vault
Mundell: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
 
Bars
Mundell: First Place (tie) – 9.900
 
Beam
Iwai: First Place (tie) – 9.900
 
Floor
Cooley: Third Place (tie) – 9.900
 
All-Around
Mundell: First Place – 39.275
Ulrich: Second Place – 38.800
 
NEXT UP:
Denver hits the road for the first time in 2025, travel to Arkansas for a tri-meet with Texas Woman's on Monday, January 20. DU returns home on Sunday, January 26, to open Big 12 Conference competition against West Virginia.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets 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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