DENVER – The No. 21-ranked University of Denver women's gymnastics team reset its season high for a second meet in a row with a 197.125 to finish atop the final standings of Sunday's quad meet in Magness Arena.
No. 21 DU finished ahead of No. 10 Oregon State (196.950), Ball State (194.950) and Texas Woman's (194.200).
COACH'S NOTES
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach
Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "We're moving in the right direction. Today looked a little more like us. This was a more complete meet, and I continue to be proud of how they've responded in the last two weeks; but we continue to have more opportunities and things to capitalize on. The goal remains to take it one meet at a time."
SIGNIFICANT STATS
- In addition to its overall team score, Denver set or tied season highs on three of the four events, led by a 49.475 on bars that became the team's single-highest event score of the year so far.
- Three DU gymnasts set or tied career highs in the meet:
- On three events, DU did not count a score below 9.800.
- The only score in the meet that DU counted below the 9.800 mark was a 9.750 on floor.
- In total, only four of DU's 24 routines scored below a 9.800 – a new season's best.
- With the three wins, Kutcher-Rinehart eclipsed the 500 mark for career wins, now sitting at 502 since becoming the program's head coach in 1999.
- She is now one of three active NCAA Division I head coaches to own at least 500 wins, joining Michigan's Bev Plocki (1,000) and Oklahoma's KJ Kindler (615).
VAULT RECAP
Denver got off to a hot start on vault, highlighted by Reidenbach's near-perfect 9.975 on vault for her stuck Yurchenko 1.5 – becoming DU's highest single score on any event so far in 2025. Junior
Mila Brusch and graduate student
Bella Mabanta led off the lineup with their dynamic Yurchenko fulls for a 9.800 and 9.825, respectively. Ulrich equaled Mabanta's mark for DU's first 10.0 start value of the rotation, setting up Reidenbach in the No. 4 spot. The team's final counted score came from sophomore
Amanda Hargraves, who slotted into the anchor spot and stuck her Yurchenko full for a 9.850 that was only .025 from her career best.
BARS RECAP
DU continued to build momentum with what would be its strongest single-event rotation of the year, posting a 49.475 on bars off four season or career highs. All six routines scored at or above a 9.850, beginning with back-to-back 9.875s from fifth-year senior
Rosie Casali and Ulrich – Casali's matching her best score of the year so far. Junior
Kiley Rorich tallied the first 9.900 of the rotation, also equaling her season high before Cooley improved on that mark with a career-high 9.925. Senior
Mia Hebinck gave Denver a third 9.900+ score and yet another season's best. Graduate student
Rylie Mundell closed out the lineup with a 9.850.
BEAM RECAP
Denver again slightly adjusted its beam lineup and finished with five hit routines all at or above 9.800s. The team's top score (9.875) came from three gymnasts, all in critical lineup positions and starting with Cooley's career high after taking the leadoff position for the third consecutive meet. Ulrich matched her personal best, also a 9.875, in the anchor spot. Graduate student
Abbie Thompson made it a third 9.875 for DU in the No. 4 spot, besting her season high by a half tenth and doing so immediately following a fall. Senior
Momoko Iwai and Mundell had DU's final counted scores with a 9.850 and a 9.800, respectively.
FLOOR RECAP
In the final rotation on floor, DU again made notable changes to its lineup with Iwai returning to competition on the event for the first time since the season opener and Mabanta making just her fourth appearance. Both delivered some of the team's top scores, led by Mabanta's team-high-matching 9.875 and with Iwai contributing a 9.800. In the anchor spot, Ulrich again performed three well-controlled tumbling passes including her double layout and earned another 9.875 for the team. In the No. 2 spot, Cooley gave Denver another 9.800, and the lineup's final counted score came from Brusch with a 9.750.
EXHIBITION NOTES
Denver competed with an exhibition on all four events, beginning with freshman
Sophia Hampp doing so for the second time on vault and scoring a 9.600. Reidenbach again claimed the bars spot and hit a 9.800. Brusch went on beam for the second time in 2025 and hit a 9.675. Hargraves rebounded after a fall in last week's floor exhibition to hit her routine on Sunday for a 9.675.
PODIUM FINISHES
Vault
Reidenbach: First Place – 9.975
Hargraves: Third Place – 9.850
Bars
Cooley: First Place – 9.925
Hebinck: Second Place (tie) – 9.900
Rorich: Second Place (tie) – 9.900
Beam
Cooley: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
Thompson: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
Ulrich: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
Floor
B. Mabanta: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
Ulrich: Second Place (tie) – 9.875
All-Around
Ulrich: Second Place – 39.450
NEXT UP:
Denver heads back on the road for two Big 12 Conference matchups, starting with a trip to Utah on Friday, February 21.
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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