SALT LAKE CITY – The unseeded University of Denver women's gymnastics team placed third overall – and less than three tenths from a top-two finish – in the 2025 NCAA Regional on Saturday evening.
 
Denver, which was ranked No. 18 nationally but was not seeded in the NCAA field, scored a 197.350 to finish ahead of No. 10-ranked Minnesota (196.825). No. 4 Utah (197.825) and No. 5 UCLA (197.625) earned the two team berths to the NCAA National Championships as the top two finishers in the meet.
 
COACH'S NOTES:
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "I am so proud of them. I thought they handled starting on beam well, competed with Denver energy and fought from beginning to end. They went down fighting and really had a great meet. It was such a big improvement from the beginning of the year to now, and I'm really proud of that improvement.
 
"They had a great Regionals, showing confidence and consistency between both Thursday and tonight. They thrive under postseason pressure and rise to the occasion, and made it an incredibly competitive meet against some of the biggest names in the sport."
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS

• Denver scored a 49.550 and 49.500 on beam and floor, respectively, in its first two events to lead the field midway through with a 99.050.
  • It was just the second time that DU has ever achieved a 99+ score after two rotations and the first time in the postseason – and did so on the events that the team ended the year ranked the lowest on.
  • The 49.550 on beam tied the second highest postseason score on the event in Denver history while the 49.500 on floor became the fourth highest postseason mark.
  • Additionally, the team earned a 49.400 on bars in the final rotation, matching its score from Thursday's second round and again tying the fourth high NCAA Regionals score in DU history.
• Denver's final score of 197.350 tied the seventh highest postseason score in program history and the fifth highest on the road.
  • Both of the teams scores from this NCAA Regionals – including its 197.650 in the second round on Thursday – rank in the top seven.
• DU finished NCAA Regionals with hits in all 48 of its routines over the two days of competition.

BEAM RECAP
Denver's beam team got the competition started with a massive 49.550, improving on its previous season high by a tenth and a half, and going above its NQS by nearly four tenths. All six routines scored at or above 9.850, and DU counted only scores of 9.875 or higher, starting with junior Cecilia Cooley 's 9.875 in the leadoff spot. Sophomore Ashley Gallen reset her career high in DU's second routine, earning a 9.925 for Denver's second highest score of the rotation and the first of three straight scores in the 9.900 range.
 
Senior Momoko Iwai kept momentum building with a 9.900 in the No. 3 spot, and graduate student Bella Mabanta put up her best routine of the year to score a 9.950 that was only a quarter tenth from her career high. In the final routine of her collegiate career, graduate student Abbie Thompson hit a solid and sturdy set to score 9.850. In the anchor spot, sophomore Madison Ulrich finally broke into the 9.900s after setting her now-previous career high of 9.875 ten times over the last two seasons combined.
 
FLOOR RECAP
The team followed beam with yet another 49.500+ performance, this time on floor and again doing so without counting a score below 9.850, starting with what would be Iwai's final collegiate appearance. Sophomore Maddison Reidenbach took the No. 2 spot in the lineup this time around and scored a 9.875, which was only .025 from her personal best.
 
DU's final three routines all made it into the 9.900 range and improved upon the previous routine each time. Cooley got the run started with a 9.900 to match her career high, and Mabanta followed with a 9.925 to tie her season's best and narrowly miss her own career high. For the second time in as many routines, Ulrich put up a new personal best, posting a 9.950 to end the floor rotation and tie for second overall on the night.
 
VAULT RECAP
The physicality of competing twice in three days caught up to Denver on vault, though the rotation started well with three 9.800+ scores from its first three gymnasts. Both of DU's two Yurchenko fulls from sophomore Mila Brusch and Mabanta earned 9.850 to start of the lineup before Ulrich added a 9.800 with her front handspring front pike half for the first of the team's 10.0 start-value vaults. Denver's first two vaulters with Yurchenko one-and-a-halves – Reidenbach and fifth-year senior Rosie Casali – could not quite find their landings. For the first time since February 21, graduate student Rylie Mundell was able to compete on vault and ended up earning the team's final counted score on the event in giving DU a fourth 10.0 start value.
 
BARS RECAP
Denver regrouped after the dip on vault to equal its bars score from the NCAA Regional Second round on Thursday, counting only scores of 9.850 or higher for the third time on the night. After a slightly lower score from Casali in the lead off, Ulrich stepped in with a 9.875 and set up junior Kiley Rorich, who tied her season high with a 9.900. Cooley followed with a 9.850 before senior Mia Hebinck closed her collegiate career with yet another 9.900. Mundell anchored the lineup and finished off Denver's night with her usual stellar performance on bars, earning a 9.875 but pulling a 9.950 from one judge.
 
NEXT UP:
The University of Denver gymnastics team will await official individual event qualifier selections to the NCAA National Championships, which will be announced on Monday, April 7.

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