DENVER – The University of Denver women's gymnastics team – ranked No. 16 in the preseason coaches' poll – posted a win over preseason No. 13 Stanford in the 2026 DU season opener in Magness Arena on Sunday afternoon.
In a meet in which the final team standing was still up for grabs until the final routine, Denver came out ahead of the Cardinal by one tenth, 196.575-186.475.
COACH'S NOTES:
From Joy S. Burns Head Women's Gymnastics Coach
Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart: "I'm incredibly proud of the team. With so many new faces and so many opportunities for new athletes to step in to lineups, it was a complete and collective team effort. I thought they did well to not focus on the past or the future, but to instead stay present in the moment and in their own bubble. It's a great starting point and something to build off of.
"We've identified different segments for the season, and our goal is to take it slow and steady and improve in each of those segments. Everyone's going to have to step up and contribute. In time, more people will be working into lineups."
SIGNIFICANT STATS
- Of Denver's 24 full-lineup routines, more than half (14) were collegiate debuts on the respective event – including five of the six on bars.
- Four true freshmen made their overall collegiate debuts, going seven-for-seven in their combined routines.
- Sophomore Sophia Hampp also made her collegiate debut, slotting in on bars as a last-minute substitution. Entering the year, she had only competed in exhibition on vault and beam.
- Compared to Denver's final lineup in 2025, 17 of 24 routines were different during Sunday's meet – at least four on each event.
- Senior Cecilia Cooley and junior Maddison Reidenbach made their collegiate all-around debuts – Cooley making her first DU appearance on vault and Reidenbach doing so on bars.
- Reidenbach finished second overall, only .125 behind Olympic bronze medalist Ana Barbosu from Stanford.
- DU's 196.575 becomes the sixth highest score in a season opener in program history and its third highest when the meet was held at home.
- The team's 49.425 on floor was a program record on the event in the first meet of a season. It also tied the third highest season-opening score on any event, behind only 2023's 49.525 on beam and 2025's 49.450 on bars.
- Its 49.100 on vault is now tied for the fourth highest in an opener.
- Cooley's near-perfect 9.975 on floor became the program's second highest floor score in a season opener, behind only Nina McGee's perfect 10 in 2016.
- Freshman Shyla Bhatia equaled a program record for top score by a freshman on vault in her first meet with a 9.925, tying with Maddie Karr in 2017.
- She also tied for the third highest freshman debut score on floor with a 9.875.
VAULT RECAP
Denver kicked off the season with a 49.100 on vault, seeing three first-time DU vaulters in the lineup including two freshmen. Highlighting the lineup was a meet-best 9.925 from one of those freshmen in Bhatia, who stuck her Yurchenko 1.5 cold. Setting her up was senior
Mila Brusch with a 9.850 that was only a half tenth from her career high. Freshman
Sevana Kasparian and Reidenbach each added a 9.800 for their Yurchenko fulls, and junior
Amanda Hargraves and Cooley rounded out the lineup with matching 9.725s.
BARS RECAP
Just before the start of the rotation, Denver made a last-minute change to its bars lineup, moving Hampp into the anchor spot after senior
Kiley Rorich was unable to compete due to a hard fall in warmups. Hampp, who would be making her first full lineup appearance in her career, came through with a hit set for a 9.750 despite the pressure of a fall from earlier in the rotation.
Another bars debutant in Reidenbach also had to contend with the pressure of following a fall and also delivered a hit for a 9.800. In fact, all five of Denver's counted scores came from gymnasts who had not competed in a collegiate lineup on the event. Leading off the lineup were two freshmen in Bhatia and
Kaitlynd Kastl, both of whom earned 9.800s. Denver's highest score of the day on the event was a 9.850 from Brusch, who made her debut on the event after not being able to train the event in her first three years at DU.
BEAM RECAP
With freshmen in the leadoff and anchor positions, Denver notched a 49.050 with five scores in the 9.800 range on beam. Freshman
Terra Rutter made her collegiate debut as DU's first competitor and delivered a strong 9.825, which would finish in a tie for the team's top beam score of the day. Fellow freshman
Sevana Kasparian finished off the lineup with a 9.800, allowing DU to drop a lower score from earlier on.
Equaling Rutter's mark for DU's highest score was Cooley. Denver's final two counted scores were 9.800s from Hargraves, making her first full beam lineup appearance, and Reidenbach, making just her second.
FLOOR RECAP
DU saved its strongest rotation of the day for last, going 49.425 on floor with five counted scores above 9.800. Three of the first four gymnasts to compete were making their first DU floor lineups, starting with juniors
Ashley Gallen and Hargraves. Gallen's 9.825 in the first position was the first counted score before three consecutive DU gymnasts all went 9.875: Brusch, Bhatia and Reidenbach. The highest score of the day for either team on any event came from Cooley, who closed out the lineup with a near-perfect 9.975, a new career best.
EXHIBITION NOTES
Denver was originally slotted to have at least one exhibition routine on all four events but opted to go without one on bars after Hampp moved up into the full lineup. On both vault and beam, DU had two exhibitions: Rutter and sophomore
Addie Hewitt on vault, and Bhatia and Hampp on beam. Hewitt then stepped into the same position on floor.
PODIUM FINISHES
Vault
Bhatia: First Place – 9.925
Brusch: Third Place – 9.850
Bars
Brusch: Second Place – 9.850
Beam
Cooley: Third Place (tie) – 9.825
Rutter: Third Place (tie) – 9.825
Floor
Cooley: First Place – 9.975
Bhatia: Third Place (tie) – 9.875
Brusch: Third Place (tie) – 9.875
Reidenbach: Third Place (tie) – 9.875
All-Around
Reidenbach: Second Place – 39.275
Cooley: Third Place – 38.700
NEXT UP:
Denver hits the road for the first time this season when it visits Texas Woman's for a tri meet with Arizona on Friday, January 16.
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2026 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.
