WHO: No. 12 Denver at No. 25 Texas Woman's, Arizona
WHAT: Denver's 2026 road opener
WHERE: Kitty Magee Arena (Denton, Texas)
WHEN: Friday, January 16, at 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m. MT
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver began its 2026 campaign with a win over preseason-No. 13 Stanford on January 11 in Magness Arena, clinching a one-tenth win (196.575-196.475) with senior Cecilia Cooley 's near-perfect 9.975 on floor in the meet's final competitive routine. DU finished the meet with a 49.425 in that final rotation, setting a new program record for highest floor score in a season opener by nearly a full tenth.
 
EYE ON THE RANKINGS:
In the first full Road to Nationals rankings of the year, Denver sits at No. 12 overall and inside the top 25 on all four events. Leading the way is DU's floor squad, tied for No. 3 nationally following its 49.425 debut against Stanford. As a team, Denver is also tied for No. 13 on vault (49.100), No. 14 on beam (49.050) and tied for No. 23 on bars (49.000).
 
Cooley stands atop the individual floor rankings, becoming the fourth DU gymnast to ever achieve a No. 1 national ranking on the event. Freshman Shyla Bhatia is tied for No. 2 nationally on vault after sticking her Yurchenko one-and-a-half for a 9.925 against Stanford. Junior Maddison Reidenbach joined Cooley in making her collegiate all-around debut and is tied for No. 19 (39.275).
 
QUICK HITS:

• DU's first meet of the year saw the majority of its routines coming from gymnasts making their collegiate debuts on the event.
  • All 10 of Denver's gymnasts to compete in a full lineup made at least one collegiate event appearance
  • Of the team's 24 competitive routines, 17 were new when compared to DU's final lineup in 2025, and 14 were collegiate debuts on the event.
  • Four true freshmen made their overall collegiate debuts, as did a sophomore.
  • At least four routines on every event were by gymnasts making their collegiate debuts on the apparatus including five of six on bars.
• Bhatia matched the program record for a vault score by DU freshman in her collegiate debut, tying with Maddie Karr's mark from 2017.
  • She also tied for the program's No. 3 mark by a freshman in her debut meet on floor with a 9.875.
• Friday's meet is Denver's second in five days, tied for the second quickest turn around for the team between meets in 2026.
  • Denver will have just three days between its two meets against Air Force in March and will have two more five-day turn arounds in March as well.
• Friday's competition is DU's first of two tri meets this season, both coming on the road. Denver will also visit Air Force on March 6 for a tri meet with San Jose State.

SCOUTING THE TWU PIONEERS:
Texas Woman's began its 2026 season with its highest ever team score in a season opener, a 195.575, to top Pittsburgh on January 11. With that score, TWU entered the national rankings at No. 25 overall and also appears in the rankings on three events. Two TWU gymnasts also hold national rankings with Brooke Ferrari tying for No. 18 on bars and Kyleigh Ghanbari tying for No. 17 on floor.
 
Denver and Texas Woman's met twice a season ago, first in a tri meet at Arkansas with DU finishing ahead of TWU, 196.325-192.325. Both teams improved their scores in their second meet, this time in a quad meet in Denver with DU topping TWU, 197.125-194.200.
 
This will be the sixth time DU has made the trip to Denton but the first since 2008. In that meet on January 27, 2008, Denver earned a 195.700-192.175 win.
 
View DU's complete history against Texas Woman's.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
Arizona scored a 195.425 to win its season opener at home against Washington on January 9, winning at least a share of four of the five individual titles. The Wildcats sit just outside the top 25 nationally as a team but are tied for No. 11 on floor with a 49.250. Abigayle Martin helps lead the team and starts with a No. 23 all-around ranking while teammates Emma Strom and Hillary Puleo are both in the top 20 on floor.
 
Denver and Arizona met twice in 2025, ending with a narrow 196.675-196.400 win for the Wildcats over DU in the Big 12 Championship – which is the most recent time the two teams have met at a neutral site. They have not competed in a neutral meet during the regular season since February 28, 2010, at Nebraska (a 194.750-194.175 Arizona win).
 
Friday's meet will not count as a head-to-head meeting between Denver and Arizona with regards to the Big 12 Conference standings. Only the teams' dual meet in Denver on February 14 is classified as a Big 12 meeting.
 
View DU's complete history against Arizona.
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
Denver hits the road for the first time in 2026 when it travels to Texas Woman's for the first time since 2008 to compete in a tri meet alongside 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.