WHO: Preseason No. 16 Denver vs. preseason No. 13 Stanford
WHAT: Denver's 2026 season opener
WHERE: Magness Arena (Denver, Colorado)
WHEN: Sunday, January 11, at 1:45 p.m. MT
MEET PROMOTIONS:
Sunday is Denver second annual "Crimson Out Magness" meet. Fans are encouraged to wear crimson gear to the meet, joining the DU gymnasts who will be wearing a crimson leotard. Crimson tie-dye shirts will also be thrown out to fans during the competition.
DU will also welcome members from many local gymnastics clubs for Colorado Club Day.
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver ended its 2025 season with two of its strongest performances of the year at NCAA Regionals, nearly advancing to NCAA Nationals as an unseeded team following its sixth-consecutive NCAA Regional Final appearance. DU began the weekend with a tie for first in the NCAA Second Round – matching host and the region's No. 1 seed Utah atop the standings – and upsetting higher-ranked Stanford to earn a spot in the regional final.
At the 2025 NCAA Regional Final, Denver upset a top-10 team in Minnesota and was fewer than three tenths away from advancing to Fort Worth. DU ultimately placed third overall, only behind two of the four teams that would go on to compete in the NCAA National Final in Utah and UCLA.
EYE ON THE RANKINGS:
Denver began the 2026 campaign with a No. 16 ranking in the 2026 WCGA Preseason Coaches' Poll, marking its 11
th consecutive season achieving a top-16 national preseason ranking.
Because DU did not compete during the first week of the 2026 season, it does not appear in the official Road to Nationals rankings ahead of Sunday's meet against Stanford.
In 2025, DU jumped five spots from its final regular-season ranking to end the year No. 13 in the country following its run at NCAA Regionals. DU has ended each of the last 11 seasons with a national top-15 ranking.
QUICK HITS:
- Denver's 2026 roster is perfectly balanced between seven returners and seven newcomers.
- Seniors and team captains Mila Brusch, Cecilia Cooley and Kiley Rorich will help lead DU while the program welcomes six true freshmen as part of the No. 9 freshman class in the country.
- Denver native and sophomore transfer Addie Hewitt helps round out the roster.
- Four DU gymnasts combined for five spots on the 2026 Big 12 Gymnastics Preseason Team: Brusch (vault), Cooley (bars, floor), junior Maddison Reidenbach (vault) and Rorich (bars).
- Sunday will mark the Denver coaching debuts for its assistant coaching staff.
- John Carney will make his first appearance for DU after most recently coaching at California and leading the Bears to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2024.
- Megan Haught and Mary Rice will coach for the first time at the collegiate level, both coming from years of coaching experience at some of the nation's top club gyms (Haught at WOGA, Rice at Brandy Johnson's).
- Former student-athlete Ava Mabanta will also step into a new role as a student assistant coach.
- This is the fourth time in the last five years that Denver has held its season opener at home.
- At the team's Crimson & Gold Intrasquad in December, 13 of 14 gymnasts showed at least one full routine – and the 14th showed a partial set on beam.
- In total, DU competed 33 complete routines in the intrasquad.
- Since the event on December 21, DU gymnasts have continued to increase the number of their competition-ready routines, adding to Denver's depth across all four events.
- Sunday's meet is Denver's only home competition in the month of January. DU will not compete in Magness Arena again until February 1 after spending the next two weeks on the road.
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL:
Stanford, like Denver, did not compete in the first week of the season and does not hold an official national ranking this week. However, the Cardinal joined DU in the WCGA Preseason Coaches' Poll, coming in at No. 13 after finishing the 2025 season with a No. 18 ranking.
DU is 3-18-0 all-time against Stanford but earned the victory in the teams' most recent meeting at the 2025 NCAA Second Round when Denver tied for first overall, ahead of the then-higher ranked Cardinal.
DU and Stanford have met twice in each of the last two seasons including in both NCAA Regionals. The Cardinal last made the trip to Denver for a quad meet on January 21, 2024, where DU placed second (197.175) and Stanford fourth (196.100).
View DU's complete history against Stanford.
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.
