DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team is ranked No. 16 in the Week 7 Road to Nationals rankings, which were released on Monday.
Denver gained two spots in the rankings, moving up to No. 16 after earning its highest home score of the year with its 196.600 against Arizona on February 14.
This is the first week that rankings are determined by National Qualifying Score (NQS), which has a new formula beginning this season. Starting with Week 7, teams drop their season high and low scores, then average their remaining scores, to determine their national rankings. Individual rankings are also determined by NQS but will still use the previous formula.
Continue reading for a detailed explanation of the new NQS formula.
DENVER'S NQS
196.950 – Away at Arizona State
196.600 – Home vs. Arizona
196.575 – Home vs. Stanford
196.525 – Home vs. Iowa State
196.000 – Away at West Virginia
195.850 – Away at Texas Woman's Tri
NQS: 196.425
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
Overall: No. 16 (196.425 NQS)
Vault: No. 21 (49.013)
Bars: No. 19 (49.050)
Beam: tie-No. 20 (49.025)
Floor: No. 9 (49.338)
With the change to NQS and following its 196.600 against Arizona last week, Denver gained two spots in the overall national rankings and giving DU its highest team ranking since Week 3.
Denver made the largest jump in the bars rankings, moving up six spots to a season's-best No. 19 nationally. DU also improved its vault ranking by three slots and held its floor ranking steady from a week ago.
INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
Senior Cecilia Cooley
All-Around: No. 18 (39.185)
Beam: tie-No. 25 (9.855)
Floor: tie-No. 11 (9.905)
Cooley continued her reign near the top of the national floor rankings after earning her fifth mark in the 9.900 range through first six meets on the event. She also appears in the all-around and beam rankings for the first time in her career.
With the change to NQS, junior
Maddison Reidenbach is also closing in on the top 25 once again, sitting just outside the top 30 in the all-around and on floor.
Over the coming weeks, more DU gymnasts will have the minimum number of routines competed be able to calculate an NQS and eventually drop low scores.
NEW NQS DEBUTS IN 2026
The 2026 season marks the beginning of newly-adopted modifications to NQS, which determines eligibility for the NCAA Regionals field. National rankings will be determined by the new NQS formula for the remainder of the season, rather than a straight season average as was the case for the first six weeks.
The new NQS formula factors in a higher percentage of each team's meets in comparison to the previous formula. Beginning in 2026, NQS calculations will now include all of a team's meets – with a maximum of five home meets factored in. A team's highest score of the year and lowest score of the year are dropped, and the remaining scores are averaged.
Any team with more than five home meets will only be able to use their lowest five home scores of the year as part of their initial NQS calculation – before dropping the high and low scores. Denver only has five home meets in 2026 and will thus include all of its meets toward its NQS as the season continues on.
The new NQS formula only impacts team rankings and team postseason selections. Individual rankings and individual qualification to NCAA Regionals will still be determined using the previous NQS formula: taking the top six scores with a minimum of three at away meets, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining five scores.
To be eligible for NCAA Regional qualification, teams must include a minimum of nine total meets, a minimum of five away meets and a maximum of five home meets toward their NQS calculation. The meet minimums are not required when determining national rankings.
UP NEXT
No. 16 Denver travels to No. 23 BYU for its final Big 12 Conference road meet of the year on Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m. MT.
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.
