WHO: No. 16 Denver at No. 23 BYU
WHAT: DU's final Big 12 road meet
WHERE: Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)
WHEN: Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m. MT
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver posted its highest home score of the year with a 196.600 against Arizona on February 14 after starting the day with back-to-back season-high 49.150s on vault and bars. The team then overcame a fall early in the beam lineup to hit its remaining routines before closing out the meet with its strongest rotation of the night, a 49.400 on floor.
 
EYE ON THE RANKINGS:
Denver moved up two spots nationally in the first week of National Qualifying Score (NQS) rankings, now sitting at No. 16 with an initial NQS of 196.425. DU again ranks inside the top 25 on all four events, lead by a third straight top-10 ranking on floor at No. 9. On bars, Denver gained six spots to move up to No. 19, and the team also improved its beam ranking by four spots up to No. 16. Rounding out the event rankings is a No. 21 placement on vault.
 
Senior Cecilia Cooley entered the all-around and beam rankings for the first time in her career, coming in at No. 18 in the all-around and tied for No. 25 on beam. She also continues to rank near the top of the floor rankings, tying for No. 11.
 
QUICK HITS:

• A pair for Denver gymnasts made up half of the weekly award winners from the Big 12 Conference with Cooley earning co-Gymnast of the Week honors and freshman Abby Steeley claiming the Newcomer of the Week nod.
  • This is Cooley's second career Gymnast of the Week award and is Steeley's first weekly Big 12 honor.
  • DU freshmen have now won the weekly newcomer award in three consecutive weeks and in four of the first six weeks.
• For the first time this season, DU gymnasts combined to win all five individual titles in a meet with their performances against Arizona.
  • Cooley won her fourth in a row in the all-around and added a second consecutive beam title, sharing the win with Steeley.
  • Freshman Shyla Bhatia won her first bars and floor titles.
  • Junior Maddison Reidenbach shared the vault title with junior Amanda Hargraves and freshman Sevana Kasparian – the latter two winning their first career NCAA titles.
• Denver will compete at a top-25 ranked team for the second time this season in No. 23 BYU after first doing so in its road opener at then-No. 25 Texas Woman's.
• Friday is Denver's fifth Big 12 Conference meet of the year and its final on the road.
  • DU will host its Big 12 Conference finale next week against Utah.
• All 14 of Denver's gymnasts have competed in at least one full lineup for DU this season, and each of them have made a collegiate debut on at least one event.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
BYU is coming off a second-place finish at Utah on February 13, finishing with a 196.025 in what was the team's second consecutive away meet within the state of Utah. Kylie Eaquinto made her season debut in the all-around and scored a 39.275 to place third overall. Deb Silva also earned a third-place finish, doing so on vault.
 
Denver is 38-24 all-time against BYU with wins in five consecutive meetings. The teams competed against each other twice in 2025, starting with a regular-season meeting in Denver that saw DU come away with a 196.625-195.825 win. DU and BYU then met again at the NCAA Second Round hosted by Utah where Denver tied for first with a 197.650 and BYU was fourth with a 196.000.
 
DU's last trip to Provo was on February 23, 2024, where Denver posted a 196.900-196.500 win.
 
View DU's complete history against BYU.
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
Denver closes its Big 12 Conference slate when it hosts Utah for the first time ever on Sunday, March 1, at 1:25 p.m. MT. The meet will serve as Denver's Senior Day and alumni reunion.
 
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.