DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team is ranked No. 21 in the Week 8 Road to Nationals rankings, which were released on Monday.
 
Denver is coming off its final Big 12 Conference road meet of the season where it posted a 195.925 in a second-place finish at then-No. 23 BYU.
 
This is the second week that rankings are determined by National Qualifying Score (NQS), which has a new formula beginning this season. 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
195.925 – Away at BYU
195.850 – Away at Texas Woman's Tri
NQS: 196.325
 
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
Overall: No. 21 (196.325 NQS)
Bars: No. 22 (49.040)
Beam: No. 22 (49.000)
Floor: No. 11 (49.340)
 
Leading Denver's rankings is once again the floor squad, sitting at No. 11 after slightly increasing its NQS between Weeks 7 and 8 with its 49.350 at BYU, which matched the team's highest road score of the season so far on the event.
 
On bars and beam, DU holds matching No. 22 rankings after slightly dropping its NQS on both events. DU narrowly missed a top-25 ranking on vault by one spot, falling just .003 below the No. 25 team's NQS on the event.

INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
Senior Cecilia Cooley
All-Around: tie-No. 18 (39.295)
Floor: tie-No. 16 (9.905)
 
Cooley maintained her national all-around ranking of No. 18 after increasing her NQS by more than a tenth. On floor, she is tied for No. 16 with the same NQS as in Week 7, putting her only .010 from the top 10. After being ranked in the top 25 on beam a week ago, she fell outside of the rankings this week – but only by the smallest possible margin of .005.
 
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. 21 Denver hosts its Big 12 Conference finale when it welcomes No. 12 Utah to Magness Arena for the first time ever on Sunday, March 1, at 1:45 p.m. MT. The meet is Denver's Senior Day, as well as its annual 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.