DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team is ranked No. 23 in the Week 11 Road to Nationals rankings, which were released on Monday.
Denver is coming off a two-meet week that was highlighted by its season-high 197.075 on March 9 against Air Force.
This is the fifth 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.
The final NQS rankings of the season will be released on Monday, March 23, ahead of NCAA Regionals selections.
Continue reading for a detailed explanation of the new NQS formula.
DENVER'S NQS
197.075 – Home vs Air Force
196.950 – Away at Arizona State
196.725 – Away at Air Force Tri
196.600 – Home vs. Arizona
196.575 – Home vs. Stanford
196.525 – Home vs. Iowa State
196.100 – Home vs Utah
196.000 – Away at West Virginia
195.925 – Away at BYU
195.850 – Away at Texas Woman's Tri
195.175 – Away at Oregon State
NQS: 196.361
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
Overall: No. 23 (196.361 NQS)
Vault: No. 20 (49.078)
Bars: No. 22 (49.069)
Floor: No. 12 (49.356)
Despite an up-and-down week for overall team scores, DU increased its overall NQS, especially helped by its first 197+ score of the year on March 9. Denver also saw gains both in NQS and in the team event rankings on the three events that it is currently ranked – each assisted by a season high set during the week. The biggest gains were made on vault with DU improving by nearly a half tenth in NQS to gain two rankings spots to No. 20, its highest ranking since Week 4. The team also moved up a spot on both bars and floor with its bars NQS growing by more than a quarter tenth.
INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
Senior Cecilia Cooley
Floor: tie-No. 12 (9.930)
Cooley made a jump in the national floor rankings from a tie for No. 25 to a tie for No. 12 this week, boosting her NQS by .015 off a 9.950 on March 9 and a 9.925 on March 14. She now owns nine scores of 9.900 or higher this year, and her penultimate NQS of 9.930 moves her into the top 10 in Denver's record book for highest all-time NQS on the event.
She is also just narrowly outside the beam top 25 by the smallest possible margin of .005, sitting at No. 27.
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. 23 Denver begins its postseason at the 2026 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship in West Valley City, Utah, on Saturday, March 21. DU has earned the meet's No. 2 seed and will compete in the evening session against No. 12 Utah, No. 24 BYU and Arizona with the meet set to begin at 5 p.m. MT. It will be televised live on ESPNU.
