DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team is ranked No. 23 in the Week 9 Road to Nationals rankings, which were released on Monday.
 
Denver registered a 196.100 in its penultimate home meet of the season against No. 12 Utah on March 1, setting up the team for the final few weeks of the regular season.
 
This is the third 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
196.100 – Home vs Utah
196.000 – Away at West Virginia
195.925 – Away at BYU
195.850 – Away at Texas Woman's Tri
NQS: 196.288
 
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
Overall: No. 23 (196.288 NQS)
Vault: No. 25 (49.013) – up a quarter tenth, back into top 25
Bars: No. 21 (49.058) – up one spot
Beam: No. 24 (48.967)
Floor: No. 13 (49.321)
 
Denver once again holds top-25 rankings on all four events after boosting its vault NQS by a quarter tenth following its season-high 49.175 against Utah. DU also improved its bars ranking, gaining a spot over the Week 8 rankings after it matched its season high of 49.150 on March 1.


INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
Senior Cecilia Cooley
All-Around: tie-No. 25 (39.295)
Floor: tie-No. 23 (9.905)
 
Cooley did not compete in the all-around for the first time all season in the March 1 meet against Utah but still remains in the national rankings. An out-of-bounds during her floor routine meant she did not improve her NQS on the event either, though she maintains a spot in the national rankings as well.
 
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 is set for two meets in four days, both against Air Force, which moved into NCAA Regionals qualifying range this week. The teams will first compete in a tri meet hosted by Air Force with San Jose State on Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m. MT before again meeting in Denver on Monday, March 9, at 5:45 p.m. MT.
 
Only the Friday, March 6, meet at Air Force will count toward the Week 10 Road to Nationals rankings. The Monday, March 9, meet will count toward the Week 11 rankings.
 
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.