DENVER – The University of Denver gymnastics team is ranked No. 23 in the Week 10 Road to Nationals rankings, which were released on Monday.
 
Denver earned it second highest score of the year with its 196.725 at an Air Force tri meet on March 6, the first of two meet in four days for DU.
 
DU's home meet on Monday, March 9, against Air Force does not factor into the Week 10 rankings. It will instead be included as part of the Week 11 rankings released on Monday, March 16. The March 9 meet score will be the first of two meets that will factor into the next set of rankings, joining Denver's regular-season finale at No. 25 Oregon State on Saturday, March 14.
 
This is the fourth 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
196.725 – 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
NQS: 196.350
 
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS
Overall: No. 23 (196.350 NQS)
Vault: No. 22 (49.036)
Bars: No. 23 (49.039)
Beam: No. 23 (48.993)
Floor: No. 13 (49.332)
 
With it 196.725 at Friday's meet at Air Force, DU boosted its overall NQS by nearly three quarters of a tenth. Denver made its largest rankings gain of the week on vault, improving by three spots to No. 22 after setting a new season high of 49.250 at Air Force. The team also increased its beam ranking, moving up one spot to No. 23, while holding steady at No. 13 on floor for the second week in a row.
 
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
Floor: tie-No. 25 (9.915)
 
Cooley increased her floor NQS by .010 to remain in the national rankings on the event following her sixth score of 9.900 or higher earned on March 6. She is also just outside the official ranking on beam and in the all-around.
 
Junior Maddison Reidenbach set a career high of 39.425 in the all-around at the Air Force tri meet, moving her closer to a national ranking after increasing her NQS by more than a tenth and a half.
 
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 will compete twice during Week 11, starting with its home finale against Air Force on Monday, March 9, at 5:45 p.m. MT. DU will then close its 2026 regular season at No. 25 Oregon State on Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT.
 
Both the Monday, March 9, and Saturday, March 14, meets will count toward the Week 11 rankings to be released on Monday, March 16.
 
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.