University of Denver Athletics

Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart will enter her 28th season at the helm of the University of Denver gymnastics program in 2025-26.

Since arriving in 1998-99, Kutcher-Rinehart has led Denver to 26-consecutive appearances at NCAA Regionals and six NCAA Nationals team berths. Among her many accomplishments is Denver's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship Final (2019) where DU finished a record-breaking fourth overall. In her career, Kutcher-Rinehart has had at least one individual qualify for NCAA Nationals in 24 of the last 25 years that the competition was held -- including two NCAA individual national champions: Lynnzee Brown on floor exercise in 2019 and Nina McGee on floor exercise in 2016. In 2019, she was named the WCGA National Head Coach of the Year.

Since Kutcher-Rinehart became head coach, the Pioneers have finished the season in the top 25 every season, including in the top 10 in six times and a total of 16 seasons in the top 15. Under her tutelage, the Pioneers have broken the team scoring record on every event -- including the highest team total of 198.150 on March 5, 2023 -- and each of the top 10 scores in school history have come under her watch. In 2025, she became what is believed to be the 18th head coach in NCAA women's gymnastics history to earn 500 career wins.

Awards & Honors

• 2019 National Head Coach of the Year
• Seven-Time Region 2/North Central Region Coach of the Year (2024, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2007, 1999)
• Two-Time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2019, 2017)
• 2002 WGC Coach of the Year

Accomplishments & Highlights

• 2023 Denver Regional Championship
• 2021 Big 12 Championship
• 2019 NCAA Championship Final Appearance
• 2019 Corvallis Regional Championship
• 2014 MRGC Championship
• 2012 WAC Championship
• Two individual NCAA National Championships (Lynnzee Brown - 2019 Floor co-Champion; Nina McGee - 2016 NCAA Floor Champion)
• Six team appearances at NCAA National Championships (2023, 2019, 2017, 2009, 2008, 2001)
• 24 NCAA Nationals appearances by at least one DU gymnast
• 26 consecutive NCAA Regionals appearances

2024-25

• Coached Rosie Casali (vault), Rylie Mundell (bars) and Madison Ulrich (all-around) to NCAA Nationals qualification
• Helped lead Madison Ulrich to WCGA Postseason All-America status in the all-around and on bars and beam
• Coached Mila Brusch and Bella Mabanta to Big 12 titles on vault, and Rosie Casali to NCAA Regional title on vault
• Finished ranked No. 13 in the country (the 11th consecutive season to end with a top-15 final national ranking)
• Coached Denver to two of team's top three scores of the season at NCAA Regionals, tying with No. 4 Utah for first place in the NCAA Second Round and upsetting then-No. 13 Stanford
• Also earned upset win over then-No. 10 Minnesota at NCAA Regional Final as an unseeded team
• Saw the team earn wins during the season over NCAA finalist Missouri and top-20 ranked teams in Oregon State, Michigan, Georgia and NC State
• With tie for first in NCAA Second Round, earned program's first-ever non-loss to Utah in 23 meetings
• Earned 500th career win on February 16 (becoming third active coach to do so and believed to be the 18th in NCAA women's gymnastics history, at the time)

2023-24

• Coached team to program NQS records overall (197.825), on bars (49.510) and on floor (49.530)
• Set program postseason- and away meet-record score (197.975) at Big 12 Championship
• Posted second and third 198+ scores in program history (198.025 on March 3 and 198.000 on February 4)
• Finished ranked No. 10 in the country (the fifth top-10 final ranking in the last six years and the sixth time in the last eight)
• Helped coach Jessica Hutchinson to first-team WCGA Regular-Season All-America honors in the all-around and on vault, beam and floor
• Helped lead Rylie Mundell to Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year honors and Madison Ulrich to Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition
• Coached Jessica Hutchinson (beam, floor) and Bella Mabanta (beam) to co-NCAA Regional individual titles
• Earned program's second- and third-ever wins over UCLA, second-ever win over Stanford and first-ever road win at Michigan

2022-23

• Hosted NCAA Regionals and won the second regional championship in program history with upset wins over No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 LSU and No. 11 Oregon State in the NCAA Regional Final
• Advanced to the NCAA National Championships for the sixth time and placed eighth overall, the second-highest finish in program history
• Coached four student-athletes to a combined eight postseason WCGA All-America honors (Lynnzee Brown, Rosie Casali, Jessica Hutchinson, Kiley Rorich)
• Helped lead Rylie Mundell (vault) and Jessica Hutchinson (floor) to Big 12 conference titles; Hutchinson also finished as the all-around runner-up and won Big 12 Gymnast of the Year for the second season in a row.
• Toppled program scoring records that had stood for two decades including overall team score (198.150) and overall floor score (49.825, tying the eighth-highest score in NCAA history)
• As lead beam coach, helped Jessica Hutchinson to a perfect 10.0 on the event on March 5; Hutchinson and Lynnzee Brown also scored perfect 10.0s on floor during the season.
• Set new program record on vault twice (most recently: 49.600 on February 24), both at away meets

2021-22

• Coached freshman Momoko Iwai to Big 12 beam title (as DU's lead beam coach); Jessica Hutchinson won Big 12 all-around title, and Rylie Mundell won Big 12 bars title
• Set then-new program postseason record on beam (49.550 at Big 12 Championship)
• Coached Abbie Thompson to NCAA National Championship qualification on beam, extending Denver's streak of seasons with at least one individual at NCAA Nationals to 22 (excluding 2020 season)
• Hosted Big 12 Gymnastics Championship (on podium for first time in Big 12 history; first Big 12 affiliate member to host)
• Finished with then-fifth-highest NQS (196.960) in DU history

2020-21

• Won program's first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship, upsetting No. 1-Oklahoma for first win over OU's KJ Kindler during Kutcher-Rinehart's tenure
• Lynnzee Brown became first DU gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 in the postseason, doing so three times (bars at Big 12 Championship; bars and floor at NCAA Regional Final).
• Earned what was then the program's fifth-best score (197.650) on March 7 with new school bars record and two scores of 49.600+ in the same meet for first time im program history
• Finished ranked No. 10 in the country (third-straight top-10 finish and fourth time in five years)
• Finished with then-second-highest NQS (197.344) in DU history

2019-20

• Debuted at program-record No. 2 in the national rankings and spent entire season in the top seven nationally
• Coached Alexis Vasquez to two perfect 10.0s on beam (just the second and third perfect beam scores in DU history and first under Kutcher-Rinehart)
• Set program record on beam (49.650) and then-program record on bars (49.575) on February 16
• Finished season ranked No. 7 in the country after early cancellation of the season due to COVID-19
• Finished with what was then the second-highest NQS in program history (197.140)

2018-19

• Placed record-shattering fourth overall at NCAA National Championships following program's first appearance in NCAA Championship Final (first season with only four teams advancing)
• Lynnzee Brown won DU's second individual NCAA National Championship, sharing the floor title.
• Coached Alexis Vasquez to DU's highest-ever NCAA Nationals finish on beam (fourth overall)
• Won program's first-ever NCAA Regional Championship and secured fifth team berth to NCAA National Championships
• Swept major head coaching honors (National, Region 2, Big 12 Conference)
• Achieved first-ever top-five national rankings in program history
• Earned Denver's first wins over Florida and Alabama; added upset wins over Michigan and Georgia during the season

2017-18

• Earned what was then the third-highest score in program history (197.300) on March 5
• Maddie Karr set what was then the DU record for top all-around score at an away meet (39.750) on February 16
• Spent entire season ranked in the top 15 and in the top 10 for three weeks
• Named North Central Region Head Coach of the Year

2016-17

• Finished ninth overall at the NCAA National Championships, which was the program's highest-ever finish at the time
• Maddie Karr and Julia Ross became the first DU teammates to earn postseason All-American honors in the same season
• Set what was then a new school record on bars (49.450) on March 10, accomplished at an away meet
• Four of the program's then-top 10 scores fell during the season
• Set then-records for highest NQS (197.040) and most weeks ranked in the top 10 (nine)
• Named Big 12 co-Coach of the Year and North Central Region Head Coach of the Year

2015-16

• Nina McGee won the program's first-ever individual NCAA Division I national title (floor).
• Earned what was then the second-highest score in school history (197.525)
• Ranked inside the top 10 in RQS rankings in back-to-back weeks for first time in DU history
• Became an affiliate member of the Big 12 Conference

2014-15

• Nina McGee tied for second overall on floor, equaling what was then the highest finish by a DU gymnast at NCAA Nationals
• Finished ranked No. 15 in the nation, the highest finish since 2010

2013-14

• Won the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference title while setting a new school record on vault (49.475)
• Earned then-top-10 scores on bars (49.300) and floor (49.475)
• Moriah Martin earned All-American honors in the all-around at the NCAA National Championships

2012-13

• Posted the then-highest RQS in school history
• Ranked as high as No. 12 in the country during the season
• Earned 250th win of her career
• Moriah Martin advanced to NCAA Nationals and became the fifth postseason All-American in DU history

2011-12

• Finished ranked No. 14 with what was then the second-highest RQS in program history
• Won Western Athletic Conference Championships
• Moriah Martin advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around

2010-11

• Hosted NCAA Regionals in Magness Arena where Brianna Springer and Jorie Hall would advance to the NCAA National Championships in the all-around and on beam, respectively
• Claimed wins over No 10 Nebraska, No. 12 Arkansas and No. 16 Ohio State during the season

2009-10

• Placed third at NCAA Regionals with a season-high team score
• Kelly Hennigan and Brianna Springer both advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around
• Coached beam squad to what was then the second-highest team score on the event in school history

2008-09

• Jessica Lopez placed sixth on vault at the NCAA Event Finals after advancing to NCAA Nationals as the all-around champion at the North Central Regional.
• Kelley Hennigan also advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around

2007-08

• Qualified as a team to the NCAA National Championships for second-consecutive season
• Secured NCAA Nationals berth with last-rotation victory over host Penn State at NCAA Regionals

2006-07

• Returned to NCAA National Championships for first time since 2001, placing fifth in Semifinal II and 10th overall for what was then the best NCAA Nationals finish in DU history
• Jessica Lopez became first three-time Division I All-American in program history.
• Hosted NCAA Regionals in Magness Arena
• Named North Central Region Coach of the Year

2005-06

• Earned team's best NCAA Regionals score since 2004
• Casey Dobyns advanced to the NCAA National Championships on vault after winning the title at NCAA Regionals

2004-05

• Heather Huffaker advanced to the NCAA National Championships.
• Went 20-8 overall on the season, including a seven-meet win streak
• Placed fourth at NCAA Regionals and had fourth-highest RQS of the non-advancing teams

2003-04

• Recorded highest score in program history (197.875) on February 14
• Also set then-records on vault (49.450) and beam (49.525), and the then-second-highest floor score (49.600)
• Heather Huffaker and Ashley Shible advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around, and Casey Dobyns advanced on vault.
• Emily Bankhead tied what was then the school record in the all-around (39.725).
• Huffaker (vault) and Meredith Fricke (floor) scored perfect 10.0s during the season.

2002-03

• Set school record on floor (49.650) on February 22 and what was then the second-highest floor score (49.575)
• Michelle Kasuga advanced to the NCAA National Championships in the all-around; also set the then-school record in the all-around (39.725).
• Kasuga scored perfect 10.0s on January 18 on both bars and floor; Ashley Shible also scored a perfect 10.0 on vault (February 8).

2001-02

• Ashley Shible advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around.
• Shible scored the second perfect 10.0 of her career on vault; Michelle Kasuga added a perfect 10.0 on floor.

2000-01

• Became first small private school to advance to the NCAA National Championships
• Nearly upset host Utah at NCAA Regionals
• Ashley Shible earned All-American honors on vault and nearly became first DU gymnast to advance to NCAA Event Finals.
• Shible scored program's first-ever perfect 10.0 on vault.

1999-2000

• Jenny Ebdon earned the first All-American honors under Kutcher-Rinehart's coaching and scored the program's second perfect 10.0 on floor.
• Ebdon, Melanie Schiff and Sachi Ena all advanced to NCAA Nationals in the all-around.

1998-99

• Named fourth head coach in program history on August 17, 1998
• Placed fourth at Region 2 Championships, then the highest Division I finish program history
• Named Region 2 Coach of the Year in her first season as a head coach

Prior to Denver

• Assistant coach at the University of Michigan (1993-98)
  • Won four Big Ten Conference Championships
  • Placed as high as second at NCAA Nationals (1995)
  • Coached the Wolverines to what was then their best beam performance at NCAA Nationals in 1997
  • Coached three UM gymnasts to All-American honors on beam
• Undergraduate coach at the University of Florida (1992-93)
• Gymnast at the University of Florida (1988-92)
  • Competed in the all-around; helped the Gators to four-straight top-12 finishes at NCAA Nationals including sixth-place finish in 1991

Education

• Master's degree in athletics administration (Wayne State '96)
• Bachelor's degree in communications (Florida '93)

Additional Roles

• Has served on the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee multiple times (2000-04; 2016-20; 2024-pres.)
• Active member of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association
• Has previously served as WCGA awards chairperson and on WCGA board of directors (2021-22)