The University of Denver gymnastics team concluded the season with a third place finish at the regional competition in Salt Lake City two weekends ago.
Even with a repeat of third place this year, the gymnastics team continues to improve every year. The Pioneers have ended this season on a high note scoring more combined team scores of 196 than in any other previous year.
The team has competed with the hardest schedule in the University of Denver’s gymnastics history, and by taking the program to a new level, the gymnasts have been able to give performances that before this season might have seemed unimaginable.
“This year has definitely been a new experience.” said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. “We have had the hardest schedule in the history of the DU program.” “We started high in the rankings, and our athletes are now used to a much higher level of competition. What is fantastic is that our season is over now and we have just built up the mental toughness to succeed.”
As the only region in the nation with all six teams in the GymInfo top 25 poll, all teams had outstanding performances with many athletes qualifying for nationals.
“I feel very comfortable with our season,” said assistant coach John Figueroa. “We have had the most difficult schedule in the country, and I know we are all relaxed to be done.”
Junior Rose Kiernan, who was expected to perform in the meet, was hurt during warm-up exercises.
Junior Lindsey Fitzgerald stepped up for the Pioneers and took Kiernan’s place, leading off for DU by scoring a 9.50 on the uneven bars, just one tenth below her regular season average of 9.60.
Despite the rough start of the meet, the Pioneers were able to recover. Their performances were solid throughout the meet and there were no falls.
They were able to overcome the diversity and range of the athletes and execute some solid performances for each event, scoring a 48.35 on the uneven bars, 48.825 on the balance beam, 49.275 on the floor exercise, and 48.900 on the vault.
Not done for the season, however, is Kasuga, who became just the seventh gymnast in DU history to qualify for NCAA Nationals with a third-place finish in the all-around. She moves on as one of the top two all-arounders not on an advancing team.
Kasuga is a prime example of an outstanding performance for the meet.
Joining the team as a freshman walk on, she has ended up being a great asset to the team. She was the leading scorer for the Pioneers on three of the night’s events.
Kasuga led the team on the uneven bars and balance beam, and tied with junior Emily Bankhead for ninth place. The two were also the highest ranking performers on the floor exercise for the Pioneers.
Kasuga’s scores have gradually increased over time at DU. Her senior year has been a turning point in her gymnastics career. She is the only gymnast on the team to win each of the four events this season.
She currently holds the school record of 39.725 for the all-around record shattering the old school record of 39.500 previously held by herself and teammate Ashley Shible.
“Michelle was a very prominent performer this season, said Figueroa. “We will never forget the night she scored two perfect 10’s, and she also managed to break the school record, which is amazing.”
Against Stanford, Kasuga became only the second gymnast in DU history to score two perfect 10’s in one meet, Kasuga on the uneven bars and floor exercise.
The National gymnastics competition will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska April 24-26.
“There have been high and low points this season, but overall it has leaned toward the better,” said Kasuga.
Just because of Michelle’s success this year, the team overall is not discouraged.
“We are not any one superstar, we are all awesome and I feel that the girls now realize that,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.
Kasuga agreed with Kutcher-Rinehart, “We’re all just very excited about the season and how it has gone.”
Although the goal of most involved with the team was for them to qualify for the top 10 as well as become academic All-Americans, the team’s performance at regionals was still satisfying to the coaches.
“We had hoped to make it to NCAA’s as a team this year, but I am very proud of our team as we have continued to be strong academically and all-around,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.
Next year, the team hopes to continue going strong, as they will have eight returning members, five new freshmen, and one walk-on.
“I think we all feel that this season went really well and we learned a lot about ourselves and our team,” said sophomore Jessica Kennedy. “Next year we will hopefully be able to use what we’ve learned this year and do a much better job.”
The University of Denver gymnastics team continues to awe huge crowds every year, drawing in up to 1,500 fans per meet in Hamilton Gymnasium. They hope that next year will be an even more prominent year, and are hoping to learn from their weaknesses this year.
“I’m always disappointed when we don’t advance to Nationals but overall I’m pleased with our performance and I have no regrets,” said Kutcher-Rinehart. “We weren’t a better team than either Stanford or Utah tonight, but we will be. We didn’t count a fall on any event and the athletes gave it 110 percent.
“I think this meet can be a turning point for our program, the day we can look back and say that we became a team
