The new kids on the block took their first hit last week.

The bully that was the NCAA championships got the DU women’s gymnastics team with a nice upper cut.

An upper cut that landed them straight onto the mat.

A mat they laid on while looking up and realizing the sting.

The Pioneers 12th place finish at the NCAA championships last Thursday was caused by a 194.200. Their second lowest score of the season and did it come at a bad time. A time where Denver was on the ultimate college gymnastics stage.

“Overall the score doesn’t bother me at all. It’s not maximizing our beam performances that bothers me more than the score,” said 10th-year Head Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart.

DU opened the championships with a solid but not spectacular score of 48.625 on vault.

The Pioneers then headed to uneven bars and posted a solid but not spectacular score of 48.850. And then after a couple jabs Denver took the major punch, a 47.950 on balance beam.

It was a score that at a NCAA championship you just stare at. And as the stars circled around DU’s head while they laid on the mat they did exactly that, just stared.

“Not everything was poor, not everything was disappointing. We had one disappointing event,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.

At this meet last year Denver was all smiles after coming in as the No. 12 seed and finishing in a program best 10th-place. This time around DU came in as the No. 12 seed and will leave as the No. 12 seed.

“You really have to put it in perspective because the top 12 in gymnastics is something that a lot of teams want to be in and we are,” said senior Courtney Butler.

“It is so interesting that how your expectations increase, unless you win the national championship there is going to be some letdown and disappointment” said Kutcher-Rinehart.

Those expectations were caused by the Pioneers’ recent success. Success of advancing to the NCAA championships in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. Recording the most consistent scores and ranking in program history. Success of having two Olympians on the roster. Gaining the credibility of the top recruits in the nation. And finally success caused by having a roster full of dedicated and hard working gymnasts.

This hit and fall may be unexpected by Denver, but standing up from it and wiping away the stars is what will really help continue to build this program.

“I think some people are going to say with that low of a score we didn’t belong to be there. As far as what my colleagues said they were impressed by our skill level and our athletes and what we were doing,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.

The Pioneers belonged in Athens, Ga.

Sure, their performance might have been a little flat-footed, but it is not just the 2008 NCAA championship performance that defines the DU program or the season.

This season the gymnasts showed that they are a solid and consistent No. 12/ No. 13-ranked national team. Next season it could be a No. 10/ No. 11-nationally-ranked team.

As the sting finally burns off the Pioneers will learn that success is all about the little steps and although they took a tough punch, the season overall was a major step forward.

“Respect, respect from the women’s college gymnastics community, respect that we are back and that there a lot of other teams sitting at home because we were there,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.

Respect from other teams sitting at home watching and taking note of the steps to success that the Pioneers are taking.