The No. 13 Pioneers fell short to No. 15 Nebraska 195.925-195.650 Saturday night despite posting a season-high team score on the balance beam, moving DU to 10-3 overall this season.
Junior All-American Jessica López is now ranked No. 5 in the nation in the all-around after winning her fifth all-around title of the season. López posted 39.5 all-around with high scores of 9.85 on the vault, a 9.825 on the uneven bars, a 9.9 on the balance beam and a 9.925 on floor exercise.
Denver started off the meet on the uneven bars, posting a team score of 48.650. López led the Pioneers in third place, followed by senior Courtney Butler in fifth recording a 9.70
As the Pioneers moved to the vault they posted three scores of 9.80 or better, contributing to a team score of 48.650. López continued to lead the way finishing with a tie in second place with Tricia Woo of Nebraska. Butler tied in fourth with a 9.825 followed by freshman Taylor Stanford in sixth, matching her career high of 9.80 in her home state. Nebraska’s Emily Parsons finished in first place with a score of 9.975.
López gave another stunning performance on floor exercise when she posted a 9.925 placing her just behind Parsons once again. Senior Sasha Sullivan finished tied in fourth with a 9.85. Sophomore Ellen McCarthy and freshman Danielle Kirchhof finished in a tie for eighth each recording a 9.75.
After recording a season-low score on the balance beam last week, the Pioneers bounced back with their top performance of the season, posting a season-high score of 49.125. All five of DU’s competitors earned scores above a 9.8, led by López, who won her fourth title of the season with her score of 9.9 for a tie in first place with Nebraska’s Tricia Woo. Tied in fifth place with scores of 9.825 were McCarthy, junior Lauren Garan and junior Nikki Brown. Also contributing to the season-high team score was Sullivan posting a 9.8.
“They did a really nice job, we ended on balance beam so it was a pressure situation and even our exhibition performer hit so we went 7 for 7,” said Head Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. “Coming off the week we had on beam the weekend before was definitely a nice improvement. Overall though we’re really strong on beam so I think as long as we have the focus that we need to have in practice on beam, I think we should be fine.”
The Pioneers will compete three times within nine days, beginning on Friday when they travel to take on Utah State. They then return home to host their last three home meets of the regular season. First, Denver will host No. 12 Auburn on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium, followed by a tri-meet with Pittsburgh and Texas Women’s College on March 8 at 6 p.m.
