DU’s gymnastics team is off to a strong start after a big win in the season opener at North Carolina State on Jan. 9. They won 194.5 to 192.025. It was an incredibly close meet, but the Pioneers were able to finish on top.
Pioneer senior Nina McGee helped Denver reach victory. McGee won the all-around title along with titles from floor, bars and beam.
Denver Head Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart was undoubtedly pleased with the win, but improvement is key for the Pioneers as they progress through the season.
“We definitely need to improve on specifics like hitting positions and sticking landings. There’s a lot of room for improvement, but that’s a good thing this early in the year,” Kutcher-Rinehart said.
Two freshmen athletes have also stepped up in the transition to college. Nicole Addison and Julia Ross both performed very well at the season opener. “Addison, when we had lineup changes, she stepped in and competed all around first meet of the year away. Ross is also someone who can compete all around for us,” said Kutcher-Rinehart.
The philosophy of this team centers on work ethic, tough mental skills and teamwork. Kutcher-Rinehart boasts that this team is one of the hardest working teams she has ever encountered and that their reliance upon each other brings teamwork to the forefront. Time in practice is also spent on visualization and positive self-talk.
“There is no superstar. We are so strong because of that edge. Most of the time when coaches come up with philosophies, they’re all just words. To make them meaningful there has to be action behind the words and they’ve made it more than just words,” Kutcher-Rinehart said.
Not only are the Pioneers fantastic on the competition floor, they also excel in the classroom, having one of the highest team GPAs on campus.
“We want to be in the top 10 in both competition and academics,” she said. “We’re really just focused on one thing at a time. We don’t want to compare ourselves to anyone else. We don’t want to focus on wins and loses or rankings. We just want to focus on what we can control. You can control your attitude, preparation and work ethic. Those are the things we want to stay focused on. Meets are won in practice. Not getting caught up in hosting the co-national champions or Big 10 schools and improving on our past will put us in a really strong position in the end,” Kutcher-Rinehart said.
Denver’s schedule is very challenging this year, and includes teams like the co-national championship team from the University of Oklahoma and two teams from the Big 10, the University of Iowa and Ohio State University. The team was able to upset number 10 ranked University of Georgia on Jan. 19 in Magness Arena. The final score was 194.85 to 194.3.
DU will host Oklahoma on Jan. 29 in Hamilton Gymnasium, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness night. The Pioneers are hopeful that fans will come out, wear pink and support the team in their very important meet. DU will also be hosting the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Championship in Magness Arena on March 21.
