The Denver gymnastics team opened up their 2019 season with a major upset against No. 6 Michigan and No. 18 Alabama at a quad meet at Alabama. The Pioneers scored a collective 196.275, the second-highest season-opening score in program history, topping Alabama’s 196.175 and Michigan’s 196.025. Bowling Green rounded out the quad meet, scoring a 189.675.
“It was, top to bottom, a complete team effort tonight. This team has a calm confidence about them. We talked about not focusing on scores but staying focused on one event at a time, one routine at a time.” Head-Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said. “The team’s motto is ‘locked in,’ and you could see that mentally and physically tonight. This is a very special team.”
Denver started the meet on beam, scoring 49.00. Sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) led the team off, scoring a 9.750. She was followed by junior Courtney Loper (West Des Moines, Iowa) who returned to the lineup for the first time since her freshman season. Loper scored a 9.800. Freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) scored a 9.800 as well in her collegiate debut, tying the fourth-highest beam score by a Denver freshman in her debut. Junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) tied for second on beam with a 9.950 while senior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) earned a 9.800.
The second rotation saw Denver on the floor, scoring a total of 48.975. Brown tied for third place with a score of 9.875. Schou and Karr earned 9.825 and 9.800 respectively, while freshman Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) earned a 9.750 in her collegiate debut.
Denver then proceeded to vault, where they earned a 49.025. Junior Diana Chesnok (Charlotte, N.C.) lead the team off with a 9.750, followed by Schou who tallied the same score. Sophomore Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) scored a 9.775 and Karr tallied a 9.825. Brown tied her career high with a 9.925, the second-highest score of the meet.
The Pioneers finished on bars, earning their best score of the night—a 49.275. Senior Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) started the team off strong with a 9.850. She was followed by Ruiz, who added a 9.875, and Sundstrom, who matched sophomore Emily Glynn’s (Longmont, Colo.) 9.825. Ruiz and Karr led the team with 9.875, tying to win the event title.
In the all-around competition, Brown and Karr finished second and third, respectively. Brown scored a 39.400 and Karr scored 39.350.
“There is certainly a lot of room for improvement. We’re going to take the confidence from this meet and continue to improve. But for the first meet of the year—and on the road—I couldn’t be more proud of their character and resiliency,” Kutcher-Rinehart added after the meet. When asked about the two freshmen competing, she stated, “Alex and Alexis did a terrific job in their first collegiate meet, and they add depth and competitiveness to this team.”
The Denver women’s gymnastics team hosts its home opener on Saturday, Jan. 19, against Central Michigan, Sacramento State and Texas Woman’s, starting at 6 p.m. MST in Hamilton Gymnasium.
