In a meet at Morgantown, W. Va. DU Women’s Gymnastics scored a 197.450, a program record for a road score. In accomplishing this, the team also finished first at this Big 12 meet, beating Iowa State (196.700) and home team West Virginia (196.125).
Starting the meet on the bars, the Pioneers scored 49.375, led by junior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) with a 9.925. Second in this event, sophomore Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.) scored a season-best of 9.900. Sophomore Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) put up a 9.875 tying for third in the event. Also scoring in the high 9s were freshman Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) with 9.850, sophomore Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) with a 9.825 and senior Claire Kern (Charlotte, N.C.) with a 9.800.
Carrying this momentum on to the beam, where the team also scored a new record for a road score of 49.375, Karr and freshman Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) were highlights of the rotation with 9.925s. Sundstrom’s season-high 9.875 earned her a tie for third in the event, and Ruiz tied her personal best with a 9.825, also the score put up by Brown. Junior Kaitlyn Schou (Orlando, Fla.) also added a 9.800.
The third rotation moved the team on to the floor with a 49.400. Ruiz tied for first place with a career-high of 9.925 with Brown. Karr with 9.875, Sundstrom with 9.850 and Schou with 9.825 were also on the leaderboard of DU’s counted scores for the round.
Karr vaulted a 9.975 to win the vault event and lead DU into the last stretch of the competition. Sundstrom had a career-high of 9.875 on the vault, and Schou and Ruiz scored a 9.825. Brown and senior Diana Chesnok (Charlotte, N.C.) also scored 9.800s to wrap up the last of the events.
Karr earned the all-around title with a 39.7000, the sixth-best score in DU history to add to the near perfect scores in the vault with a 9.975 and bars and beam with 9.925. All of the all-arounders finished on the podium above 39.400. Karr was followed by Sundstrom, Ruiz and Brown who tied for second with 39.425s. Both Sundstrom and Ruiz earned career highs with these scores.
Head Coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said, “It was, overall, just a really balanced competition and a strong showing by the freshmen. This team continues to show their character and growth.”
The team will now return home for their next three meets, beginning Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. MST in Magness Arena against No. 1 Oklahoma.
