The Denver gymnastics team scored a 196.750 to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers (196.475) at Sunday’s home-opening meet. The team finished first in all four events, proving themselves worthy of their no. 2 national rank.
Denver started the meet on the vault with senior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) scoring a 9.900 to tie for first place in the event. Denver juniors Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) and Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) were then close behind, with a 9.850 and a 9.825 respectively. The Pioneer’s team score was a 49.050 which is notably two tenths higher than their vault team score from the previous meet.
Once on bars, Karr took another first place title with a season-high score of 9.950. Brown also got a podium finish, placing third overall with a score of 9.875. Junior Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.) showed improvement from her last meet with a 9.850 and was closely followed by freshman AK Subject (Wayzata, Minn.) who earned a score of 9.825. The team then recorded a final score of 49.300 that was rounded out by Sundstrom with a 9.800 and Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.) with a 9.775. This team score, too, was higher than that at the team’s previous competition.
As the Pioneers moved onto the beam, Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) had her second stand-out performance. At Denver’s previous meet, Vasquez scored a perfect 10, the second perfect score on beam in Pioneer history. Vasquez continued her legacy Sunday night and scored a near-perfect 9.975 to earn another first-place finish on the beam.
As Denver concluded their night on the floor, Karr and Brown both continued their impressive performances. Karr was second overall in this event with a score of 9.875 and Brown first, with a remarkable 9.925.
Karr captured the all-around title with a 39.625 and Brown was third with a 29.500.
The Pioneers travel to Arkansas on Friday, Jan. 17 to take on their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) team of the season. With an average score of 196.725 across two meets, the Pioneers fell one spot in the national rankings to no. 3 with only Big 12 rival Oklahoma and SEC Florida topping the Pioneers.
