Denver women’s gymnastics finished second to No. 15 BYU in Saturday’s meet, despite capturing four of the five individual titles. The Pioneers had a final score of 195.175 while BYU finished with a 196.200. Juniors Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) and Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) were unable to compete, so the Pioneers had to face many challenges and throughout the meet, several gymnasts stepped up to fill new roles
The Pioneers began the meet on the vault where junior Emily Glynn (Longmont, Colo.) and senior Maddie Karr (Stillwater, Minn.) both scored a 9.800 to earn a third-place podium finish. Sophomore Alexandria Ruiz (Lakemary, Fla.) was close behind with a 9.775 while freshman AK Subject (Wayzata, Minn.) followed Ruiz with a 9.725. Freshman Victoria Fitts (Fort Collins, Colo.) also made her first-ever NCAA appearance while fellow freshman Amoree Lockhart (Fort Worth, Texas) competed on the vault for the first time in her college career. The Pioneers finished with a 48.625 in this event, behind BYU who finished with a 48.925.
On the bars, Ruiz tied for first with a 9.875 while Glynn was part of a three-way tie for second with a 9.850. Then, to round out the Pioneers’ score of 48.125, Subject scored a 9.800 and Karr a 9.775. Both sophomore Natalie Morton (Waycross, Ga.) and Lockhart also competed in this event, making it just their second time on the bars in their collegiate careers. The Pioneers fell in this event to BYU, who scored a team total of 48.925.
As they moved onto the beam, the Pioneers began to build up their momentum, finishing just 0.05 points behind BYU. Sophomore Alexis Vasquez (Arcadia, Calif.) took first place with a 9.925 and Karr tied for second with a 9.900. Freshman Emma Brown (Adel, Iowa) also tied her personal best with a 9.850 while fellow freshman Callie Schlottman (Savage, Minn.) had her first-ever collegiate appearance.
Denver ended the night on a high note, finishing with a 49.350 on the floor to beat BYU’s 49.225. Karr tied her career-high of 9.950 to take home first place while Glynn set a new personal best of 9.900 and earned a second-place finish. Ruiz then tied for third overall with a 9.975 and Brown, who returned to the floor line up for the first time since January 25, also tied her career-high with a 9.850.
With a 39.425, Karr captured the all-around title for the sixth time this season. Ruiz also earned a third-place all-around finish with a 38.700.
The Pioneers look to bounce back from this week’s meet as they travel to take on No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 29.
