The No. 10 University of Denver gymnastics team scored a 196.875 to place second in Friday’s quad meet. DU was only three-tenths of a point behind No. 3 Oklahoma, who scored a 197.175 to take first. Texas Woman’s University and Lindenwood were third and fourth, respectively.
DU started the meet on the bars, where they scored a 49.275 and earned a second-place finish in this event. Senior Lynnzee Brown (Kansas City, Mo.) kicked off her impressive meet by tying for first place overall with a 9.950. Brown was closely followed by senior Emily Glynn (Longmont Colo.) who scored a 9.875.
Although Glynn did not earn a podium finish, she was just .025 off her season-high on the bars. Junior Alexandria Ruiz (Lake Mary, Fla.), freshmen Rosie Casali (Weddington, N.C.) and Rylie Mundell (Parker, Colo.) had the rest of the team’s counted scores.
Denver then moved onto the beam where the team had the highest overall score in the meet. All five of Denver’s counted scores were a 9.800 or higher with Brown and junior Alexis Vaszequez (Arcadia, Calif.) tying for a third-place podium finish.
Both gymnasts earned a 9.875, and they were closely followed by freshman Isabel Mabanta (Frisco, Texas) who added a 9.850 to the team’s victory. Ruiz and Mundell had the two final counted scores of 9.825 and 9.800, respectively.
As DU moved onto the floor, Brown had the meet’s standout performance. With an almost-perfect 9.975, Brown took the first place podium finish and earned the highest score for any gymnast on any event throughout the meet. She was followed by freshman Jessica Hutchinson (Gilbertsville, Pa.) who posted her new career-high of 9.900. Glynn, Ruiz and Casali also contributed to DU’s 49.175 and second-place event finish.
Denver finished the meet on the vault where the team had their best vault performance of the current season. Glynn led DU with a 9.925, her new career-high, and tied for a second-place podium finish. Brown and Hutchinson then followed with each gymnast scoring a 9.850. Mundell and senior Mia Sundstrom (Boulder, Colo.) were the last two to add to the team score with a 9.800. Denver had an overall event score of 49.200 to take the first-place finish.
Brown concluded the team’s impressive meet, placing first in the all-around competition. Brown scored a 39.650 to beat OU’s second-place all-around finisher who scored a 39.250.
DU gymnastics will continue their season on Sunday, March 7 as they take on Southern Utah and Utah State. This will be the team’s final home meet of the season.
