Photo by: Scott Casey
University of Denver gymnastics team finished in third place, just .200 behind Iowa and Stanford, at the North Central Region Championships April 3 at Magness Arena.
No. 2 Stanford finished in first place with 196.575, and No. 20 Iowa finished second with 195.700.
Southern Utah finished in fourth place at 194.375, followed by Washington with 194.225 and Minnesota 192.225.
Only the top two teams advance to NCAA Nationals, so the season has come to an end for the Pioneers.
Senior Ashley Shible, and freshmen Heather Huffaker and Casey Dobyns, qualified as individuals for NCAA Nationals to be held this weekend in Los Angeles.
Both Huffaker and Shible finished the all-around competition with a score of 39.225 and were the top two all-around gymnasts who were not from an advancing team.
Dobyns first place finish also qualified her to compete with Shible and Huffaker at the NCAA Nationals.
DU began the night on the uneven bars, turning in a team score of 48.525. Leading the Pioneers in the event was freshman Katie Andrews, who posted a score of 9.775.
She was followed by Shible with a 9.75. Emily Bankhead and Heather Huffaker tied for third at 9.675 while sophomore Cassidy Willingham rounded out the top five with 9.65.
The Pioneers then moved to the balance beam, where they attained a total score of 48.700. Willingham and Huffaker led the team with scores of 9.825 and Shible finished close behind them at 9.7.
Freshman Julie Garretson was next with a 9.675 and sophomore Meredith Fricke finished the top-five with a 9.65.
At this point, the Pioneers were in third place with a total of 97.225.
DU then moved to the floor exercise for their third rotation where they scored a 49.075. Willingham started off the Pioneers with a 9.675. Dobyns followed with a 9.75.
Huffaker ended the event in third for DU with a 9.825, and Shible scored a team-high 9.9, which left her tied for first place.
Bankhead and Fricke ended the event for the Pioneers with a 9.725 and a 9.875, respectively. Fricke tied for third place in the floor exercise.
The last routine for DU was the vault, where the Pioneers scored a meet-high of 49.225.
Huffaker and Dobyns tied for DU’s best score with a 9.9, leaving them tied for first place.
Shible finished tied for fifth place with a 9.85, followed by Bankhead with a 9.8. Willingham finished in fifth with a 9.775 and Fricke ended with a 9.750.
DU could have overthrown Iowa in the fifth rotation but needed the Hawkeyes to give them some help. Iowa did not comply and scored a 49.100 on the balance beam.
This ended DU’s chance of moving on to Nationals for the first time since 2001.
Saturday’s competition was the final home meet for DU’s three seniors, Bankhead, Shible, and Rose Kiernan.
“The progress and maturity this team has achieved over the season has been tremendous,” said head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart. “I’m really proud of my team.”
