Photo by: Justin Edmonds
An unexpected week off might have been just what the DU women’s gymnastics team needed to post a season-high score of 195.700 on Sunday at a quad meet hosted by Texas Woman’s University.
Last week, the Pioneers were scheduled to host Auburn until the Tigers were forced to stay home due to poor weather at Atlanta International Airport. There was no rust shown by DU after a week off from competing as the gymnasts easily defeated Maryland (192.625), TWU (192.175) and Air Force (184.125).
“It was beneficial to have a week off because we had the opportunity to have new people compete in our intrasquad meet and also gave other people a chance to rest,” said junior Jessica Lopez.
Denver posted season highs on every event as a team with a 49.050 on vault, 48.825 on the uneven bars, 48.875 on beam and 48.950 on the floor exercise.
The Pioneers began the meet on floor exercise as senior Sasha Sullivan finished second overall and led the team with a 9.875. Lopez finished close behind with a 9.85 while freshman Annamari Maaranen scored a 9.775 and sophomore Ellen McCarthy and freshman Amanda Johanson both recorded a 9.725. Amie Boles of TWU won the event with a score of 9.90.
Next up for DU was vault where Lopez soared to new heights with a career-high and meet-winning score of 9.925. Senior Courtney Butler posted a 9.875 as sophomore Kelley Hennigan scored a 9.85 in a return to her home state of Texas and Sullivan recorded a 9.775.
Denver took the top three positions on uneven bars as Lopez finished in first with a 9.850, Butler in second with a 9.825 and Maaranen in third with a score of 9.80 while McCarthy finished with a 9.75.
The Pioneers finished the meet on balance beam where Lopez won her third event of the night as she posted a 9.875. Hennigan and junior Nikki Brown tied for third overall with a 9.80. Sullivan and McCarthy finished off a solid night as they both scored a 9.70.
“This was a really good score for us especially being on the road, but we still have a lot of work to do and there is room for improvement,” said Lopez.
Denver is now 6-1 on the season after three meets and the squad will face its second-ranked team of the season when the Pioneers travel to No. 25 Illinois this Saturday.
It will be the first time in the four-year career of senior Courtney Butler that she will compete in her home state of Illinois.
The Pioneers’ faced their only other ranked opponent this season in the season-opening Cancun Classic where they finished second to No. 7 LSU.
“We just want to improve from meet to meet. That is where our focus is right now,” said Lopez.
Denver will next compete at home on Feb. 9 after what will be close to a month between home meets. DU will host No. 6 Oklahoma, Utah State and Air Force in a quad meet.
After the 15-day break between meets that the Pioneers just ended, the longest break until the NCAA Regionals will be just eight days between the Utah State road meet and Pittsburg home meet. In March, DU will compete in five meets in just 22 days with three at home and two on the road.
