The DU women’s gymnastic team made its eighth straight appearance in an NCAA regional competition this past weekend in Ames, Iowa. The Pioneers were looking to advance to the NCAA Nationals for the first time since 2001, when DU became the first private school to ever qualify for the NCAA Nationals.

Unfortunately, Denver was paired up against some very good competition and finished fourth out of six teams. The top two finishers, Arizona State (196.675) and Iowa State (195.725) will advance to the Nationals.

The Pioneers (195.250) didn’t go home totally disappointed, as junior Casey Dobyns finished tied for the individual title on vault with a 9.9 and will compete in the Nationals April 20-22 in Corvallis, Oregon.

DU’s first event was the uneven bars where freshman Jessica Lopez led the way with a 9.8 followed by junior Katie Andrews 9.75 and freshman Nikki Brown’s 9.7.

The next event was the balance beam where the Pioneers posted a team score of 49.050. Lopez once again led the way with a 9.85, Brown scored a 9.825 and junior Heather Huffaker and freshman Lauren Garan both turned in a 9.8.

The Pioneers then headed over to the floor exercise where they turned in a 48.575 team score. Sophomore Sasha Sullivan led the way with a 9.825 and Dobyns followed with a 9.75.

The final event was the vault, where Dobyns won the event with a 9.9, followed by sophomore Liz Meals career high 9.85.

DU finished the season ranked no. 19 in the country and defeated Minnesota (194.675) and BYU (192.125) in the regionals.

Denver has to be excited about its future, as the team will return 12 letterwinners next year 2007. The Pioneers will have to say goodbye to seniors Cassidy Willingham (Mountain View, Calif.) and Alisha Stephenson (Boulder, Colo.).