The University of Denver women’s gymnastics upset No. 8 LSU Tigers at Hamilton Gymnasium Saturday, 196.050-195.825.
DU scored a season high en route to victory behind strong individual performances. The Pioneers struggled on the vault early, but progressed as the evening went on. LSU had a strong performance to open on the uneven bars, but wasn’t able to stem the tide of the DU rally.
DU’s Melanie Schiff was pleased with the turnaround.
“We did a good job as a team. We overcame deductions and came back really strong in the last three events,” Schiff said.
Despite early mistakes, DU salvaged a team vault score of 48.600 behind Ashley Shible’s second-place 9.875. Jill Gunter and Emily Bankhead tied for fourth with scores of 9.825. Bankhead, with the strong vault score, finished the evening as the all-around winner with 39.325 score.
“It was hard for me to stick my vault. I was proud I finally stuck my vault,” Bankhead said.
Denver fought back on uneven bars behind the strength of Schiff’s 9.875, which was good for a three-way tie for first. Emily Bankhead finished strong in fourth with a 9.850.
DU picked up steam on the beam with an impressive team score of 49.075. Schiff tied for the individual title with a 9.850. Michelle Kasuga took fourth with a 9.825. Jamie Martini, Bankhead, and Shible tied for sixth with 9.800.
Denver then took the floor with an opportunity to pass the Tigers. LSU had to score a fall on the beam, opening up an opportunity the Pioneers would jump on. Denver had no score lower than 9.800. Five of the six top scores on floor were tallied by DU. Freshman Jessica Kennedy scored a 9.875 to capture the individual title. Bankhead and Kasuga tied for third with 9.850. Kasuga, who tallied a perfect 10 the previous week, had no problem staying focused.
“I did the same thing to prepare myself. I went out there hoping my team was behind me, and they were,” Kasuga said about her preparation.
Freshman Kryssa Ancellotti scored a 9.825 to take fifth in the event. Jill Gunter rounded out the top six with a solid 9.800.
Denver was pleased with its upset of LSU.
“We had a team goal of 196. Placing five out of six on each event helped us focus and achieve our goal. We visualized our routines. When you practice well, you compete well,” Bankhead said of the team’s performance.
The Pioneers host U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday. A replay of the LSU meet will air on AT&T Cable channel 21 on Friday at 7 p.m.
