Denver hosted Arizona at their annual pink meet on Valentine’s Day and gifted fans with their sixth consecutive win and second win over Arizona this season. With a team average of 196.417, Denver increases one spot in the national rankings to 17.

In the first rotation on vault, three Pioneers found their sticks and the team was rewarded with a season high 49.15. The team still only has two 10.0 start value vaults. The rest of the lineup competes Yurchenko fulls, which are worth 9.95.

Denver carried their momentum to bars where everyone hit their routines and they tied their bars high score of 49.15 for the third week in a row. After two rotations, Denver was over five tenths ahead of Arizona.

Beam was a challenge in the third rotation for DU. Everyone knows the balance beam is just four inches wide and is four feet off the ground, but what no one talks about is how unforgiving the landings are on the apparatus. The impacts of landings on beam are more jarring than on the floor exercise, yet gymnasts have to jump, turn, and flip on it like it is the floor! The beam is hard with only about a quarter inch of padding to absorb landings, and without the springs that are under the floor mats to help propel athletes into the air. Beam is also a mental game; one small balance check can throw a whole routine off.  To make matters worse, to see a teammate fall can wreck someone’s nerves. On Saturday, Denver had a couple low scores, avoided counting a fall, but did have to count a 9.525. However, two athletes hit 9.925 in the middle of the lineup! Both senior Cecelia Cooley and freshman Terra Rutter hit career highs, making us all appreciate what it really takes to reach perfection. At the end of three rotations, Denver’s lead was still over three tenths above Arizona even though DU tied their season low on beam.

In the fourth rotation, Denver had one hit floor routine after another, proving why they are in the top ten in the country on this event. The biggest controversy was the start value of junior Amanda Hargrave’s routine. The score that was flashed was a 9.75 and a start value of 9.9. Anyone who has followed Denver gymnastics knows that no athletes’ routines are choregraphed with only 9.9 start value. The coaching staff immediately inquired on the start value, and Hargrave’s floor score was upped to a 9.85. Denver’s floor score was the highest event score of the evening at 49.4.

In the end, Denver posted a 196.6 to Arizona’s 195.35 for the win. More importantly, Denver has settled into mid-196 average to solidify their position in the top 20. There is still room for improvement if they want to be in the conversation for nationals, but if they keep on this pace, they will certainly see Regional competition in March.