Denver Women’s Gymnastics Heads to Big 12 Championship

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – The No. 23 University of Denver women’s gymnastics team is set to compete at the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m. MT at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Denver will compete against No. 12 Utah, No. 24 BYU and Arizona.

Last Time Out

Denver concluded its regular season with a road meet at Oregon State on March 14. The Pioneers recorded some of their top road scores of the season, including a season-best 49.200 on bars. Denver did experience its first falls of the year in the final rotation on beam, ending a streak of 19 consecutive meets without a fall.

Rankings Update

Denver’s overall team score NQS is 196.361, maintaining its No. 23 ranking for the third consecutive week. The Pioneers improved their NQS on vault to 49.075, moving up to No. 20. Denver also gained a spot on both floor (No. 12) and bars (No. 22).

Senior Cecilia Cooley jumped 13 spots in the individual floor rankings to tie for No. 12, with an NQS of 9.930, which is tied for No. 10 in program history on the event. She is just .005 outside the top 25 on beam.

All-Big 12 Honors

Cooley, junior Maddison Reidenbach, and freshman Shyla Bhatia combined for seven spots on the All-Big 12 Conference Team, with Bhatia also landing on the All-Freshman Team. This marks the second consecutive year and third time overall that DU has had three gymnasts earn at least one All-Big 12 Team honor in a single season. Denver’s seven combined honors, and eight including Bhatia’s All-Freshman Team nod, are both program records for a single season. DU had the second most All-Big 12 Team honors in the conference, behind only Utah.

Big 12 Championship History

This will be the 10th time Denver has competed at the Big 12 Championship since joining the conference as an affiliate member in 2016. (The championship was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Denver won the title in 2021 and has finished in the top three every year.

For half of Denver’s roster, Saturday’s meet will be their first time competing on podium. All 14 of Denver’s gymnasts have competed in at least one full lineup this season, and each has made a collegiate debut on at least one event. Eleven of the 14 have won at least one title.

Denver vs. Utah

Utah finished its regular season at UCLA on March 14, placing second with a 197.400. Denver and Utah have met 25 times previously. Utah won their regular season meeting on March 1, 197.200-196.100. Denver and Utah tied for first in the NCAA Second Round hosted by Utah in early April 2025.

Denver vs. BYU

BYU is coming off a season-high 197.225 at Clemson on March 13. The Cougars topped Denver in their regular-season meet on February 20, 196.575-195.925. Denver finished ahead of BYU overall in both 2024 and 2025 at the Big 12 Championship.

Denver vs. Arizona

Arizona closed the regular season on March 13 in a home quad meet, finishing second overall with a 196.650. Denver earned wins in both regular season meetings against Arizona, winning 196.600-195.350 at home on February 14 and 195.850-193.350 at a tri meet at Texas Woman’s on January 16.

What’s Next

Denver has mathematically secured a place at NCAA Regionals and will learn to which of the four campus sites it has been selected during the NCAA Selection Display on Monday, March 23, at 10 a.m. MT on ESPNU.