Denver hosts its final conference opponent of the season on a senior day that bids farewell to one of the most influential classes in Pioneer history. With postseason looming, the Pioneers will look to capitalize on their home advantage to strengthen their NQS.
Arizona State is battling for a spot in the evening session of the Big 12 championship, with four road meets left to improve its standing. The Sun Devils are currently counting a 195.675 in their NQS, so any score above that will provide a much-needed boost. Jada Mangahas could play a key role in that effort—she delivered a solid exhibition routine on floor at BYU last weekend and has been steadily improving her vault and bars scores since her return.
Denver’s early-season beam struggles appear to be a thing of the past, as the Pioneers have now posted four straight meets above 49.000 after only reaching that mark twice in their first five competitions. While the seniors and fifth-years have been leading the charge, sophomore Madison Ulrich has emerged as a quiet but crucial contributor. She currently leads the team in NQS on beam and floor and has been a steady all-around presence. With Denver set to lose a significant number of routines at the end of the season, Ulrich’s consistency is a promising sign for the future.
A score above 196.575 would improve Denver’s NQS, and with a hit meet at home, that goal is well within reach.
Now that I am back from the dead (this sickness that isn’t the flu but acts like the flu SUCKS), let’s have some Sunday fun, shall we?
Rotation 1: DU vault, ASU bars
Brusch (DU): Y full, nice straight arms on the block, giving her lots of amplitude, flares out to find the landing, small slide of the feet on the landing. 9.800
Platkin (ASU): blind to Jaeger, bit of an arm bend on the catch, Pak salto to switch kip, little short on the handstands throughout, full twisting double tuck with a nice landing. Was originally scheduled to be an exhibition, so nice to see her get moved up. 9.800
Mabanta (DU): Y full, lots of height and distance, piked down in the air, hop back on the landing. 9.775
Gregoire (ASU): short on the opening handstand, half pirouette to Geinger, another short handstand. Good transition to low bar, double layout with some foot movement. The handstands are going to be her biggest deduction. 9.825
Ulrich (DU): Front pike half, good form in the air, small hop back on the landing. Not her best, but should be higher than Mabanta’s. 9.800
K. Smith (ASU): blind to straddle Jaeger, good distance, but bit of a bend in the elbows on the catch. Pretty final handstand, double layout dismount with a tiny slide back of the feet. 9.925
Reidenbach (DU): Y 1.5, landed off center based on the lines on the mat. Took a step back on the landing, not the cleanest vault we’ve seen from her this season, but still a good one. 9.850
Mangahas (ASU): blind to Jaeger to immediate overshoot, really nice flow between the skills. Beautiful final handstand, full twisting double tuck, low on the landing and had to take a step forward. Up until that dismount, that was a GORGEOUS routine from the fifth year. 9.700
Casali (DU): Y 1.5, lot of height and distance, hop forward on the landing. 9.875
White (ASU): Van Leeuwen to open, interesting opening skill that you usually see at the end. Half pirouette to bail to handstand, good position on the low bar, DLO dismount with a step backwards on the landing. 9.875
Hargraves (DU): Y full, lot of height off the table, some looseness in the air, NAILED the landing. Should drop the 9.775 from Mabanta. 9.850
Clark (ASU): blind to straddle Jaeger, missed the dowel on the catch. Didn’t fall, but will be a sizeable deduction. Recovers well to get the DLO dismount with a small hop. Very likely the drop score for the Sun Devils. 9.500
After 1: Denver 49.175, Arizona State 49.125
The Sun Devils were in position to take the lead after one, but a couple missed opportunities at the end of the rotation have Denver up by half a tenth heading to rotation 2. Vault was not Denver’s cleanest as no one really found a stuck landing until Hargraves did at the end of the rotation. Vault is Arizona State’s lowest ranking event, while bars is Denver’s best event. The Sun Devils will need to find the sticks and Denver needs to be its normal on bars.
Rotation 2: ASU vault, DU bars
Oh goodness, someone from ASU just got injured during touch warmup. I’ll update once we find out who it is. Looks like it might’ve been Isabella Kowan, she was slated for the exhibition spot and just got pulled.
Lichtman (ASU): Y full, some loose knees in the air, nice chest position, hop back on the landing.
Casali (DU): Maloney to bail to handstand right on top of the bar, double layout dismount with a stick. The bars judges have felt a little generous today, so we’ll see how that translates here.
Braaflat (ASU):
Ulrich (DU):
Gregoire (ASU):
Rorich (DU):
White (ASU):
Cooley (DU):
Purler (ASU):
Hebinck (DU):
Mangahas (ASU):
Mundell (DU):
Kowan (ASU – exh):
Iwai (DU – exh):
After 2:
Rotation 3: DU beam, ASU floor
Cooley (DU):
Clark (ASU):
Iwai (DU):
Braaflat (ASU):
Mabanta (DU):
Purler (ASU):
Thompson (DU):
Mangahas (ASU):
Mundell (DU):
K. Smith (ASU):
Ulrich (DU):
White (ASU):
Hebinck (DU – exh):
Gregoire (ASU – exh):
After 3:
Rotation 4: ASU beam, DU floor
Lee (ASU):
Rorich (DU):
Kowan (ASU):
Brusch (DU):
Lichtman (ASU):
Iwai (DU):
K. Smith (ASU):
Cooley (DU):
Clark (ASU):
Mabanta (DU):
White (ASU):
Ulrich (DU):
Mangahas (ASU – exh):
Gallen (DU – exh):
FINAL:
VT:
UB:
BB:
FX:
AA:
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Live blog by Savanna Wellman
