Denver at West Virginia

Recap

The Big Storyline: Denver returned to a full lineup of gymnasts on all four events. All of its missing freshmen from last week returned, with the exception of Rylie Mundell. Isabel Mabanta made her debut on beam, notching a 9.825 for her first competitive set. The Pioneers looked better than the scores indicate, though there is room for improvement on just about every event, including bars, where they notched their lowest score of the season to date. West Virginia had a steady first half of the meet before really settling in on beam and floor. There were still miscues on bars and beam, but the Mountaineers didn’t have to count either of them. The scores don’t necessarily indicate it, but this Mountaineer beam squad has the potential to be really good. They finished with a great floor performance that capped off a season high 195.400 overall score. 

Implications: Denver’s full lineups indicate a team that is almost back to full strength and one that will be ready to jump on any opportunity presented to it. As of now, Denver slips to No. 9 in the rankings, below Michigan and Iowa. The Pioneers now have enough scores for an NQS, though official NQS rankings won’t officially kick in until March 1. West Virginia moves up two spots to No. 28. Big 12 rankings haven’t changed, though the Iowa State pause gives West Virginia a chance to gain ground on the Cyclones depending on when they return. 

Controversies: The stream completely missed Lynnzee Brown’s vault, arguably the best vault of the meet. Because that’s not more important than showing us a cheering crowd…