No. 12 Denver Pioneers women’s gymnastics will compete in a tri meet against No. 25 Texas Woman’s University and Arizona on Friday, January 16, at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton, Texas. This event marks Denver’s first road competition of the 2026 season.
Denver began its campaign with a close victory over preseason-No. 13 Stanford on January 11, finishing with a score of 196.575-196.475. Senior Cecilia Cooley delivered a near-perfect 9.975 on floor in the final routine, helping set a new program record for the highest floor score in a season opener.
According to the initial Road to Nationals rankings for the year, Denver is ranked No. 12 overall and appears within the top 25 for all four events. The team’s floor squad is tied for No. 3 nationally after scoring 49.425 against Stanford. Other event rankings include ties for No. 13 on vault (49.100), No. 14 on beam (49.050), and No. 23 on bars (49.000).
Cooley currently holds the top individual national ranking on floor, becoming just the fourth gymnast from Denver to achieve this distinction on that event. Freshman Shyla Bhatia is tied for second nationally on vault after scoring a 9.925 in her collegiate debut against Stanford, matching the program record for a freshman vault score set by Maddie Karr in 2017.
The season opener featured many gymnasts making their collegiate debuts; out of Denver’s ten full-lineup competitors, each made at least one appearance in an event for the first time at this level.
Friday’s meet will be Denver’s second competition within five days—one of several quick turnarounds scheduled this season—and is also their first of two tri meets during the year.
Texas Woman’s University opened its season with its highest-ever opening team score (195.575) in a win over Pittsburgh and entered national rankings at No. 25 overall, with individual athletes Brooke Ferrari and Kyleigh Ghanbari also earning national rankings.
Arizona started its season with a home win over Washington and sits just outside the top-25 as a team but ranks No. 11 nationally on floor exercise.
Denver previously competed against both Texas Woman’s and Arizona last season, with DU finishing ahead of TWU in both meetings and falling narrowly to Arizona at the Big 12 Championship.
Tickets for Denver’s gymnastics season are available online or through the Ritchie Center Box Office.
“Denver began its 2026 campaign with a win over preseason-No. 13 Stanford on January 11 in Magness Arena, clinching a one-tenth win (196.575-196.475) with senior Cecilia Cooley’s near-perfect 9.975 on floor in the meet’s final competitive routine,” according to team representatives.
“In the first full Road to Nationals rankings of the year, Denver sits at No. 12 overall and inside the top 25 on all four events,” according to staff information provided by Denver Pioneers women’s gymnastics staff.
