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DU gymnastics advances to first NCAA finals

The Pioneers punched their ticket to the finals by placing second in Friday's semifinals.
Credit: AP Photo/Raymond Thompson
Denver's Maddie Karr during an NCAA gymnastics meet, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)

History was made Friday night.

For the first time ever, the University of Denver women's gymnastics team is heading to the NCAA national championship finals. The Pioneers punched their ticket by placing second in Friday's semifinals in Fort Worth, Texas.

"We are thrilled for this opportunity to advance," head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said in a statement. "I'm incredibly proud of our team and our student-athletes. They have continued to show tremendous character, competitiveness and consistency – and we are incredibly proud."

Competing against Oklahoma, Oregon State and Georgia for one of the top two spots that advance, DU scored a total 197.0375 points to grab second behind Oklahoma.

That score was only 0.1375 ahead of the Beavers, who fell just short. The Sooners' winning score was 197.8500.

Capturing a share of an individual title was sophomore Lynzee Brown with a score of 9.950 in the floor exercise. She becomes DU's second NCAA national champion.

The Pioneers will look to add to their accolades on Saturday night. The team final will be at 5 p.m. (MT) and can be seen on ESPNU (DirecTV channel 208, XFINITY/Comcast channel 669).

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