One Last Postseason: Graduating DU Gymnasts Look to Finish Strong

Bella Mabanta (far left), Abbie Thompson, Rylie Mundell, Momoko Iwai, Rosie Casali and Mia Hebinck (far right) pose for a photo after this season's Senior Sunday meet.

As the University of Denver gymnastics team prepares to make its postseason push, six soon-to-be graduates are leading the charge, determined to cap off their collegiate careers with a strong finish.

The graduating class includes true seniors Mia Hebinck and Momoko Iwai, graduate students Rylie Mundell, Abbie Thompson, and Bella Mabanta, and fifth-year senior Rosie Casali. 

Denver finished the regular season on March 14 with the second highest National Qualifying Score (NQS) in the Big 12 Conference, securing the No. 2 seed for the 2025 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship. The NQS is calculated using the six highest scores of the season, including at least three from away meets, with the highest score then dropped and the remaining five scores averaged. 

DU will compete in Session 2 of the competition, set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, in West Valley City, Utah.

Ahead of the Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, let’s take one last look at the group of six student athletes who have made their mark as Pioneers—on and off the mat.

True seniors Mia Hebinck and Momoko Iwai

Hebinck and Iwai have combined for more than 135 lineup appearances and 10 individual titles won.

Over the course of their collegiate careers, the two seniors have each earned a career-high score of a near-perfect 9.975—Iwai on beam in March 2024 and Hebinck on bars in February 2024. 

Iwai and Hebinck have also been recognized for their academic performance. Hebinck was named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team and the 2024 Academic All-Big 12 Team. Iwai has twice been named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team. Both Iwai and Hebinck are three-time WCGA Scholastic All-America honorees. 

Hebinck says one of the things that makes DU gymnastics so special is that everyone strives to be well-rounded.

“We focus and prioritize gymnastics and being that top NCAA D-I team, but we also strive to have a 4.0 GPA every quarter, be good people, and have a social life—whatever that means to each person,” Hebinck says.

This season, Iwai competed on beam in every meet and won her second beam title from the leadoff spot in the lineup on Jan. 12. One of the biggest lessons she learned at DU is how to be a good teammate.

Growing up, she says, “I was very independent and very individualistic. So I had to learn what it's like to be a teammate—having teammates and being a part of a team.”

Graduate students Rylie Mundell, Bella Mabanta, and Abbie Thompson and fifth-year senior Rosie Casali

The achievements of these four standouts will leave a lasting mark in DU’s record books.

Rylie Mundell is a two-time Big 12 individual champion and the 2024 Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year. She has regularly competed on vault and bars every season and competed as an all-arounder in nearly every meet in 2022 and 2023.

This season, Mundell won a combined eight titles: two in the all-around, two on vault, and four on bars. She also took the No. 4 spot in the Denver record books for most career bars titles of all time.

Off the mat, Mundell is a four-time WCGA Scholastic All-American and three-time Academic All-Big 12 Team honoree.

Asked about the team’s future, she says, “I want to see them redefine themselves next year, not because there's anything that needs to change but because it's going to be a new team—and that's a big opportunity.” 

She says the shift is similar to one she experienced as a freshman. “There was a lot that had to be learned because we were coming into this culture that, in some ways, needed to stay the same but also no longer existed.”

Bella Mabanta has consistently competed on vault, beam, and floor for Denver, and won the 2024 NCAA Regional Beam title. 

In February, Mabanta earned a career-best score on vault with a 9.925. She also set career bests on floor (9.950) in March 2023 and on beam in April 2023 (9.975). 

Mabanta is also a 2024 WCGA Scholastic All-America honoree and a three-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 Team.

As a co-captain, Mabanta has embraced her role on the team this year to help the incoming class of upperclassman prepare for their future leadership roles.

“As much as I love being a leader right now, I want to make sure the rest of the team can do that as well for the next incoming classes,” she says. The team will welcome six freshmen in the fall.

Abbie Thompson is a 2022 NCAA National Championships qualifier on beam who has competed primarily in that event for her collegiate career with various appearances in the other three events.

She has career highs of at least 9.925 on three events and set a personal best of 39.300 in the all-around. Thompson is a four-time WCGA Scholastic All-American and a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Team honoree.

“I think our pillars—character, teamwork, and excellence—are there for a reason, and those things are true and unchanging. It’s important to remember that as the program continues to move and progress forward. Little things will change, but those things will not,” she says.

Rosie Casali competed on bars in every meet this season and on vault in all but one, winning the vault title outright on March 9 and receiving a share of the title on Jan. 26 and Feb. 21.

She also received near-perfect scores of 9.975 twice during her collegiate career, on floor in March 2023 and on vault in January 2023. She was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team in 2024.

Casali says she appreciates the ways in which the coaching staff has not only helped her and her teammates as student athletes but also as people—especially as they prepare to leave the university.

“Our coaches are really trying to set us up for success in the future,” she says. “They care about our future lives and our jobs and our families.”