Denver Gymnasts Cooley and Hebinck Shine with Big 12 Accolades

DENVER – Gymnasts from the University of Denver, Cecilia Cooley, and Mia Hebinck have been honored with two of the initial weekly gymnastics accolades from the Big 12 Conference for the 2025 season, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
 
Cooley was recognized as the Big 12 Gymnast of the Week, while Hebinck received the title of Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week.
 
Cooley returned to competitive action for Denver in the season premiere on January 5 after being sidelined for the entire 2024 season due to an injury. She made her collegiate appearance on both beam and floor while participating on bars for just the third occasion in her career. On the floor exercise, she clinched the event title – the first of her career in any discipline – scoring a 9.875. Her 9.850 on bars contributed to DU’s lineup that established a new program record for a season opener at 49.450, and her successful beam routine occurred right after a fall in the previous performance.
 
Hebinck was one of only four gymnasts to achieve scores in the 9.9+ range during Sunday’s season opener, with the senior achieving a score of 9.900 in her bars performance, aiding Denver in its record-setting routine. She also earned a share of the title, bringing her career total to four in the event.
 
This marks Cooley’s inaugural Big 12 award and Hebinck’s third honor as the Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week.
 
Ranked No. 11, Denver will host No. 5 Missouri, Georgia, and LIU in its first quad meet of the season on Sunday, January 12, at 1:45 p.m. MT.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets for the 2025 University of Denver gymnastics season are currently available for purchase online, by calling 303-871-4625, or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.
 
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