Baylor A&T Wins Season-Opener Over West Liberty in Ferrell Center
WACO, Texas – The Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team won the first meet of the season, 267.050 – 238.510, over West Liberty on Sunday in the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (1-0) defeated the Hilltoppers (0-1) by 28.54 points overall to continue a 17-meet winning streak, dating back to March 27, 2021.
THE RUNDOWN
BU overtook WLU in every event, not dropping a single heat.
Starting off the meet, Baylor had three compulsory scores in the 9.0 range, only dipping slightly below that in tumbling. The Bears had a 9.75 in Acro, 9.8 in Pyramid, 9.95 in Toss and 8.75 in Tumbling to finish with an overall Compulsory Event score of 38.25 in comparison to the Toppers’ 32.95.
Moving into the optional portion of the meet, Baylor had a score of 9.85 in Heat 1, 9.35 in Heat 2 and 9.75 in Heat 3 to total 28.95 for the event. The Bears continued to compete elements new to the NCATA as they did in 2022, as Heat 3 (7 Element) saw Jordan Gruendler compete a “ring” where she effectively touches her feet to her hands to make a circle in an inlocate hand-in-hand element, and “pencil”, a one-arm handstand balanced on base Bayley Humphrey’s one arm. WLU scored an 8.55, 7.65 and 9.10, respectively, to total 25.30 for the event. Going into the third event, BU was up 67.20 to West Liberty’s 58.25.
BU started off hot in Pyramid Heat 1 with a perfect 10.0 with Gruendler as the top and Humphrey as the main base executed what Gruendler dubbed the “Tower of Terror” in 2022. The second and third heat each scored a 9.85 to total 29.70 for Pyramid as a whole, the running total coming to 96.90 for BU. Heat two, the synch heat, again saw new-to-NCATA elements. The tops of the twin pyramids, Emily Tobin and Kamryn Kitchens, arrived on the main base via high walk-in. WLU had an event total of 27.60 to have a running total of 85.85 through halftime.
In the Toss Event, Baylor had scores of 9.35, 9.15 and 9.55, respectively, to total 28.05 for the event. West Liberty scored an 8.05, 7.50 and 8.45 respectively to total 24.00. Going into the fifth event, the Bears were up 124.95 to the Hilltoppers’ 109.85.
In the Tumbling Event, the Duo Heat saw junior Kristen McCain and freshman Alyiah Thomas compete and score an 8.25. In the Trio heat, Kitchens, Catie Wilkins and Rakel Jeffries scored an 8.85. The Quad pass had Katie Shiffer, Gianna Cameron, Savanna Cecil and Tobin score an 8.75. Aliyah Kaloostian competed the Aerial Pass, scoring an impressive 9.325 from the sophomore. McCain competed the 6 Element pass and scored the highest of all the heats at 9.8, competing two whips into a 1.5 twist. The Open pass was competed by Kitchens, scoring a 9.675. The Bears’ total came to 54.650 for the heat while WLU scored a 47.20. Going into the day’s final event, BU was up 179.60-157.05 on the Toppers for a 22.55-point lead.
In the Team Event, Baylor once again saw Humphrey and Gruendler compete the ring and shake some things up in the flow of the routine. Overall, the Bears scored an 87.45 to total 267.05 for the entire meet, besting West Liberty’s Team Event score of 81.46 and total score of 238.510 for the meet win.
HIGHLIGHTS
Baylor extends its win streak to 17 meets in a row
The Bears didn’t drop a single heat to the Toppers
BU outscored WLU by 28.54 points overall
Baylor continued to compete never before seen elements in the sport: Acro, Pyramid
There were four freshmen to compete for BU: Alyiah Thomas (Tumbling), Gianna Cameron (Toss, Tumbling), Ellie LaNeve (Acro, Pyramid), Savanna Cecil (Tumbling).
STAT OF THE MEET
Acro Heat 1 scored a perfect 10.0
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Felecia Mulkey
“I think (we got what we wanted out of the first meet). We shook some nerves out. We have lots of work to do. So, some really high highs. And I wouldn’t say too low lows, but not really where we wanted to end. I think (the athletes) would agree with that.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears hit the road and travel to Angola, Ind., to face Trine in the second meet of the season. Start time is set for 11 a.m. CT in the Thunder’s MTI Center, the first time an A&T meet will be held there.