By Caroline Lindstrom
Reporter
Baylor acrobatics and tumbling (2-3) fell to undefeated Oregon Saturday evening at the Ferrell Center.
“We fought until the bitter end, and I think that the athletes were very excited to be home with an amazing atmosphere,” Baylor head coach LaPrise Harris-Williams said.
The Oregon Ducks kicked off the meet by winning the compulsory event 38.35 to 37.30. The Bears fought back, taking the acro event 27.25 to 27.15. This win closed the gap to Oregon 65.50 to Baylor 64.55. The Ducks advanced their lead in the pyramid event 29.10 to 28.45, making the halftime score 95.20 to 93.30.
The Ducks remained strong in the tumbling event, scoring 124.30 to Baylor’s 121.75. The Bears bounced back in the tumbling event with a score of 58.30 to Oregon’s 58.23. The overall score before the last event was Oregon 182.60 to Baylor 179.98. Oregon secured its win in the team routine, with a score of 102.10 to 96.06. The overall score was 284.70 to 276.04.
“We started off really strong, and our technique has really improved,” junior Ally Cheatam said. “We have never beaten Oregon in the acro event, so doing that tonight was great.”
Harris-Williams said she believes the better team won, and the team knows what it has to perfect. Although the Bears ended in a loss, she said the student-athletes enjoy having a tough head-to-head meet.
“The best thing about us, is we improve meet by meet, so hopefully by nationals we are at our peak and perform well,” sophomore Kalee Garvin said.
Harris_Williams said the team will work on perfecting its skills for the rest of the season. She said she was proud of the performance the women had, but wanted to work on cleaning the routine before the next meet.
“The scores really show us what we need to work on, so I think we will practice according to scores we received tonight,” Garvin said.
Cheatam said the team is excited to show everyone who Baylor is in the next meet and the National Championships.
The Bears next meet is April 12 against Azusa Pacific at the Ferrell Center.
