By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling flipped closer to another undefeated season with its 280.495-266.770 win over No. 4 Quinnipiac University Saturday in the Ferrell Center. The Bears are now 6-0 the season and have won their 22nd-straight meet going all the way back to 2021.
“I’m so happy and really proud of the team,” head coach Felecia Mulkey said. “They stepped up to the plate and executed. There’s still room for improvement, but they did exactly what they needed to do today. Extremely proud of them all.”
Kicking the meet off, Baylor won every single heat in the opening event, which was Compulsory. They scored over nine in all but a single heat, and were able to take a 38.10-36.65 lead going into the second event.
The second event, Acro, was more of the same for the green and gold as it took every heat with a 9.75 score or better. It won the event 29.6-28.2, and it led 67.7-64.85 after two events.
Before the half, the Bears dominated the Pyramid event, scoring a perfect 10 in the inverted pyramid heat which helped them take a sleek event win despite a near perfect score. The event score was 29.8-29.4, and they took a 97.5-94.25 advantage going into the break.
Out of the half, Baylor narrowly escaped the Toss event with a half-point victory, 28.15-27.65. Despite putting up nines in all heats, they dropped their first heat in the synchronized toss with a 9.35-9.25 loss. However, they came back with a vengeance in the fifth event, which was Tumbling, scoring a 9.35 or better in all six heats, winning five of the six. In the aerial pass, senior tumbler Kamryn Kitchens recorded the first individual perfect 10.0 since 2017 against Fairmont State University. Going into the final event, the Bears led 183.675-178.800.
The team also notched its first 10 on a tumbling pass since 2020.
“That was so much fun, definitely one of those things you dream about getting when you come here,” Kitchens said. “It was cool to have it actually happen, but you have to keep improving and keep getting better.”
The team event was their widest margin of victory, putting an official end to the meet with a 96.820-87.970 win.
Their next meet is against No. 5 University of Oregon in their third-straight home meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Ferrell Center.
