By Tyler White | Sports Writer
After eight-straight NCATA National Championships, No. 1 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling is looking to continue its success in 2024. In particular, the athletes, both newcomers and veterans, are anticipating the way they will compete this year.
Freshman base D’ahni Branch said she’s looking forward to how the team will work together throughout the season. She said the familial atmosphere of the group has been an important factor and that she’s excited to see how it impacts their performance.
“I feel like it’s the environment, because that’s the main thing that drew me to Baylor: seeing how well coaches interacted with athletes,” Branch said. “I feel like this team is very family-oriented, so we all get along well.”
Branch said an important aspect of the season is how head coach Felecia Mulkey sets up the team for success. She said Mulkey has made some shifts to improve the details of the performances and always wants to make sure everyone is able to compete on the mat for the team.
“She tries to make sure everyone has their best foot forward so that we can be our best as a team … just being prepared from the beginning and knowing that if something happens, she has it covered,” Branch said.
Branch said she’s ready to start competing. She said they’ve been preparing all fall and, with the exhibition behind them, are looking forward to seeing how they perform.
“I feel like we’ve been doing this for so long so far, and we already had the exhibition,” Branch said. “We know what to expect of it. It’s not any different from practices.”
Senior top and tumbler Ally Joswick said the team is getting excited to get into the season after a strong semester of training.
“I think we definitely feel prepared, just given our training from the fall,” Joswick said. “We’re definitely the strongest we’ve ever been coming off from the fall, and I think everyone is getting really giddy and excited about the upcoming meet this weekend. I’m excited to see just the talent we have on the team show throughout the season.”
As a senior, Joswick said she has been able to assist many of the newcomers and pass on what she has learned.
“I’ve noticed that I’ve been able to kind of give corrections to the underclassmen and kind of feel confident in what I’ve done throughout the last few years,” Joswick said. “And so it’s just been cool to kind of pass down what previous upperclassmen have taught me and just kind of build up the underclassmen so that they can be formed into great leaders.”
Joswick said her word for this year is “still,” and she continues to reflect on that word as the season begins. She said she wants to be present for everything, cherishing her final competitions with the team that has been her family for years.
“It’s just been such a positive and uplifting environment,” Joswick said. “I’ve really grown a lot on this team, and so I’m just prepared to be present this last season and not miss any moments.”
