By Aidan O’Connor | Sports Writer
No. 1 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling celebrated senior night, setting the NCTA attendance record and a 287.795 to 283.305 win over No. 2 Oregon Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
The meet had the highest attendance ever for the NCATA, with 2,351 attendees. It was the first time a live band had been at an acrobatics and tumbling meet and Baylor scored the most Perfect 10s recorded in a meet (5). For a small sport, Saturday marked a step toward growth.
“When we created the sport, this is why we created it — for that night,” head coach Felicia Mulkey said. “For these women to have their communities come out and support them. The band is there. There are 3,000 people in the stands. I was sitting there last night and I got a message that I think 100 members of the band are going to be there … I would have been happy with 20. I was texting people who were with me in the trenches at the beginning when we created the sport going, I wish you all could be here because this is why we created it.”
Starting off with the smallest advantage in start-up value this season at 0.27, the Bears (9-0) began strong in Compulsory scoring a 9.75 in the Acro heat, 9.90 in the Pyramid heat, 9.95 in the Toss heat and 8.90 in the Tumbling heat. The scores from Acro and Pyramid matched their season-highs. With the first event complete, Baylor led Oregon (5-2), 38.500 to 37.450.
In the optional portion of the meet, the Bears were dominant, earning a Perfect 10 in the 5 Element heat and a 9.70 in the 6 Element heat. Redshirt freshman base Leavy McDonald and senior top Jordan Gruendler added on with another Perfect 10 in the 7 Element heat. The green and gold excelled in their unique sequence of high-handstand to straddle to high-handstand before an extended handstand slide to split to straddle.
In the tightest portion of the night, the Bears edged the Ducks by just 0.40.
“For 7 Element, Jordan had been talking about wanting to get a 10 for as long as I’ve known her … and it’s really difficult to get a 10,” McDonald said. “Being able to get that 10 on her senior night, I mean, that was just surreal.”
Going into halftime, Baylor was razor-sharp in the Pyramid, scoring a Perfect 10 in every single heat. It was the first time Baylor swept an entire event since March 12, 2015, which was also against the Ducks. At the end of the first half, Baylor led Oregon by 1.7 points.
The Bears carried their success into the second half, tying a season-high 9.80 points in the 450 Salto Toss heat, 9.70 in the Synchronized heat and 9.85 in the Open heat. While still very close, Baylor maintained its lead by two points.
In Tumbling, Baylor earned a season-high in three heats: 9.85 in the Duo Pass heat, 9.65 in the Trio Pass heat and 9.75 in the Quad Pass heat. The Bears ended the event outscoring the Ducks 58.625 to 58.275.
To finish off the meet, Baylor scored a season-high 101.57 in the Team Event compared to Oregon’s 99.43. This pushed the Bears over the top to win the meet 287.795 to 283.305.
“We’re kind of just getting started,” Gruendler said. “We got three more big meets coming up, and we plan on hitting them even harder than those five 10s that we got today.”
The Bears will be back on the mat for the NCATA National Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the Elmen Center from April 24-27 as they look to win their 10th straight national championship.
