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Azusa Pacific posted its highest acrobatics & tumbling score since 2012 in a March 15, 2017 win over Concordia University Wisconsin
Ryan Walvoord

Acrobatics & Tumbling Joe Reinsch / photo by Ryan Walvoord

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AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific used its experience and depth to its advantage to post a 33-point win over Concordia University Wisconsin, and the Cougars posted their best score since 2012 with a 286.435-performance while CUW also tallied a season-best with 253.155 points.

The victory is Azusa Pacific's second in a row, lifting the Cougars to a 2-2 overall record while CUW falls to 3-2 on the year. The only previous time Azusa Pacific scored higher was a narrow road win in 2012 over Quinnipiac, when the Cougars scored 287.375 points and won by a margin of just sixteen-hundredths of a point.

"Our record doesn't show the talent we have and the scores we're capable of producing," Azusa Pacific head coach Colleen Kausrud said. "We have a lot to prove, and every time we go out there we know we have an opportunity to continue to improve and affect (national championship) seedings."

Azusa Pacific won every heat of every event, except for the toss heat in the compulsory event in which both teams posted perfect-10s, in Wednesday's National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) dual meet. The Cougars added a second perfect-10 in the final heat of the pyramid event, which took the meet into halftime with Azusa Pacific holding a lead of 97.50 points to Concordia's 93.35 points.

Azusa Pacific scored a season-high in 16 of the 20 heats, including new season-bests in all three heats of both the pyramid and toss events. All three of the Cougars' solo tumbling passes scored 9.775 points or better, led by Ashleigh Pitts' aerial pass which scored 9.975. In the six-element solo pass which followed Pitts, Courtney Moser scored 9.775 points, and Heather Hovander wrapped up the tumbling event with a score of 9.925 in the open solo pass. Noelle Miranda was the only individual who was on the floor for both of the perfect-10 efforts.

"Our tosses were great tonight, and we're always working hard to improve and pick up points in tumbling," Kausrud said. "We still have a lot to prove, and the team really believes it and practices like it. There were some scores tonight that should give us a chance to compete in some of the individual national championships."

Azusa Pacific returns to action with an April 8 visit to Oregon, which comes three days prior to the Cougars' regular-season finale at home against defending NCATA national champion Baylor.
 

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Players Mentioned

Heather Hovander

#25 Heather Hovander

Base
5' 4"
Junior
Noelle Miranda

#42 Noelle Miranda

Top/Base
5' 6"
Junior
Ashleigh Pitts

#27 Ashleigh Pitts

Top/Base
5' 3"
Junior
Courtney Moser

#18 Courtney Moser

Base
5' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Heather Hovander

#25 Heather Hovander

5' 4"
Junior
Base
Noelle Miranda

#42 Noelle Miranda

5' 6"
Junior
Top/Base
Ashleigh Pitts

#27 Ashleigh Pitts

5' 3"
Junior
Top/Base
Courtney Moser

#18 Courtney Moser

5' 3"
Freshman
Base