HONOLULU, Hawaii. – Coming off a national runner-up finish last season, Azusa Pacific acrobatics and tumbling team picked up where they left off, defeating Hawai'i Pacific by a final score of 281.87-272.80 Friday evening in Honolulu.
How it Happened: Despite the Sharks narrowly winning three of the four compulsory heats, the second-ranked Cougars held a lead of 1.3 points thanks to a superior performance in the compulsory acro heat. The Cougars put up a 9.35 in the heat to the Sharks' 7.75. That advantage would play itself out again in the acro event, as Jessica Gill and Hannah Alonzo put together a flawless performance on the 5-element heat, scoring the team's first perfect 10 of the season. The pair would combine with Sophia Gardner to put up a 9.95 in the 7-element heat as well, as the Cougars would just about double their advantage through the acro event, putting the lead at just over two and a half points.
Gill and Alonzo were back at it as part of the inverted pyramid heat, joined by teammates Gabby Drago, Sophia Gardner, Kenna Minakawa, Shaelyn Marlborough, and Lily Richardson, as the Cougars recorded another perfect 10 in the heat. Both teams performed at a high level in the pyramid event, with the Cougars narrowly winning the event by just five one-hundredths of a point, 29.45-29.40, leaving the Cougars with a 96.7-94.1 lead at halftime. Coming out of intermission, Azusa Pacific continued to build the lead, with 2021 NCATA All-American Jacie Van de Zilver and company putting up a 9.90 in the 450 Salto toss as part of a toss event win that added another 1.25 points to the Cougars' margin, which by now was approaching four full points.
Fifth-ranked Hawai'i Pacific narrowed the gap slightly during the multi-person tumbling heats, but the Cougars quickly recovered in the solo tumbling passes as Van de Zilver, Gill, and freshman McKenna Dawson each scored a 9.80 or better, which resulted in the lead extending by another 0.45 points heading into the team event, where the Cougars put up an impressive score of 99.97 out of a possible 107 points, winning the team event by more than four and a half points to secure the victory.
By the Numbers: Both 10.0 scores the Cougars put up were the first the program has ever recorded on those respective heats, and automatically qualifies the athletes involved for the event finals at April's national championships. The Cougars now lead the all-time series against Hawai'i Pacific 12-4, including eight consecutive wins. The Cougars are now 7-5 in season opening matches.
Coaches' Corner: Starting her second season in charge, coach Kara Willard offered her thoughts on the opening night performance: "The team came out very strong with high energy. I was very pleased with their focus for their first meet. This performance shows they'll be a team to be reckoned with this season."
Up Next: The Cougars, who won their season opener for the fifth consecutive year, will have their first home meet of the season on Tuesday, March 1, when they will host both Hawai'i Pacific and Gannon (Penn.) in a tri-meet scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. The meet will be streamed live on Cougars All-Access.
