AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific acrobatics and tumbling team closed their home schedule with a 276.855-255.930 victory over 11th-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor Thursday evening inside the Felix Event Center. The Cougars honored their eight graduating seniors (Hannah Alonzo, Gabby Drago, Quincy Eisaman, Sophia Gardner, Jessica Gill, Hailey Kunimura, Kenna Minakawa, and Jacie Van de Zilver, all pictured above) at the conclusion of the meet, each of whom contributed to the win.
How It Happened: Competing in front of their home fans for the final time this season, the Cougars got off to their best start of the season in the compulsory event, with an acro heat that included Van De Zilver, Gill, Alonzo, and Gardner putting up a season-best 9.50. After fellow seniors Eisaman and Drago helped produce back-to-back 9.80s in the pyramid and toss heats, Van De Zilver, Gill, and Gardner, Kunimura, and the rest of the team, put up a season high in compulsory tumbling with a 9.30. The Cougars compiled a total score of 38.40 in the event, good for a lead of over a point.
The Cougars continued their strong start in the acro event, highlighted by a 9.95 in the 6-element heat. Then in the pyramid event, Azusa Pacific had a total score of 29.55 out of a possible 30 points, including their second-consecutive perfect 10 in the open pyramid heat that stretched the lead to four points at halftime, with a season-best score in the first half of 97.35.
Azusa Pacific would continue to pull away in the second half, doubling their lead over the course of the toss event, each of their three heats producing a score of at least 9.50. Each of the Cougars three solo tumbling passes scored at least a 9.85, with freshman Mckenna Dawson shining with a 9.95 on the open tumbling pass. And the team event saw Minikawa and the rest of the Cougars tack another seven points onto their margin with a clean performance and a score of 97.38.
By the Numbers: The 10.0 on the open pyramid heat is the sixth perfect score the Cougars have received this season, four of them coming in pyramid heats. Azusa Pacific scored a 9.80 or better in nine separate heats this evening, and won 18 out of the 20 heats in the match. Azusa Pacific is now 5-0 for the first time in program history, and have won eight consecutive regular-season meets dating back to the start of last season. The only other time the Cougars have won five matches in a row was during the 2014 season, when Azusa Pacific was the national runner-up. Over the past four seasons, the Cougar seniors honored tonight have compiled a record of 16-5, including 9-2 at home.
Up Next: The second-ranked Cougars have one final meet this regular season next Friday, when they will attempt to pick up their first-ever win at Oregon, who will be hosting this year's national championships in late April. The starting time inside Matthew Knight Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and the meet can be streamed HERE.
