AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's acrobatics and tumbling team got 2024 off on the right foot with a convincing 20-point victory, defeating Lander 277.97-257.16 Tuesday evening inside the Felix Event Center. The Cougars, who were ranked 5th in the NCATA preseason poll, won 17 out of 20 heats on the evening.
How It Happened: In their first-ever meeting against the visiting Bearcats, the Cougars got off to a fast start, winning all four heats in the compulsory event, with the highlight being a 9.75 in the toss heat. The event saw the Cougars jump out to a five-point advantage, 37.50-32-50. The home team's run of good form would carry over into the acro event, where the quartet of
Payton Springer,
Abbigale Abramson,
Jenna Moisio, and
Lily Richardson combined to put up a 9.55 in the 5-element heat. The Cougars again won the event, padding their lead to over 6 ½ points.
After a shaky first pyramid heat, the Cougars put together back-to-back dominating performances in the remaining two heats, including a 9.90 in the open heat, to stretch their advantage to nearly 10 points at halftime, 94.15-84.50. Azusa Pacific continued to pull away in the second half, sweeping all three heats in the toss event and winning five of six heats in the tumbling event, with the trio of Moisio,
Kourtny Nolan, and Abbigale Cortez impressing with a 9.20 out of a possible 9.55 on the trio pass, followed by a 9.80 by all-American
Sarah Lang on the open tumbling pass. The Cougars closed out the night with an outstanding 100.12-point effort in the team event to complete the victory.
By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific was facing Lander for the first time in any sport since their women's basketball teams squared off in the 2021 Elite Eight. The Cougars improved to 4-1 all-time against opponents from Conference Carolinas, one of two D2 conferences to sponsor acro as a sport. The Cougars are now 8-6 all-time in season openers.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific (1-0) will be on the road for their next three meets, starting with a trip to Hawai'i on Saturday to face PacWest rival Hawai'i Pacific. Meet time in the Shark Tank is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (5:00 Pacific).
