AZUSA, Calif. – In the opening meet of the 2025 campaign, the Cougars held off Hawai'i Pacific by a final score of 248.690-229.735, highlighted by a strong first half from Azusa Pacific.

How It Happened: The evening got off to an inauspicious start as there was a fall in the initial compulsory acro heat that gave Azusa Pacific a commanding four-point lead from the very start of the evening.  While the Sharks recovered in the remaining heats of the compulsory event, the Cougars were able to build on that advantage, highlighted by a 9.90 in the toss heat, and extend their lead to nearly five points by the end of the event.  A similar issue in the 6-element acro heat handed another two-point advantage the Cougars' way, stretching their lead to more than seven points.  After the conclusion of the pyramid event, the Cougars entered halftime with a lead of nine and a half points, 92.75-83.2.

Hawai'i Pacific earned their first heat win in the synchronized toss event, but the Cougars still narrowly pulled out the event win by half a point. Allee Kooch and Kendall Sullivan got the tumbling event started well with a 9.05 in the duo tumbling pass and each earned a 9.4 or higher on their solo passes.  Pressed into service after an injury, Kourtny Nolan turned in an impressive 9.45 on the 6-element pass as well, allowing the event to essentially end in a draw and leave the Cougars with a 10-point lead going into the team event.  Despite a few errors in the final event, the Cougars earned nearly 76 points in the team event to pull away for a 19-point margin of victory.

All-time, the Cougars are now 16-4 against Hawai'i Pacific, and have beaten the Sharks in 12 consecutive meetings.  Azusa Pacific is 9-6 in season openers.  This meet was also the first led by Reigh Lea Moore, the third head coach in Cougar history.

Up Next: Ranked 7th in the preseason poll, Azusa Pacific (1-0) will next head on the road to take on the team that has been #1 for most of the last decade, Baylor.  The match against the Bears will take place on March 1st at 7:00 p.m. Central (5:00 Pacific).