WACO, TX — The No. 1-ranked Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team began postseason competition with a 279.200 to 263.390 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Gannon Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.
Baylor (10-0) topped the Lady Knights (5-2) by sweeping all six events and winning all 20 heats, securing its 28th consecutive meet victory in the process. With the win, the Bears improve to 4-0 all-time against Gannon and have defeated the Lady Knights in the quarterfinals in three of the last four NCATA National Championship Tournaments.
Baylor opened the meet with a 38.150 to 35.950 event win in compulsory and carried that momentum into acro, extending the lead to 67.375 to 63.325 through two events.
In pyramid, the Bears scored above a 9.75 in all three heats, moving their meet total to 96.875, nearly five points ahead of the Lady Knights’ 91.975 score at halftime.
Baylor began the second half of the meet strong with another event win in toss, staying in front 125.600 to 119.450, and put on a solid performance in tumbling to see the lead rise to 182.650 to 172.350.
Senior Hope Bravo led the charge in tumbling, scoring a 9.925 in the aerial pass. Seniors Kaylee Adams and Bailey Hollier also contributed passes that earned a 9.825 and 9.750 respectively.
The Bears finished off the meet with a 96.55 score in the team event, which sealed the victory.
With the win, Baylor will advance to face No. 4 Quinnipiac in a semifinal contest set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. It will be Baylor’s sixth-consecutive NCATA semifinal appearance.
For tickets, visit: http://www.baylorbears.com/tickets/ [baylorbears.com]. For updates on the program, follow @BaylorAcroTumb on Twitter and Instagram and @BaylorAcrobaticsandTumbling on Facebook.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
On Hope Bravo’s aerial pass…
“I think she came out of the womb doing those whips. There’s nobody in the country that can do them like her, they are flawless. She’s been working really hard and that was a pretty controlled landing. She’s got other passes, but why would we let her do anything else? She is the master of those whips.”
- Baylor head coach Felecia Mulkey
