PITTSBURGH – The No. 15 Duquesne acrobatics & tumbling team lost a heartbreaker to No. 14 LIU by a razor-thin margin of 0.015 points, falling 243.925-243.910 on Sunday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The Dukes (3-3) entered the team event trailing by 0.575 points and outscored the Sharks (3-4) in the final round, posting an 83.82 to LIU's 83.25, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
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"We knew that with a No. 14 vs. No. 15 matchup, it was going to come down to the wire," head coach
Michaela Soper said. "I'm proud of the team … I think they did a really good job of keeping their mindset positive throughout the meet, especially when the lead was swinging back and forth the entire time."
HOW IT HAPPENED
LIU took an early 1.9-point lead with a 36.15-34.25 advantage in the compulsory event. However, Duquesne responded in the acro event, outscoring LIU 23.05-20.90, highlighted by a 9.25 in the five-element heat featuring
Carly Longenecker,
Alia Ellis,
Abby McDermott and
Taylor Hollis.
Despite recording a season high in the synchronized pyramid (9.50) by
Sienna Johnson,
McKenna Fisher,
Genevieve Muise,
Natalie Angland,
Mia Dipner,
Anna Trent,
Madeline Hollingsworth, Ellis, McDermott and Longenecker, the Dukes trailed by less than a point at halftime, 85.50-84.80.
LIU extended its lead by taking the toss event by less than a point, but Duquesne battled back in tumbling, earning a 50.450-49.675 advantage to set up the dramatic finish.
Briella Unger's 9.275 in the six-element pass led the Dukes in tumbling, while the trio pass team of
Clare Frantti,
Sarah Golie and Johnson won their heat with a 7.750.
NOTES
Duquesne won three events (Acro, Tumbling and Team) and four heats (six-element acro, synchronized pyramid, trio pass tumbling and six-element pass tumbling) with ties in the quad and aerial pass tumbling heats ... The 243.910 meet total was a season-low for the Dukes and just the second time below 250 this season.
UP NEXT
Duquesne hosts Buffalo State on Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for its final regular-season meet of its inaugural year. Admission is free.
POST-MEET PRESS CONFERENCE
Head coach
Michaela Soper
FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow the Duquesne Acrobatics and Tumbling team all season online at
GoDuquesne.com and on
Twitter (X) and
Instagram (@duqacrotumb).
ABOUT ACROBATICS & TUMBLING
For more information on the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling, visit
TheNCATA.org.
