PITTSBURGH – The No. 12 Duquesne acrobatics and tumbling team shined in its inaugural season finale Sunday afternoon, posting a season-high score in a 260.760–197.550 win over Buffalo State at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Dukes closed their debut campaign with a 4-3 record.
"This was a historic end to a very historic season," said Coach Soper post-meet. "It was a really impactful and incredible season to be ranked 12th in the nation and to be able to finish on a high like this. It is a culmination of all the hard work from these young ladies."
After a 21-day break between meets, Duquesne wasted no time building momentum, racing out to a double-digit lead after the compulsory event and never looking back. The Dukes outscored Buffalo State in all 19 heats and six events to cruise to a dominant win filled with season highs.
Duquesne posted season-best marks in all three first-half events: 37.10 in compulsory, 27.70 in acro and 28.90 in pyramid, resulting in its highest halftime score of the year at 93.70 — a 19.85-point lead over the Bengals. The 28.90 total in the pyramid event featured just 0.60 deductions, the fewest of any event this season.
The strong start included four season-high heats.
Sienna Johnson,
Alaina Baumgartner,
McKenna Fisher,
Abby McDermott,
Michela Del Rosso,
Mireya Maymi,
Taylor Wallace and
Mia Dipner opened the meet with a 9.10 in compulsory acro. The Dukes also set season highs in the five-element acro (9.65 –
Carly Longenecker,
Alia Ellis, McDermott and
Taylor Hollis) and six-element acro (8.75 – Johnson,
Ailee Sheehan, Baumgartner, Del Rosso, Dipner,
Abby Eberle and Maymi).
The synchronized pyramid team — Johnson, Ellis, McDermott, Fisher,
Genevieve Muise, Longenecker,
Natalie Angland, Dipner and
Anna Trent — delivered its top score of the year with a 9.75.
Longenecker, Ellis, Angland, Fisher, McDermott, Hollis, Del Rosso, Maymi,
Madeline Hollingsworth, Wallace, Muise and Dipner recorded the highest heat score of the meet with a 9.80 out of 10 in compulsory pyramid.
In the toss event, Johnson, Trent, Angland, Dipner, Ellis, Eberle,
Briella Unger,
Claire Piper, Muise and Hollingsworth tied a season-high 8.50 in the synchronized toss, helping the Dukes collect 26.25 points in the event.
The tumbling event featured three straight nine-plus scores in individual passes. Johnson scored a 9.10 (out of 9.55) in the aerial pass, Unger earned a 9.400 (out of 9.75) in the six-element pass and Piper capped the event with a 9.30 (out of 9.55) in the open pass. Duquesne posted its largest margin of the meet in tumbling, outscoring Buffalo State 51.950–36.600.
The Dukes closed the meet with their best team event score of the season — an 88.86 — to eclipse 260 points for the first time in program history.
POST-MEET PRESS CONFERENCE
Head coach
Michaela Soper
Sienna Johnson &
Abby McDermott
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.
