Fairmont, W.Va. – The No. 7 Duquesne University acrobatics and tumbling team posted a season-high 260.595 but was edged by No. 6 Fairmont State, 267.140, in a top-10 NCATA matchup Sunday afternoon at the Feaster Center.
The Dukes had six program-best heat scores and two event-total highs. New marks were set in Six-Element Acro (9.00 out of 9.35), Open Pyramid (9.80 out of 10), Aerial Pass (9.325 out of 9.550) and Six-Element Pass (9.600 out of 9.750), while Synchronized Pyramid (9.80 out of 10) and the 450 Salto Toss (8.90 out of 9.0) tied program bests.
Acro produced a program-best event total of 28.450, with Duquesne scoring 9.0 or better in all three heats. The Five-Element Acro heat won over the Falcons with a 9.80 from
Carly Longenecker,
Alia Ellis,
Taylor Wallace and
Caileigh Kertis. The program-record Six-Element Acro score came from
Sienna Johnson,
Mia Dipner,
Mireya Maymi,
Abby Eberle,
Georgia Clancy,
Abby McDermott and
Alaina Baumgartner. Seven-Element — Eberle, Dipner,
Anna Trent and
Mia Kenney — capped the event with a 9.65.
Pyramid also continued its strong start to the season, posting a program-high 29.45 for the second straight meet and marking the third consecutive meet with a program record. All three heats scored 9.8 or better, led by the Inversion Pyramid — Ellis, McDermott, Kertis, Dipner,
Jamie Bray,
Genevieve Muise and
Clare Frantti — which charted a meet-high 9.85 for the Dukes. Back-to-back 9.80 scores followed in the Synchronized and Open heats. The synchronized group of Longenecker, Ellis, Clancy, McDermott, Muise, Kenney, Maymi,
McKenna Fisher,
Morgan Shaffer,
Addie Wright,
Claire Piper and
Sarah Golie, had the first 9.80, then the open pyramid unit of
Claire Marshall,
Briella Unger,
Lindsay Kivlan, Baumgartner, Maymi, McDermott, Kertis, Ellis, Longenecker and Frantti matched the mark to set the program high.
Duquesne totaled 23.475 in deductions compared to Fairmont State's 23.450, but a start value advantage of more than six points proved to be the difference for the Falcons. The Dukes recorded their cleanest event in pyramid with a meet-low 0.55 in deductions and won the event, while also keeping deductions under one point in the program-record acro event.
The 450 Salto Toss unit of Clancy, Dipner, Ellis, Baumgartner and Maymi received just 0.10 in deductions to score an 8.90 out of 9.00.
Piper (Aerial Pass, 9.325 out of 9.550) and Unger (Six-Element Pass, 9.600 out of 9.750) posted back-to-back program highs before Kivlan tallied a 9.400 out of 9.550 — her second straight score reaching the 9.4 mark — to close the tumbling event. The trio has scored above 9.0 in all three individual passes in every meet this season.
The meet finished with a season-best 87.670 in the team event, improving the previous season high by nearly three points and pushing the Dukes past the 260-point mark for the first time this season.
UP NEXT
Duquesne travels to face No. 1 Baylor on Saturday, March 28. The meet is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) and will air on ESPN+.
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.
