Pittsburgh, Pa. – The No. 7 Duquesne University acrobatics and tumbling team earned a Top-10 victory Wednesday night, sweeping all six events in a 258.670–247.390 win over No. 10 Azusa Pacific inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The Dukes broke or tied program highs in 10 heats and in each of the first four events in the statement victory. A 9.95 in compulsory toss was the highest score ever recorded by Duquesne in a single heat, part of seven heats in the first half scoring 9.75 or better. Program highs in pyramid (29.45) and toss (26.85) were nearly flawless, with deductions of less than a point in each event.
Duquesne opened with a 37.10 in compulsory, tying a program high for the third consecutive meet. In compulsory pyramid,
Georgia Clancy,
Alia Ellis,
Natalie Angland,
McKenna Fisher,
Caileigh Kertis,
Morgan Shaffer,
Carly Longenecker,
Mireya Maymi,
Briella Unger,
Taylor Wallace,
Abby McDermott, and
Addie Wright posted a 9.85 to match a Duquesne best. Compulsory toss, featuring
Sienna Johnson, Kertis, Unger, Wallace, McDermott, Clancy,
Mia Dipner,
Alaina Baumgartner, Maymi, and Ellis, scored 9.95 — the highest heat score in the young program history — with just 0.05 in deductions.
The second stanza was highlighted by 9.75s in acro five-element and seven-element passes. Five-element passes featured Longenecker, Ellis, Wallace, and Kertis, while seven-element, which tied a program best, included
Abby Eberle, Dipner,
Anna Trent, and
Mia Kenney.
Program highs in pyramid and toss bookended halftime. The Dukes also set a mark in inversion with
Jamie Bray, Ellis, McDermott, Kertis, Dipner,
Genevieve Muise, and
Clare Frantti scoring 9.90 — the second 9.9 of the meet. Synchronized pyramid recorded 9.80 with Longenecker, Ellis,
McKenna Fisher, Shaffer, Wright, Clancy,
Claire Piper,
Sarah Golie, McDermott, Muise, Kenney, and Maymi. Open pyramid —
Claire Marshall, Baumgartner, Unger, Maymi,
Lindsay Kivlan, McDermott, Kertis, Ellis, Longenecker, and Frantti — tied a program best from last season closing the half.
The second half opened with back-to-back program bests in 450 salto (8.90) by Clancy, Dipner, Ellis, Baumgartner, and Maymi, followed by an 8.95 in synchronized toss by the same group, mirrored by Johnson, Kertis, Unger, Wallace, and McDermott.
The Dukes broke or tied program highs in six consecutive heats from seven-element acro through synchronized toss.
In tumbling, the trio pass unit of Frantti, Johnson, and Golie tied a Duquesne high of 8.50, matching the score they set in the program's inaugural meet, while freshman Kivlan broke her own program record in open pass with 9.425. All individual passes scored above nine, including Piper's aerial pass (9.225) and Unger's six-element pass (9.450), helping the Dukes edge the Cougars by a narrow 0.1 in tumbling.
Duquesne led 94.90–91.15 at the half and stamped the victory with a near seven-point edge in the team event, scoring 84.97 — the best of the season.
TOP-10 HISTORY AT DUQUESNE
- The meet was the first top-10 meeting in any sport inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, including during the A.J. Palumbo Center era (1988-2019).
- The last time Duquesne hosted a top-10 matchup in any sport was Jan. 18, 1962, when No. 5 men's basketball hosted No. 3 Cincinnati at the Pitt Field House.
UP NEXT
Duquesne begins a two-meet road stretch Sunday, March 15, traveling to No. 6 Fairmont State.
POST-MEET PRESS CONFERENCE
Head Coach
Michaela Soper,
Sienna Johnson,
Georgia Clancy
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.
