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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Felecia Mulkey wanted to take the outcome of Tuesday night's final against Oregon out of the judges' hands.

It didn't matter.

In or out of the judges' hands, top-seeded Baylor dominated No. 2 seed Oregon from the opening compulsory heat and captured its second consecutive NCATA National Championship before a record Ferrell Center crowd of 2,163, winning all six events and outscoring the Ducks, 286.275-282.305.

"Every year has its own story," said Mulkey, who has won 21 straight Acrobatics & Tumbling meets in her two years at Baylor. "This year had its own story right up through the national tournament. It was no more special than any other, but there's something to be said for winning on your home court and in front of this kind of crowd. It's so much fun. I can't get enough. I don't want to leve. I'm just going to live in the Ferrell Center tonight."

Beating Oregon (11-3) for the sixth straight time, Baylor (10-0) took control from the opening compulsory acro heat and lost just one of the 19 heats before the closing team event. The Bears earned their highest scores of the year in compulsory (38.90), pyramid (29.80), toss (29.45) and tumbling (58.675).

"Earlier in the year, we had been struggling in the compulsory rounds," junior All-American Kaelyn Cowan said, "so we were just focused on making that our strong point. We took it and went for the rest of the meet. It was really exciting."

Cowan was part of the compulsory pyramid heat team that scored a 9.95 for the second straight night and helped the Bears take a 38.90-38.40 edge through the four compulsory heats.

"I knew this morning that we were going to be OK," Mulkey said. "I can tell by the way they are in the morning and just how they handle themselves. There was an eerie calm in the locker room, and it was just our day. I told them in the locker room, this is a national championship meet, but let's not give anybody any power over defining us."

Oregon won the six-element heat but still lost the acro event, 29.40-29.15. And then the Bears posted 9.95 scores in the twist and release pyramid heats to take a full one-point lead at the break, 98.100-97.100.

Flashing a smile reminiscent of her mother - former Olympic gold-medalist gymnast Mary Lou (Retton) Kelley - junior top Shayla Kelley said Tuesday's result and back-to-back national championships "show everybody how hard we've been working all year. For it to pay off like that, it was absolutely incredible."

After extending the lead with a 29.45-29.20 edge in the toss event, the Bears dominated the tumbling and took control with a near-perfect duo pass (9.95) by sophomore Lauren Sturm and freshman Kaylee Adams. The night before, Adams was out of synch and didn't finish the pass, resulting in a season-low score of 8.70.

"It's not about how bad you fall, it's about how much you come back," Adams said. "It was so amazing, probably the best feeling I've ever had at any meet."

Adams jumped in the arms of the taller Sturm at the end of the pass, saying, "That feeling of the crowd cheering us on, I knew we had hit it."

Noticing that Adams was nervous before the meet, Mulkey asked the freshman what she was afraid of, and she said, "I don't want to let the team down."

"I told her, `There is absolutely no way you can let them down, no matter what you do.' And she didn't. She rose to occasion. She was so amazing."

After matching 9.50 scores in the triple and quad pass, the Bears got near-perfect marks from Amanda Graceffa in the aerial pass (9.875), Kiara Nowlin in the six-element (9.95) and Sturm in the open pass (9.90).

Nowlin remained perfect for the year in the team six-element event, outscoring Oregon individual national champion Taylor Galvin, 9.95-9.90, after earning perfect 10.0 scores the previous two nights. "I'll take a national title any day," Nowlin said. "I didn't get a 10, but I was so excited about the pass. I thought it was solid. And this is the most amazing feeling."

In the closing team event, Baylor outscored Oregon, 100.05-98.78, with the Bears erupting in celebration when the scores were announced. As green, white and gold confetti rained down, they joyously reveled in another national championship.

"This experience was way better, because we were in front of our family, friends, fans, people from around Texas," Nowlin said. "We feed off their energy. We can do it when there's no energy in the room. But when there is energy and everybody is yelling for you, it's just so much more fun. It's a better experience."

Already looking ahead to next year, Mulkey said she has a great group of freshmen coming in. "I guess the bar is pretty high, but we're just going to try to win another one next year," she said. "Why can't we keep winning?"

THE RUNDOWN
The Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling team defeated the Oregon Ducks 286.275-282.305, Tuesday evening to claim their second straight National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) National Championship at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

The Bears edged the Ducks in the compulsory round and posted their highest compulsory round score of the year to take the lead 38.90-38.40. In the acro round Baylor bested Oregon again winning the round, 29.40-29.15 and extended their lead to 68.300-67.550. The Bears came out strong in the pyramid event, 29.80-29.55 and furthered their lead over the Ducks, 98.100-97.100, before heading into half.

Following the toss round, Baylor topped Oregon, 29.45-29.20 to win their fourth event of the night and keep their lead over the Ducks, 127.550-126.300.

The Bears recorded another season high score in the tumbling event, 58.675-57.225 and Baylor headed into the final event up 186.225-183.525.

In the team event, Baylor secured their second straight national championship with a win, 100.5-98.78.

HIGHLIGHTS
- The team of Toni Bronisevsky, Allie Alaman, Kaelyn Cowan, Jena Fisher and Lauren Sturm posted a 9.95 in heat 3 of the pyramid event.
- The Bears pyramid round score of 29.80 tied a season high for the Bears and matched Baylor's fourth highest pyramid score all-time.
- Kiara Nowlin soared once again in her 6 element pass with a 9.95.
- Lauren Sturm and Kaylee Adams earned Baylor's highest duo pass score of the season with a 9.95. - The Bears set season high scores in the compulsory, pyramid, toss and tumbling events.

STAT OF THE DAY
The meet marked an NCATA Championship and Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling attendance record with 2,163 fans.

TOP QUOTE
"I knew this morning we were going to be okay, I can tell by the way they are in the morning and just how they handle themselves," head coach Felecia Mulkey said. "There was an eerie calm in the locker room, it was just our day. We decided and I told them that this is a national championship meet but lets not give anybody any power over defining us I don't care what the scores are, every time lets walk off satisfied."

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