By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Losing the tumbling event for the first time in five years, No. 1-ranked Baylor acrobatics & tumbling held a slim lead of 1.875 points over No. 2 Oregon going into the final team event Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
            Its 22-meet win streak on the line, Baylor had a rare nails-chewing moment before the final scores were announced. But the Bears (7-0) outscored the Ducks (3-2) in the team event and won with their closest margin in two years, 278.52 to 274.99.
            "We talked about it, let's enjoy the competition, let's enjoy getting pushed and let's rise to the occasion," said Baylor coach Felecia Mulkey, who improved to 18-2 in head-to-head meetings with Oregon, where she won the first four of her 11-consecutive NCATA national championships.
            "I think it's a great place to be, nearing the championship, having a close meet like this, and it kind of lights a little fire under you. Had the team event not gone the way we wanted to go at the end . . . if the judges saw something better in that team event and they won, no argument here. They were glad to win, but they also were like, 'Okay, let's get back to work.'''
            Before a Senior Day crowd of 1,315, Baylor won eight of the 10 heats in the first half of the meet and had a somewhat comfortable lead of 2.05 points, 97.95-95.90. Most of that separation came in the acro event, where the Bears had scores of 9.95, 9.90 and 9.90.
            But one of the highlights came in the pyramid open heat, with Baylor recording its eighth perfect 10.0 mark of the season and first in that heat.
            The meet turned, though, when junior Kristen McCain fell in the tumbling aerial pass and scored a 7.875. With Oregon tallying a score of 9.750, Baylor's seemingly safe lead dwindled to less than 1.5 points.
            "The Kristen McCain fall was a fluke. That child never falls, she's like a cat, she's always on her feet," Mulkey said. "And you've got to think, if she had hit that, we would have actually won the tumbling event by a few tenths. . . . I told her, 'We lifted you up, but you carry us on your back all the time with that tumbling pass.'''
            Literally and figuratively getting up off the mat, Baylor closed out the tumbling event strong with scores of 9.85 by freshman Aliyah "Chibi" Thomas in the 6-element pass and a 9.875 by senior Kamryn Kitchens in the open pass. That closed the gap in tumbling to just over half a point, 56.300-55.750, leaving the Bears up by 1.875 points overall going into the team event.
            "Kristen has carried us so many times, so it's no big deal, things happen," said Kitchens, one of seven seniors recognized at the end of the meet. "And she got up and killed it in team event. We're just so proud of her and everything she does every week."
            The reigning NCATA Athlete of the Week, Kitchens earned a perfect 10 in compulsory toss in a win over Frostburg State and came back with a perfect 10 in her aerial tumbling pass against Quinnipiac. This time, she missed the perfect score by just 12.5 hundredths of a point.
            "It wasn't a 10, but I was happy with it," Kitchens said. "I definitely want to work on getting consistent and try to get another one."
            Even in the team event, Baylor was a little off, falling on another tumbling pass "and had some really bad landings (on the other side of the mat)," Mulkey said. The Bears earned a score of 95.92 on a start value of 108.32, with Oregon getting a mark of 94.24.
            "In my opinion, the team event could have gone either way, but I didn't think they were going to make up that (point) differential," Mulkey said. "But had they beat us, I also would have been like, 'Well, it wasn't our best day.' It was fun, though, I loved it. I don't want to feel like that again, but I love these meets. . . . They don't feel it right now, but this was good. It was good to be pushed."
            The final point differential of 3.53 was Baylor's closest margin since beating Quinnipiac by 3.18 points in the 2021 NCATA National Championship final at the Ferrell Center, 279.790-276.610.
            Baylor closes out the regular season next Sunday with a road meet against No. 8 Hawaii Pacific (2-2) in the Shark Tank in Honolulu. The Bears will try to win their eighth-consecutive title at the NCATA National Championships April 27-29 in Wheeling, W. Va.
            "I love Hawaii, but my idea of a fun time in Hawaii is not 18- to 22-year-olds in downtown Honolulu," Mulkey said. "I'm going to be nervous. I'm like, 'If you're not with me, you're checking in with me.' Isn't that weird, when did I turn into Mom?"


WACO, Texas – No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling handled second-ranked Oregon on Senior Night in the Ferrell Center, winning 278.52 to 274.99.
 
The Bears (7-0) downed the Ducks (3-2) with a point differential of 3.53. BU won all but four heats and the tumbling event against UO.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Starting off the meet, Baylor had a Compulsory score of 38.40 after earning 9s in all heats. A score of 9.80 was garnered in Acro, 9.70 in Pyramid, 9.65 in Toss and a 9.25 in Tumbling. Oregon out-scored BU in Pyramid and Toss, both earning scores of 9.75, but the Bears outscored them by 0.45-points in the Tumbling heat. Going into the Acro event, Baylor led 38.40 to 38.00.
 
Moving into the optional portion of the meet, Baylor had a score of 9.95 in Heat 1, 9.90 in Heat 2 and 9.90 in Heat 3 of Acro to total 29.75 for the event. The Ducks had a 9.50, 9.20 and 9.80, respectively, for a total of 28.50. Going into the Pyramid event, BU was up 68.15 to 66.50.
 
In the Pyramid event, the Bears earned a 9.95 in Heat 1, the inversion heat. In heat two, BU earned a 9.85, the synchronized heat. In heat three, the Bears scored a perfect 10.0, the first time they've done so in that heat this season. With the event scoring a 29.80, the running total was updated to 97.95 for Baylor. Oregon totaled 29.40 for the event and had a score of 95.90 going into halftime, the Bears up 2.05-points.
 
In the Toss Event, Baylor had scores of 9.75, 9.55 and 9.60, respectively, to total 28.90 for the event. The Ducks scored a 9.60, 9.30 and 9.65, respectively, to total 28.55 Going into the fifth event, Tumbling, the Bears were up 126.85 to UO's 124.45.
 
In the Tumbling Event, Heat 1 (Duo) with junior Kristen McCain and freshman Aliyah "Chibi" Thomas scored a 9.6. In the Trio Heat (Heat 2), Katie Shiffer, Gianna Cameron and Emily Tobin scored a 9.2. The Quad Pass (Heat 3) had Kamryn Kitchens, Aliyah Kaloostian, Ally Joswick and Rakel Jeffries score a 9.35. The Aerial pass from Kristen McCain earned a 7.875, Thomas in the 6 Element pass (Heat 5) had a 9.85 and Kitchens in the Open pass (Heat 6) earned a 9.875 for the event's highest-scoring heat of the night. The Bears' total came to 55.750 for the event, while the Ducks scored a 56.300. Going into the nights final event, BU was up 182.600 to 180.750 from UO.
 
In the Team event, Baylor earned a score of 95.92 while Oregon earned a 94.24, bringing the meet score to a total of 278.52 to 274.99, BU taking the win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Baylor extends its win streak to 23 meets in a row, dating back to 2021
• The Bears dropped just 4 heats to the Ducks
• BU outscored Oregon by 3.53-points overall

 
STAT OF THE MEET

• Pyramid Heat 3, the open heat, earned its first perfect 10 of the season

 
NEXT UP
The Bears head to Honolulu to take on Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, April 9, for the season closer. Start time is set for 5 p.m. CT in the Shark Tank.
 
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.