A&T Sweeps NCATA Weekly Awards
4/9/2025 3:31:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
Bears win all three for third time this season
WACO, Texas – No. 1 Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling has swept the NCATA's weekly awards for the third time this season, announced Wednesday by the association.
Payton Washington earned Athlete of the Week, Jordan Gruendler was named Specialist for Acro and Leavy McDonald earned the Freshman accolade.
This is Washington's fifth nod, McDonald's sixth, and Gruendler's fourth of the season but 11th of her career, while also being her fifth explicitly for Acro.
The weekly sweep is the seventh in program history, third of the season, and third for this particular grouping of student-athletes.
Washington, a sophomore top and tumbler from Round Rock, Texas, earns the Athlete award after competing in nine total heats for BU, seven of which are synchronized. She competes in at least one heat per event for the Bears. Against Oregon, she had scores of 8.9/10 or higher in all heats, with all but one scoring a 9.75/10 or higher. She was a part of the perfect 10 for the Synchronized Pyramid as one of the two tops. She helped the Bears tie or hit season-highs in six heats and in team event, with season-highs in Synch Pyramid, Quad Pass and Team but tying in Compulsory Acro and Toss, Heat 1 Toss and Heat 2 Toss. During the Team Event, she competes two standing tumbling passes with start values at 9.8, along with two synched running tumbling passes with SVs of 9.55. Along with that, she competes a toss with a 9.9 SV and a synchronized acro sequence. Her Toss in heat 1 was a kick-double, and her Open tumbling pass was a front punch roundoff back handspring back layout 540 roundoff back layout 360.
Gruendler, a senior top from San Antonio, was a part of four of the perfect 10s for the Bears against Oregon, two coming in Acro and two in Pyramid. As the top in Acro Heat 3, the Open heat, she competed a high-handstand to straddle to high-handstand before competing the extended handstand while her base straight-slides to split and then Gruendler competes a press-down straddle, a new skill, earning a 10/10. They are the only duo in the country to compete that skill and only duo to compete these sequences. In heat one, she competes hand-to-hand connections, earning a perfect 10/10 for her handstand to straddle as the second top.
McDonald was a part of all five perfect 10s for the Bears against No. 2 Oregon. She competes the two Acro heats mentioned above as Gruendler's base and competes in all three Pyramid heats with two different tops throughout as a mid-level base, earning perfect 10s across the board in all three heats. In Heat 1 of Pyramid, the Inversion heat, they compete a one-handed handstand. Heat 2, the Synchronized heat, is a high press, and the Open heat is a handstand. In the team event, she competes seven of the 30 required acro elements, five of which have an SV of 10, and is the mid-level base for a synched pyramid with an SV of 10.
Baylor All-Time NCATA Weekly Award Sweeps
NEXT UP
The Bears await the seeding and matchup for the 2025 NCATA Championship, to be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. on the campus of Augustana University.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.
Payton Washington earned Athlete of the Week, Jordan Gruendler was named Specialist for Acro and Leavy McDonald earned the Freshman accolade.
This is Washington's fifth nod, McDonald's sixth, and Gruendler's fourth of the season but 11th of her career, while also being her fifth explicitly for Acro.
The weekly sweep is the seventh in program history, third of the season, and third for this particular grouping of student-athletes.
Washington, a sophomore top and tumbler from Round Rock, Texas, earns the Athlete award after competing in nine total heats for BU, seven of which are synchronized. She competes in at least one heat per event for the Bears. Against Oregon, she had scores of 8.9/10 or higher in all heats, with all but one scoring a 9.75/10 or higher. She was a part of the perfect 10 for the Synchronized Pyramid as one of the two tops. She helped the Bears tie or hit season-highs in six heats and in team event, with season-highs in Synch Pyramid, Quad Pass and Team but tying in Compulsory Acro and Toss, Heat 1 Toss and Heat 2 Toss. During the Team Event, she competes two standing tumbling passes with start values at 9.8, along with two synched running tumbling passes with SVs of 9.55. Along with that, she competes a toss with a 9.9 SV and a synchronized acro sequence. Her Toss in heat 1 was a kick-double, and her Open tumbling pass was a front punch roundoff back handspring back layout 540 roundoff back layout 360.
Gruendler, a senior top from San Antonio, was a part of four of the perfect 10s for the Bears against Oregon, two coming in Acro and two in Pyramid. As the top in Acro Heat 3, the Open heat, she competed a high-handstand to straddle to high-handstand before competing the extended handstand while her base straight-slides to split and then Gruendler competes a press-down straddle, a new skill, earning a 10/10. They are the only duo in the country to compete that skill and only duo to compete these sequences. In heat one, she competes hand-to-hand connections, earning a perfect 10/10 for her handstand to straddle as the second top.
McDonald was a part of all five perfect 10s for the Bears against No. 2 Oregon. She competes the two Acro heats mentioned above as Gruendler's base and competes in all three Pyramid heats with two different tops throughout as a mid-level base, earning perfect 10s across the board in all three heats. In Heat 1 of Pyramid, the Inversion heat, they compete a one-handed handstand. Heat 2, the Synchronized heat, is a high press, and the Open heat is a handstand. In the team event, she competes seven of the 30 required acro elements, five of which have an SV of 10, and is the mid-level base for a synched pyramid with an SV of 10.
Baylor All-Time NCATA Weekly Award Sweeps
| Date | Athlete | Specialist | Freshman |
| February 21, 2018 | Ceara Gray | Kaylee Adams | Morgan Celum |
| April 8, 2021 | Kamryn Kitchens | Emily Tobin (Acro) | Riley Chimwala |
| April 16, 2021 | Kamryn Kitchens | Emily Tobin (Acro) | Riley Chimwala |
| February 28, 2024 | Riley Chimwala | Jordan Gruendler (Acro) | Payton Washington |
| February 26, 2025 | Payton Washington | Jordan Gruendler (Pyramid) | Leavy McDonald |
| March 5, 2025 | Payton Washington | Jordan Gruendler (Acro) | Leavy McDonald |
| April 9, 2025 | Payton Washington | Jordan Gruendler (Acro) | Leavy McDonald |
NEXT UP
The Bears await the seeding and matchup for the 2025 NCATA Championship, to be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. on the campus of Augustana University.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.
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