Baylor
Duquesne
No. 1 A&T Begins Title Defense with Quarterfinal Win Over No. 8 Duquesne
4/24/2026 12:26:00 AM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
Bears score the first perfect 10 of the championship
AZUSA, California – The top-ranked Baylor acrobatics & tumbling team delivered a commanding victory over No. 8 Duquesne on Friday night at the Felix Events Center, posting a 273.385–250.770 win.
The Bears (10-0) topped the Dukes (3-4) by 22.515 points in the NCATA National Championship Quarterfinal round. Entering the meet, Baylor held a 13.54-point advantage in start value. The win marked the Bears' 60th consecutive win and moved Baylor to the Semifinal round.
"Today sets the tone for the rest of the week. We left some points out there to get later in the week," said Alyiah Thomas.
To start off the meet in Compulsory, BU and Duquesne executed the necessary skills, each heat with a start value of 10. In the Acro heat, Baylor scored a 9.625 and Duquesne followed with an 8.850. The Bears took the Pyramid heat, 9.825 to 9.550, before winning the Toss heat with a 9.800, Duquesne scoring a 9.350 in the same heat. In the Tumbling heat, BU scored an 8.075, the Dukes scoring 7.250. Through one event, the score was 37.325 to Duquesne's 35.000, the Bears up by 2.325 points.
To start the optional portion of the meet in Acro, Baylor followed a 9.675/10 performance from Duquesne with a 9.500/10 in the 5-element. In the synchronized 6 Element heat, the Dukes scored an 8.825/9.65 before Baylor, with four different pairs of tops and bases, scored 9.550/10. In the third heat, once Duquesne competed a 9.500/10 score, Maddy Jenson and Leavy McDonald scored a perfect 10/10. For the Acro event, BU scored 29.225 to Duquesne's 27.825, now totaling 66.550 to 62.825 through two events, and Baylor leading by 3.725 points.
In the Pyramid event, the Bears and Dukes executed the necessary skills, each heat with a start value of 10. Duquesne started it off with a 9.625 score in the Inversion heat, which the Bears followed up with a 9.950 score with Criado atop McDonald. Topping the Synchronized heat after the Dukes' 9.575 were Payton Washington and Bott, based by McDonald and Arthur, respectively, which scored a 9.925. In the Open heat, Duquesne scored a 9.625 while Baylor earned a 9.850. For the Pyramid event, Baylor scored a 29.725 while the Dukes scored 28.825.
At the half, BU was up 96.275 to 91.650, leading by 4.625 points.
Everyone felt the energy in the room tonight. Thomas commented that "the sideline mostly gives us energy." Gigi Rendino discussed how "everyone on the team plays a role. Everyone has a point during the whole meet to give their all to whoever is on the floor."
To kick off the second half with the Toss event, it was Alyiah Thomas topping the 450 Salto heat, finishing with a score of 9.575/9.90 after Duquesne scored a 8.375/9.10. In the Synchronized heat, the Dukes earned a 8.275/9.40, and for the Bears, Washington and Tannehill earned a 9.325/10. In the final heat, the Open heat, Duquesne scored a 8.825/9.40 before Baylor followed with a 9.825/10 from Washington. At the end of the Toss event, Baylor totaled 28.735 while Duquesne had a 25.475. Through four events, BU had a score of 125.000 while Duquesne had a 117.125, the Bears up by 7.875 points.
In the Tumbling event, Duquesne's duo scored a 8.375/9.25 while Emily Bott and Lawrence Owens competed for a score of 8.925/10. In the Trio, the Dukes put a score of 6.550/8.60 on the mat, followed by BU's 9.025/10 from Thomas, Gigi Rendino, and Tannehill. In the Quad pass were Washington, Criado, Sarah Kerr, and Gabby Kaminski, scoring a 8.300/10 for their pass, after Duquesne put out a 7.950/8.75 score. For the Aerial pass, it was Bott, who scored a 9.625/10 after the Dukes earned a 9.650/10 score. Competing in the 6 Element heat was Washington, earning a 9.900/10 after Duquesne's 9.125/9.55. Kerr earned a 9.750/10 for the Open heat, while the Dukes' earned a 9.775/10. Combined, Baylor had a score of 55.525 to finish the Tumbling event while Duquesne had a score of 51.425. After five events, BU led 180.525 to 168.550, up by 11.975 points headed into the last event.
In the Team event, Duquesne scored a 82.22/102.27, and Baylor followed with a 92.86/109.61. Coach Fee said there were "some uncharacteristic errors that I don't think you'll see again."
The meet finalized, BU came out on top with a 273.385 score against Duquesne's 250.770; the Bears winning by 22.515 points.
HIGHLIGHTS
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The Bears scored a season-high in 7-Element Acro, scoring a perfect 10/10.
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The highest scores of the night were a 10/10 in 7-Element Acro and a 9.95/10 in the Inversion heat of Pyramid.
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BU is on a 60-meet winning streak.
NEXT UP
The Bears will face No. 4 Augustana in the Semifinals, set for 7 p.m. CT on Friday night.
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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