Baylor
UMHB
No. 1 A&T Dominates Home Opener by Over 30 Points Against No. 8 UMHB
2/22/2026 5:52:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
Bears remain undefeated against Crusaders, advancing to 6-0 for their all-time record
WACO, Texas - The top-ranked Baylor acrobatics & tumbling team delivered a dominating victory over No. 8 UMHB on Sunday afternoon at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears (3-0) topped the Crusaders (1-1) by 30.44 points for their home opener, highlighted by two perfect 10's. Entering the meet, Baylor already held an 18.30-point advantage in start value."They deserve it…the transfer portal hasn't hit our sport yet so we really do get to bring them in and develop them personally and athletically over the time they're here and that's how athletics should be" said head coach Felicia Mulkey.
To start off the meet in Compulsory, BU and UMHB executed the necessary skills, each heat with a start value of 10. In the Acro heat, UMHB scored a 6.55 after falling out of the stunt and Baylor followed with a 9.40. The Bears won both the Pyramid and Toss heat with a 9.80 and commanding 9.95. UMHB scoring a 9.35 and 9.75 in the same heats. In the Tumbling heat, BU scored a 9.00, the Crusaders scoring 7.40. Through one event, the score was 38.15 to UMHB's 33.05, the Bears up by 5.10 points after sweeping in Compulsory.
To start the optional portion of the meet in Acro, Baylor followed a 9.70/10 performance from UMHB with a perfect 10/10. With Sophia Criado as the top and Ellie LaNeve as the base to earn the flawless score. In the synchronized 6 Element heat, the Crusaders scored a 8.45/9.80 before Baylor, with four different pairs of tops and bases, scored 8.90/10. In the third heat, once UMHB competed a 9.90/10 score, Makayla Vasquez and Mo Arthur scored a 9.40/10. For the Acro event, BU scored 29.80 to UMHB's 28.30, now totaling 66.45 to 61.10 through two events and Baylor leading by 5.35 points.
In the Pyramid event, UMHB started it off with a 9.60/10 score in the Inversion heat, which the Bears followed up with a 9.90/10 score with Vasquez atop Arthur. Topping the Synchronized heat after the Crusaders' 9.60/10 were Payton Washington and Bott, based by McDonald and Meredith Wells, respectively, which scored a 9.95/10. In the Open heat, UMHB scored a 9.90/10 while Baylor debuted a new skill to the home crowd, the 3 high slide to split pyramid. Bases Leavy McDonald and Mo Arthur held a three-high extended structure straddle position. Mid-level was Baylee Garnto, and top was Makayla Vasquez. Once the pyramid hit peak position, the two main bases, McDonald and Arthur, performed a slide to split, scoring a 9.95/10. For the Pyramid event, Baylor scored a 29.80 while the Crusaders scored 29.10.
At the half, BU was up 96.25 to 90.20, leading by 6.05 points.
To kick off the second half with the Toss event, it was Tannehill topping the 450 Salto heat, finishing with a score of 9.60/9.90 after UMHB scored a 9.15/9.40. In the Synchronized heat, the Crusaders earned a 8.90/9.40, and for the Bears, Washington and Tannehill earned a 9.70/9.90. In the final heat, the Open heat, UMHB scored a 9.75/9.90 before Baylor followed with a perfect 10/10 from Washington. At the end of the Toss event, Baylor totaled 29.30 while UMHB had a 27.80. Through four events, BU had a score of 125.55 while UMHB had a 118.0, the Bears up by 7.55 points.
In the Tumbling event, UMHB's duo scored a 7.60/8.35 while Emily Bott and Lawrence Owens competed for a score of 9.60/10. In the Trio, the Crusaders put a score of 8.10/8.75 on the mat, followed by BU's 9.30/10 from Alyiah Thomas, Gigi Rendino, and Ashlyn Tannehill. In the Quad pass were Washington, Criado, Sarah Kerr and Gabby Kaminski, scoring a 9.35/10 for their pass, after UMHB put out a 7.70/8 score. For the Aerial pass it was Bott, who scored a 9.90/10 after the Crusaders earned a 8.375/8.75 score. Competing in the 6 Element heat was Washington, earning a 9.925/10 after UMHB's 9.15/9.55. Kerr earned a 9.75 for the Open heat, with the Crusaders' 8.475/8.75. Combined, Baylor had a score of 57.80 to finish the Tumbling event while UMHB had a score of 49.40. After five events, BU led 183.35 to 167.40, up by 15.95 points headed into the last event.
In Team event, UMHB scored a 83.21/100.60 and Baylor followed with a 97.70/109.75.
The meet finalized, BU came out on top with a 281.05 score against UMHB's 250.61; the Bears winning by 30.44 points and losing only one heat.
HIGHLIGHTS
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In the 7-element, The Bears begin with Makayla Vasquez as top in a straddle and Mo Arthur as base in a needle position. Then the base moves from a needle position into a two-hand handstand, where Arthur's foot leaves the ground with the straddle still on the other foot. In the second portion of the heat, the crowd saw the two-hand stacked handstand, where the base goes to one arm, which no one has ever competed in our sport, and no one's ever competed the needle.
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In the Open Pyramid, Baylor debuted a new skill to the home crowd, the 3 high slide to split pyramid. Bases Leavy McDonald and Mo Arthur held a three high extended structure straddle position. Mid-level was Baylee Garnto and top Makayla Vasquez. Once the pyramid hit peak position, the two main bases, McDonald and Arthur, performed a slide to split.
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The highest scores of the night were two perfect 10's in the Acro 5 Element and Open Toss.
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BU is on a 53-meet winning streak.
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The Bears start off the season 1-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.
UP NEXT
The Bears prepare for their second home meet on Sunday, February 28th at 5 p.m. CT against No. 2 Oregon. We will be celebrating the team's "Decade of Dominance" with a Trophy photo opportunity on the concourse, A&T Alumni Recognition, Post-meet autographs, and giveaways featuring National Championship T-shirts.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.
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