The Quinnipiac Acrobatics and Tumbling team defeated the LIU Sharks in its first home meet of the season at M&T Bank Arena Sunday by a final overall score of 272.84 to 232.92. The Bobcats won all six events, including the compulsory, acro, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team events.
The Bobcats had a strong start to the meet, winning the compulsory event with good all-around execution, and a solid pyramid as well. The Bobcats went after the Sharks in each heat, so they knew what they needed to do to get the maximum amount of points needed to win the event. Both teams displayed nice synchronization with their skills, but ultimately, the Bobcats won each heat and they won the event overall 37.85 to 33.70.
After that event, the acrobatics event was on tap. The Sharks were not able to execute fully in their first few heats, having stumbles and slips, but finished off their routines strong and with pride, as their supportive bench cheered them on with great energy.
The Bobcats capitalized on the Sharks mistakes with solid execution from the tops, really showing strength and determination, and the bottoms for holding the tops up so they could execute. After a patient and well worked final heat by the Bobcats, and a roar from the crowd on hand, the Bobcats won the acrobatics event by a total score of 28.15-22.45.
The pyramid event was the last event of the first half for both teams, and the Sharks had some great execution with safe catches, and brilliant skills by the tops, and overall, had a lot of solid heats. Their teamwork was very good, and helped them maximize their potential.
The Bobcats showed their togetherness with a seamlessly executed pyramid that showed off many of the Bobcats’ great qualities and skills. While this was a much closer event, the Bobcats had the edge in this one, with an event score of 29.55 to the Sharks’ 27.05
After the halftime break, the Bobcats looked to capitalize on their momentum with the toss event. The Sharks kept things simple with their tricks and were able to get the job done with great efficiency and teamwork by the athletes. With some solid twists in the air, the Shark team showed great emotion when finished with their heats.
The Bobcats fed off the energy from the home crowd and had a solid toss event, with the bottoms playing their role to perfection, and the tops doing a great job finishing off the heats. The Bobcats focused on the little details to get the most out of the event. The Bobcats continued on rolling, winning this event with a total score of 27.80-24.80.
The tumbling event showed the great individual efforts from both teams, particularly Farrah Chernov and Tiffany Zieba showing off their skills for the crowd.
The Sharks continued to compete with great pride in the tumbling event, really finishing off their routines strong. The Bobcats soundly took this event, with a final total score of 55.25-48.75.
Finally, the team event was the closer, which allowed the athletes to get together and show off a little bit of everything from each previous event. Both sides were rapid with their skills and execution, and the dance moves were also very well executed from both sides. After great cheers from the crowd, the Bobcats completed the clean sweep, winning the team event 94.15-76.17, capping of the victory for them.
“You’re only as good as your working parts…I honestly have to give credit to the people on this campus who want to see the girls compete, it really brings out the best in them…” head coach Mary Ann Powers said of the atmosphere at the meet.
When asked about second half adjustments, Powers wanted her team to just focus on what was in front of them.
“We just asked them to stay in the moment, I felt like the adrenaline was running ahead of itself the first half…once we settled down, things got a little bit better,” Powers said.
Regarding her teammates’ performances, senior base Tiffany Zerba had nothing but good things to say.
“I am so proud of this team, we made a lot of corrections from Morgan State, and we executed phenomenally…shout out to the freshman for getting up here and working with us all.”
The Bobcats will travel to Azusa, California for their next meet against Azusa Pacific on March 13 at 7 p.m.
