By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor's top-ranked acrobatics & tumbling team just wants to have fun . . . until it's time to flip the switch and compete. 
            "I've had a blast," said coach Felecia Mulkey, whose team will go for its seventh-straight national championship at the NCATA Championship that begins Thursday in Eugene, Ore. "(The April 10 meet at Oregon) is the most fun I've had on a trip in a really long time. 
            "They're not going to sit around and worry about the meet or worry about competing. Whatever's going on, they're going to have a blast and laugh and make fun of each other and do Miss Girl instagrams. And then, when it's time, they'll flip the switch and compete. I do enjoy that about them, they don't take themselves too seriously. That's great to be around."
            The top-seeded Bears (8-0) will have to flip that switch for Thursday's 6:30 p.m. CT quarterfinal against eighth-seeded Converse (9-3) at Matthew Knight Arena. 
            "This week, (Mulkey's) big thing has been trusting your training," senior base Kate Puentes said. "She wants to put all the pressure on us this week in the gym, while we're practicing, so that once we get to the national championship we're not feeling any added pressure or something that's unexpected. There's no reason to worry or stress about anything, because we've done it so many times already."
            While letting them have a little fun, Mulkey also continues to push the envelope in the sport that she's helped build into the brink of NCAA championship status, with 41 schools either already competing or committed to adding a program. 
            This year, with the influence of acrobatic gymnastics, Baylor has added hand-to-hand connections in pyramids and other events, "including one-arm handstands" that no one else in the country is competing.
            "It really looks like Cirque du Soleil," Mulkey said. "And that's attributed to just the influence of acrobatic gymnasts and those athletes being recruited into our program."
            Sophomore base Bayley Humphrey, an NCATA All-American and Specialist of the Year, and freshman top Jordan Gruendler have raised the bar significantly this year with the one-arm handstand. 
            "Coming from such a different background than the majority of us come from, with the acrobatic gymnastics, they're able to come in with a skill set that none of us have really seen before, especially in the acrobatic and tumbling world," Puentes said. "It's been really cool to be able to support them and be behind them while they're going out there and raising the bar and doing all these crazy things."
            Much like the back-bend pyramid that Mulkey introduced in her first year at Baylor – "where they stand on the thighs of the back bend" – she expects the hand-to-hand connections to spread to other programs, eventually. 
            "There's an acrobatic gymnast top at Quinnipiac that has some of the two-handed things, the back arch and things like that, all on two people," Mulkey said. "Our athletes do it on one."
            While Baylor is riding a 13-meet winning streak that dates back to March 2021, Mulkey said this team hasn't peaked yet. In the regular-season finale, a convincing 11-point road victory over fifth-ranked Oregon (281.990-270.775), the Bears made some "uncharacteristic mistakes" in tumbling and led by less than three points going into the team event. 
            "I think we will see a strong showing in (tumbling), because that's always been our strength," Mulkey said. "Not that it hasn't been our strength this year, but we've had some errors there, and I think we've figured out the combos and tightened some things up in tumbling. So, we're right where I would like us to be headed into that first meet."
            The NCATA Championship brings Mulkey back to Eugene, where she won the first four of her 10-consecutive national championships. But, now in her eighth year at Baylor, she says "Waco is 100% home."
            "The first year didn't even feel weird or nostalgic. It was just, 'Wow, I was here,''' she said. "I have friends that live there, and I'm taking them some Baylor gear so they're ready to go. Even though they may be working for Oregon, they will be donning some Baylor gear at the national championship. It's fun to go back, but this is home."
            In addition to taking the entire team to nationals, the Bears will be joined by Miss Girl, who's become an Instagram sensation. Miss Girl is actually the mannequin used to display team uniforms to potential recruits, but made her first public appearance for the final home meet April 2 against Hawaii Pacific. 
            "We weren't even planning on bringing her, and then our manager was like, 'I'll go grab her,''' Puentes said. "She kept her in the corner of our little walkway during the meet. We didn't realize it was going to get as much attention as it did. She's definitely our No. 1 fan on the sidelines, for sure."
            Hitching a ride to Oregon with a friend of the Baylor A&T program, Miss Girl has had her photo taken in front of state signs, along the way, drinking Starbucks coffee and sunbathing. 
            "It's comical," Puentes said. "I can't believe it."
            Mulkey said Miss Girl is "definitely on her way."
            "So, please follow her on Instagram. The team is really having a lot of fun with it." You can find it at Miss.Girl_29.
            Flipping the switch from fun to competition, Baylor will face an eighth-seeded Converse team that is coming off a loss to Limestone in the Conference Carolinas Tournament in Bristol, Tenn. The Valkaries' Ayanna Manning was named the NCATA Division II Freshman of the Year and helped Converse clinch conference event titles in the inversion pyramid, 450 Salto toss and trio tumbling pass. 
            Converse is 0-3 all-time against Baylor, including a 14-point loss on March 26, 2019, in Waco. In their only previous meeting in the NCATA Championship, the Bears defeated the Valkyries, 277.535-260.905, in the 2018 quarterfinals in Erie, Pa. 
            "There's a different level of focus and a different level of bonding that you get when you travel," said Mulkey, who is 70-2 at Baylor and 113-5 overall. "I think they're just ready. They're at that point where they're ready to get there and get started. They're not really tired of practicing because they hate it, they're just waiting to get out there and compete."
            In addition to Humphrey, the Bears are led by All-American top and tumbler Emily Tobin, who earned her second-straight NCATA Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year honor. Sophomore base Riley Chimwala also earned All-America honors, while Kamryn Kitchens was named All-Academic. 
            Tobin "just continues to get better and better," Mulkey said. "She is fierce. Tumbling, tosses and acro, she's upped her game in all those areas. New tumbling passes, and she has hand-to-hand connections that she didn't have last year. She is 100% the Athlete of the Year."
            Third-seeded Gannon faces sixth-seeded at Limestone at 1 p.m. CT Thursday in the opening meet, followed by second-seeded Azusa Pacific vs. seventh-seeded Fairmont State at 3:30, Baylor-Converse at 6:30 and fourth-seeded Quinnipiac facing fifth-seeded Oregon at 9. 
            Friday's semifinals are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and 9, with the championship set for 9 p.m. Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena. 




EUGENE, Ore. – No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling prepares for Thursday's first round of the NCATA Championship, facing No. 8-seed Converse at 6:30 p.m. CT in Matthew Knight Arena.
 
The Bears (8-0) will face the Valkyries (9-3) for the first time this season in the Championships. 
 
Baylor looks to extend their current winning streak to 13, dating back to March 27, 2021.
 
BU comes off a two-week break, most recently winning by 11.215 points over No. 5 Oregon on April 10, with a final score of 281.990 to 270.775.
 
Head coach Felecia Mulkey had her 70^th career win at Baylor against Oregon in Eugene, with an overall record of 70-2 with the program. Her career record as a head coach in A&T is now 113-5 overall.
 
The Bears lead the all-time series with Converse, 3-0, with a 1-0 record each at home, neutral sites and on the road. In the last meeting between the two teams, BU won 284.735-270.414 in March of 2019.

Baylor earned a multitude of postseason awards from the NCATA ahead of the championships, highlighted by junior top and tumbler Emily Tobin being named Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year and sophomore base Bayley Humphrey earning Specialist of the Year honors. In addition, Humphrey, Tobin and Riley Chimwala all were named All-Americans. Kamryn Kitchens was named All-Academic All-Academic, while 26 student-athletes were named to the Academic Honor Roll.
 
The Valkyries come into the championships after the Conference Carolinas championships, where they won four event titles and competed in the championship meet, falling to Limestone. Converse won the inversion pyramid title, synchronized and 450 Salto toss, as well as the trio tumbling pass. The Valkyries are 1-1 at neutral sites for the season coming into NCATAs.
 
Thursday's meet will be streamed on ESPN+. The Baylor-Converse winner will face the winner of No. 4 Quinnipiac and No. 5 Oregon on Friday, Apr. 29, at 9 p.m. CT.
 
A full recap and final statistics can be found on BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the meet.
 
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.