NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The No. 15 Iona University acrobatics & tumbling team competed in its first-ever intercollegiate event and earned a 254.19-233.41 win over another first-year program, LIU, in a National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association matchup at the Hynes Center. The Gaels led wire-to-wire, finishing with a strong score in the team event.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
"I am so incredibly proud of these athletes," said head coach
Jacquie Eshleman. "They have been incredibly consistent at practices, and although we had a handful of errors, this team stayed positive and continued to play up with confidence. I cannot wait to continue to surprise everyone and dominate!"
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"This is the start of something special, and only the beginning of a dynasty here at Iona," she added.
COMPULSORY
The Gaels opened with a 36.50-35.15 lead after the Compulsory event, outscoring the Sharks in each of the four heats. The event was highlighted by a 9.70 score in the Pyramid heat and a 9.55 with a .45 differential in the Toss heat.
ACRO
Iona increased its advantage in the Acro event, topping LIU 26.45-22.65. The Maroon & Gold again outscored its opponent in all three heats with a top score of 9.20 in the Five-Element heat.
PRYRAMID
The Gaels led by nearly nine full points at halftime following a 28.15-24.35 win in the Pyramid Event. The squad's top score was 9.55 in the Inversion heat as the Gaels gained all but 1.75 of a possible 29.90 in the three heat event.
TOSS
The most closely contested event was the Toss event with Iona holding a 25.00-24.55 advantage. The 450 Salto heat saw the Gaels' top score of 9.05. LIU took the open heat, its first of just three heat wins of the match.
TUMBLING
Iona won four of the six Tumbling event heats and led the event overall 52.20-49.30. The pair of graduate
Athena Martinez and
Olivia Montalbano won the Duo heat by more than three points with an 8.80 score. Junior
Alyssa Lentz won the Aerial Pass heat with an event-high score of 9.450. Martinez posted a 9.425 in the Six-Element Pass heat. Montalbano's 9.275 in the Open Pass was Iona's final strong score in the Event.
TEAM EVENT
In the final event of the evening, the Gaels earned an 85.89-77.41 advantage to earn a convincing win in its first-ever meet.
THE LINEUP
- #1 Georgia Mason, freshman
- #2 Athena Martinez, graduate student
- #3 Annabella Cicci, freshman
- #4 Alyssa Lentz, junior
- #6 Teresa Jennings, freshman
- #7 Brooke O'Brien, freshman
- #8 Rachelle Ricafranca, freshman
- #9 Olivia Montalbano, freshman
- #10 Bella St. Louis, freshman
- #14 Sophia Huertas, freshman
- #19 Alexandra Swaris, freshman
- #22 Nicole Bonnett, junior
- #23 Jenna Roby, freshman
- #25 Nelizeh Ambrose, freshman
- #26 Rebecca Lane, junior
- #27 Alia Ellis, freshman
- #31 Portia Dryden, freshman
- #40 Paige Delman, junior
- #43 Gia Arias, freshman
- #45 Emma Kelley, freshman
UP NEXT
The Gaels hit the road for its first road match at Morgan State next Monday (Feb. 19) before returning home to host No. 1 Baylor on Sunday, March 3 at the Hynes Center.
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