AZUSA , CA (March 18, 2014) – The Hawai'i Pacific Acrobatics and Tumbling Team (1-5) scored a 273.09, the highest score in the short history of the program, in a tri-meet against host Azusa Pacific (3-2) and Baylor (2-2). The Bears won the meet after posting a score of 281.37, just edging APU's 281.10.

Malyssa Barbasa, Shawna Uehara, Nancy Miceli and Sara Gruden delivered a memorable performance in heat three of the acro event. The quartet scored a 9.6 and gave HPU its first heat victory.

"Our acro heats had phenomenal execution. I could not be more proud of this team and their efforts on the road," said HPU Head Coach Keenyn Won.   

Heat three of the pyramid event was also a bright spot; the Sea Warriors scored a near perfect 9.8.

Barbasa flirted with perfection on the 6 element pass. The Honolulu product registered a 9.88 as she continues to bolster her case to compete in the Event Finals at the national championships.

If the goal of the first season of acrobatics and tumbling was to improve in every meet, the regular season has to be considered a success. In the four competitions this season, HPU has outdone its previous performance every time.    

"Although we did not pull off a win tonight against Baylor or Azusa Pacific, we definitely won against ourselves. Our team has continued to improve our scores and as a first year program that is all we can ask," said Won.

The regular season is now complete, HPU will return to Azusa on April 24th for the three-day NCATA National Championships.

"We cannot wait to get back home and get back to work to perfect the skills we have before the national tournament in April," added Won.
 
Full Results