BELMONT, N.C. – The Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team has made it through the opening road swing of its schedule with an unbeaten record.

Now, the competition will get even stiffer as the home season begins.

Coach Brandy Duren's No. 4-ranked Golden Knights claimed their fourth consecutive victory with a 263.815-242.985 win over Belmont Abbey College in NCATA action on Thursday night at the Wheeler Center.

It was Gannon's second consecutive win over a Top-10 team after defeating No. 6 Frostburg State 267.635-260.590 in Maryland on Feb. 17. The Knights opened the season with a tri-meet sweep of Kutztown and East Stroudsburg on Feb. 10 at Kutztown.

Gannon will now look ahead to back-to-back home meets as its stretch continues against six consecutive Top-10 opponents.

Once again, Gannon was dominant in winning all six events – Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling, and Team Event.

 
Compulsory:

Gannon took an early advantage by winning each of the four Compulsory heats, led by identical 9.75 scores in the Pyramid Heat and Toss Heat. The Knights led 37.05-35.45 after one event.

 
Acro:

The Golden Knights were outstanding in the three Acro heats. They registered a 9.85 in the 5 Element heat and a 9.80 in the 7 Element Heat. GU finished with 29.25 points out of a Start Value of 30.
 
Pyramid:
Gannon continued to roll in the three Pyramid heats with a total of 29.20. That score was bolstered by a 9.85 total in the Open heat and a 9.70 in the Inversion heat.
As a result, Gannon led 95.500 to 90.850 at halftime.
 

Toss:

The Knights built an almost insurmountable lead in the meet by dominating one of its traditionally best events – the Toss. They won National Event Titles in the Synchronized Toss and Open Toss in 2023, and on Thursday, they again showed their expertise.

Gannon scored 9.60 in the Salto, 9.65 in the Synchronized, and 9.50 in the Open Toss. The Knights' score of 28.75 was more than four points better than Belmont Abbey's total of 24.60.

That ballooned Gannon's lead to 124.25-115.45 through four events.
 

Tumbling:

Coach Duren's Knights outscored the Crusaders 54.075-48.225 in the six tumbling passes.

Gannon's Tumbling was highlighted by a 9.725 in the Aerial Pass, a 9.675 in the Open Pass, and a 9.250 in the Duo Pass.

 
Team Event:

The Gannon-Belmont meet concluded with the Team Event, where up to 24 student-athletes are competing in a series of Acro, Toss, Pyramid, and Tumbling elements.

Gannon turned in its lowest Team Event score of the season with an 85.49 total out of a Start Value of 107.34. However, Belmont Abbey scored 79.31 out of a possible 101.41.

That meant Gannon finished with a score of 263.815, its lowest meet score of the season, but it was still enough to give the Knights a resounding win on Thursday.
 

What's ahead:

Gannon will not host back-to-back home meets at Hagerty Family Events Center as it meets No. 5 Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, March 5, at 6 p.m., followed by No. 7 Fairmont State on Monday, March 11, at 6 p.m.

After those home meets, Gannon will visit No. 1 Baylor and No. 3 Quinnipiac to conclude the regular season.


Gannon's lineup
 
This was Gannon's lineup on Thursday:

2 Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge), junior
3 Charisma Felix (Las Vegas, Nev./College of So. Nevada High School West), junior
5 Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas), junior
6 Nicole Pavia (Oxford, Conn./Oxford High), junior
7 Kat Rodriguez (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall), senior
12 Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel), sophomore
13 Bethany Schirz (Reno, Nev./Edward C. Reed), graduate
14 Annie Colantonio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin), senior
15 Michaelah Lanza (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North), graduate
16 Ashley Fallgren (Beaverton, Ore./Hillsboro), graduate
17 Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), sophomore
18 Tori Soper (Sheffield Lake, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy), sophomore
21 Courtney Solensky (Columbia, Conn./E.O. Smith), senior
22 Reagan McMahon (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic), junior
23 Alexandria DeAngelis (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic High School), freshman
24 Marissa Burge (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), sophomore
32 Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler), junior
34 Kathryn Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), senior
35 Madison Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), senior
36 Kamryn Kameg (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson), sophomore
37 Lauren Rupert (Central Square, N.Y./Paul V. Moore), junior
38 Montana Muller (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua), senior
39 Megan Revell (Richland, Wash./Richland High), junior
42 Mikayla Kis (Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute), sophomore
43 Ariana Fitzpatrick (Burlington, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional H.S.), freshman
44 Alexis Tosado (Sparks, Nev./Edward C. Reed), graduate
45 Brianna Arre (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend), senior
47 Morgan Gilbert (Black River, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central), graduate