Rebecca Jozwiak | staff writer

After a close 0.015-point loss to Long Island University and an ensuing 21-day break, Duquesne acrobatics and tumbling is back on top and going out with a win.

The Dukes defeated the Buffalo State Bengals on Sunday at Cooper Fieldhouse in a decisive 260.760-197.550 victory. The meet marked the conclusion of the team’s inaugural season. The Dukes finished with a 4-3 overall record, while maintaining a spot in the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) rankings, finishing at No. 12.

Duquesne remains the only program out of seven schools debuting acrobatic and tumbling teams to crack the national rankings despite the large gap in its schedule.

“I think we worked really hard in the past three weeks,” Duquesne Head Coach Michaela Soper said. “They were very coachable within the past three weeks. They were able to take a lot of [the coaches’] directions and run with them.”

The team outscored the Bengals in every event, marking its largest victory margin – 63.21 points – so far. The Dukes were led to victory by the performance of base Mia Dipner. Dipner, who earned an honorable mention for NCATA Freshman of the Week, netted four season-best scores while competing across 10 heats in four categories.

A team consisting of Dipner, Sienna Johnson, Alaina Baumgartner, McKenna Fisher, Abby McDermott. Michela Del Rosso, Mireya Maymi and Taylor Wallace opened the meet with a season-high 9.10 group score in the compulsory event.

Moving onto the second event, Duquesne continued its early dominance: Carly Longenecker, Alia Ellis, McDermott and Taylor Hollis set a program record with a 9.65 score in the five-element acrobatic event. Shortly after, Johnson, Ailee Sheehan, Baumgartner, Del Rosso, Dipner, Abby Eberle and Maymi eclipsed Duquesne’s six-element acrobatic event record (8.75).

In the last event before halftime, the Dukes showed their range in the pyramid event. The heat of Johnson, Ellis, McDermott, Fisher, Geneive Muise, Longenecker, Natalie Angland, Dipner and Anna Trent boasted yet another season-high of 9.75.

At halftime, the Dukes maintained a 19.85-point margin over Buffalo State. In the first event after the break, Johnson, Trent, Angland, Dipner, Ellis, Eberle, Briella Unger, Claire Piper, Muise and Hollingsworth quite literally soared to an 8.50, helping Duquesne snag 26.25 points in the category overall.

The Dukes earned nine-plus scores in individual tumbling pass opportunities, while earning a team-high score of 88.86 in the team event.

As it concludes its first regular season, Duquesne continues to have confidence in its abilities as a team.

“There’s always been a lot of confidence in just knowing that we have a good team,” Johnson said.

“Not even just talent, the spirit on the team is amazing. I’ve never seen it before.”

Depending on the NCATA’s next projection of national rankings, the Dukes may have a shot at earning a bid to the championship. The 2025 NCATA National Championship, which takes place from April 24-27 in Sioux Falls, sees the top eight ranked teams face-off against each other in single-elimination rounds.

Although their fate is not certain quite yet, the Dukes may see individual qualifiers participate in the meet: At-large bids for individual event titles are slated to be announced on Sunday.

Staff writer Rebecca Jozwiak can be reached at jozwiakr@duq.edu.