BELMONT, N.C. — The Belmont Abbey acrobatics & tumbling team returned to the Wheeler Center for its home meet of the 2024 season as the Crusaders faced Limestone in a matchup of Top-10 programs Saturday evening at the Wheeler Center.
 
Both teams battled closely but it was Limestone who came away with a 273.340-261.535 victory over the Crusaders. The teams came in ranked No. 7 and No. 10, respectively, in the preseason NCATA rankings.
 
Belmont Abbey is now 2-2 overall and 2-2 in Conference Carolinas. Limestone is now 3-0 overall, 2-0 against league competition.
 
Event 1 — Compulsory
Both teams started strong in the compulsory event with the Saints holding a 38.2-37.1 lead early on. The Crusaders put up scores of 9.95 and 9.80 in the Toss and Pyramid, respectively, while also earning a 9.050 in the Acro heat.
 
Event 2 — Acro
The Crusaders edged out the Saints, 28.4-28.2 in the event highlighted by a 9.7 in 7-Element Acro. Erena Chaples, Madeleine Martin, Kristin Fary, Bri Camp and Blythe Terrell all accounted for the top score in the Event. The Abbey also put up strong scores of 9.35 in both Heats 1 and 2.
 
Event 3 —  Pyramid
Once again, it was another close event as the Saints eked out a higher total than the Crusaders with both teams just 0.4 and 0.45 points shy of a perfect score in relation to start value. Belmont Abbey's best score came in the Open Pyramid with a 9.9. The Crusaders added scores of 9.85 and 9.8 in Heats 1 and 2, respectively.
 
Event 4 — Toss
Belmont Abbey finished with a score of 26.65 compared to 27.8 for Limestone. Belmont Abbey's best score came in the 450 Salto Toss (Heat 1) scoring a 9.05 from a 9.4 start value. Madison Quinlan, Mackenzie Linegar, Bri Camp, Victoria Bonham, Madeleine Martin and Gracie Grady accounted for the score for The Abbey.
 
Event 5 — Tumbling
Belmont Abbey finished with a total of 51.775 for the event. The highest overall score came Sadie Hunt, who scored a 9.025/9.40 in the 6 Element Pass (Heat 5). Trinity Martinez scored a 8.625/8.9 in the Aerial Pass while Erena Chaples scored an 8.925/9/5 in the Open Pass.
In the team passes, Hunt, Deanna Woolard and Chaples finished with the highest point total, an 8.65/9.1 in the Trio Pass.
 
Event 6 — Team Event
The meet closed with the Crusaders scoring an 88.060 in the team event compared to a 94.490 for the Saints.
 
UP NEXT

• The Crusaders host Gannon at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Wheeler Center.
• It will be the first meeting between the two programs.