The Bears STUNT team collected its first win of the season in an 11-0 sweep against the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats at UCA’s first home STUNT tournament.
The tournament lasted from March 7 to March 8 as the Bears faced four opponents: the University of Kentucky Wildcats and Maryville University on Friday and the Missouri State University Bears and Bearcats on Saturday.
While the UCA Bears fell to the Wildcats (0-24), which was last season’s national runner-up, and Maryville University (5-19) on the first day of the tournament, they pulled it together on the second day with a head-to-head match with the MSU Bears (7-8) and a sweep against the Bearcats (11-0).
Sophomore flyer and tumbler Reese McKinney said, “During the final quarter of our game against [MSU] I was so proud of my team for coming together and pushing each other to try and get as many points in the end as we could. We were down but there wasn’t a single person on the sideline or mat that wasn’t pushing us to our absolute best.”
McKinney said, “I found that we really kept our composure, even in the tough moments, we stayed positive and encouraged each other and other teams.”
Acting head coach Sierra Cox said she was proud of “how they carried themselves the entire weekend. We had some very tough games this weekend, and they didn’t all go the way we hoped, but we still pushed forward and left it all on the mat. This of course led to our first win of the season.”
McKinney said, “This tournament definitely taught me that energy is everything, and it takes every single person to keep that momentum when you’re down and you’re tired.”
“On the mat work was lots of repetition and focusing on perfecting every skill,” she said. “Off the mat we just wanted to make sure everything was prepared for teams to come in and feel welcomed and accommodated at our university.”
“I feel like [hosting] was a great way to bring more attention and support to the UCA stunt team, and also educate everyone on what stunt actually is. I would love to host more home tournaments, it was amazing hearing how much people enjoyed watching and cheering for us,” McKinney said.
Cox said, “It was a great weekend hosting at home. The entire team got the opportunity to proudly show their community what this sport is all about. It was an amazing thing to be a part of. I would absolutely love to see this tournament be a continued tradition at UCA.”
Cox said, “It took a lot of improvising and troubleshooting hosting the first-ever STUNT tournament here, since we had nothing to really compare to it. We had to plan everything from the space where the competition was held to where warm-ups were being held. We had to plan the schedule for teams along with a warm-up schedule. We had to make sure equipment was set up, such as: mats, a PA system, judges tables and places for teams and judges to hang out. Jessica Taylor was an amazing asset to making sure it went as smoothly as it did.”
Cox said, “Being at home is always a benefit, even in STUNT. The girls were able to rest in the comfort of their own spaces. They were able to compete on their own mats. Having friends, family, and community showing up also always helps push the team to work harder.”
“There is always something to learn. No one is perfect. I am a new coach to this sport, and I continually learn different strategies and techniques that can be implemented for the next tournament,” she said.
The Bears will have their next STUNT tournament March 15-16 at the University of Tennessee at Martin.