Texas Lutheran Drops Tri-Meet to No. 7 Azusa Pacific / No. 5 UMHB

SEGUIN, Texas -- The Bulldogs fell to stout competition from NCAA Division-II member and 7th-ranked Azusa Pacific (CA) and 5th-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor Monday night with Mary Hardin-Baylor rallying in the second half to win the meet outright with 260.185 points.

The Crusaders (2-1) won the meet and were followed by Azusa Pacific with 256.20 points while Texas Lutheran (1-2) took third with a score of 239.125.

Texas Lutheran had a tall task on Monday welcoming two nationally ranked programs to Seguin, but the Bulldogs never looked out of place with two of the best A&T programs in the country.

Through one event, APU led the meet with a score 36.50 while Texas Lutheran sat in third with a score of 33.15 and UMHB was in second with a score of 36.30.

After the acro event, TLU continued to narrowly trail both squads, who each began the 2025 season ranked in the top 10 of the NCATA Preseason Coaches' Poll. Texas Lutheran earned a total score of 27.40, consisting of a 9.45 in the fifth element, 8.45 in the sixth element, and 9.50 in the seventh element.

TLU would trail both teams entering halftime, with UMHB narrowly leading Azusa Pacific 93.75-91.60 with TLU in third with 89.2 points.

The Crusaders took the toss event, with event scores being 27.0, 26.15 from APU, and 25.15 from TLU. Texas Lutheran earned a 7.90 in salto, 8.15 in synchronized, and 9.10 in open.
 
Azusa Pacific took the tumbling event, outscoring TLU 56.95 to 46.375. The event was highlighted by a 9.25 in the aerial pass from Gracen Bunch (Georgetown/Georgetown) and a 9.125 from Phoenix Cosley (Round Rock/Hendrickson) in the open pass.

In the Team event, APU competed first and scored a 85.35 and UMHB went second to earn a score of 88.41, scoring just enough to win the meet. The Bulldogs wrapped their home slate with a score of 78.4 in the team event.

Following Monday's meet, Texas Lutheran A&T honored its two seniors, Gracen Bunch, one of the original members of the TLU Acrobatics and Tumbling team since its inception, as well as Brie Brown (Minden, LA/Minden).

Up next, Texas Lutheran travels to Marshall, Texas, for a rematch with the East Texas Baptist Tigers on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 PM. All streaming links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran Acrobatics & Tumbling, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter and Instagram (@tluacrotumb) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).