IRVINE, Calif. – The Vanguard STUNT team took to Concordia University-Irvine for the Kick-Off Tournament to open the 2019 season. The Lions battled Riverside Community College first before taking on California Baptist University and closed out the day against host Concordia University. Vanguard fought hard in all three but came out on the losing end each time.
"I think we did well for the opening matches of the year," remarked Maggie Brown (FR/Lake Elsinore, CA) after her first college STUNT matches. "Today lit an extra fire under us and we are ready to go for the season, hungry for more."
RCC 15, Vanguard 10
The Lions jumped out of the gate strong, winning their opening routine of the season and pushing to a 4-1 advantage after the first quarter. Midway through the second frame, the Lions still had an edge but that margin was eliminated by the Tigers by the third period. Entering the fourth quarter, the Lions trailed 9-7 and would get no closer than two points the rest of the match. The final routine of the game awarded all three points to RCC to give them a five point victory.
CBU 14, Vanguard 10
In the second match of the day, the Lancers struck first and maintained the advantage for the duration of the contest. On multiple occasions, the Lions would cut the deficit to only one point but they could not close the gap. Similar to the previous contest, the final routine awarded all three points to the opponent, closing out the four point win.
CUI 13, Vanguard 12
The final match of the day began with both the Eagles and Lions being given a point. Then, CUI went on a tear, building up a 6-1 edge before the Pride would score again. The opponent took a 8-2 advantage into the halftime intermission. Slowly but surely, the Blue and Gold began to chip away at the lead and trailed 12-10 entering the final routine. Vanguard was awarded the first two points which tied to contest at 12-12 but the final tally of jumps and tumbling was given to the host team.
A STUNT match has four quarters. The first three periods all feature four routines with the final fourth quarter containing only three routines. Quarter 1 is partner stunts, Quarter 2 is Pyramids, Quarter 3 is Jumps and Tumbling, and Quarter 4 is team routine where the previous three quarters are combined. Routines in the first three frames average around 30 seconds each whereas the fourth quarter routines are over 90 seconds each. There are seven levels of routines a team can perform ranging from beginner (1) to advanced (7), with step becoming slightly more challenging.
Next Match: Friday, March 8th against UC Davis and CBU
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