DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Macie Ziehe, a 17-year-old senior at IDEA San Benito, literally tumbled her way into college recently.
Last month, Macie, a Harlingen native, signed a letter of intent to compete in acrobatics & tumbling at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California, which is located about 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
“I’m very excited and very much looking forward to getting out there,” Macie said. “I know it’s a long way from home and, of course, I’ll miss my family, but I’m ready to make the journey. I can’t wait.”
Macie said that early on she seemed destined to attend Baylor University in Waco. However, Azusa made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“When I started looking for colleges to go to – keep in mind there are not that many universities that have acrobatics & tumbling programs – I had sent in an application to Azusa, but figured Baylor was going to be where I would end up.
“But Azusa really liked me and told me they wanted to make me a top recruit. So I went out there for a weekend and got to know the campus, the program and the coaches, and I just fell in love with it all. I knew it was where I wanted to go.”
ASU competes as part of the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association and is actually the only university in California that has an acrobatics & tumbling team.
In a nutshell, acrobatics & tumbling is a team sport that combines gymnastics and competitive cheerleading.
During a meet, teams compete against each other in six different rounds, including compulsory, stunt, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team routines. Scoring is based on the difficulty of the routines and the values of each skill demonstrated in each round.
Macie first got involved in gymnastics and competitive dance when she was just 2 years old.
“My parents took me to Palm Valley Gymnastics and I was hooked,” she said. “That place has been like a second home to me. I’ll definitely miss everyone there when I head out to college.”
While at APU, Macie said she plans on getting a degree in applied exercise science and has hopes of one day being a physical therapist.