ACROBATICS AND TUMBLING
NO. 4 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (6-0) AT NO. 1 BAYLOR BEARS (5-0)
WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m. (5 p.m. CST)
WHERE: Ferrell Center | Waco, Texas
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO($)
 
In the sport of college acrobatics and tumbling, the NCATA National Championships are the pinnacle.

This weekend, the Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team will experience what is arguably the second biggest thing in A&T.

Coach Brandy Duren's Golden Knights will visit eight-time defending national champion Baylor at the state-of-the-art Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday for a meet that is slated for a 6 p.m. start.

Baylor is coached by NCATA legend Felecia Mulkey, who has led her team to national championships in each of the 12 seasons that NCATA has held a national meet. She coached Oregon to the first four NCATA national titles before moving to Baylor and winning the next eight.  She has a 117-4 overall record, including an 84-2 mark at Baylor, and has led the Bears to 32 consecutive wins.

Duren was an acrobatics and tumbling athlete at Oregon while Mulkey was there, and she was a team member for three of the Ducks' four national titles.

Now, Duren will lead her team unbeaten and No. 4-ranked team against the Mulkey's powerhouse Bears, who are 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
 

On the mat:

Fortunately for Gannon, the Golden Knights seem to be peaking as they reach the final stretch of the season. The Golden Knights posted a season-high score of 278.605 while beating No. 7 Fairmont State during their home finale on Monday night at Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

That was Gannon's fourth consecutive meet against a team that was ranked among the Top 10 in the NCATA Preseason poll. They defeated No. 6 Frostburg State, No. 10 Belmont Abbey, and No. 5 Azusa Pacific before facing Fairmont.
In NCATA, a team score of 270 or more is outstanding. Baylor has not scored less than 272 points in any of its five meets this season.

The Bears posted a season-high score while beating No. 11 Mary Hardin-Baylor 279.870-272.465 at home on Feb. 11. Two weeks later, Baylor defeated No. 2 Oregon 278.935-271.835 at the Ferrell Center in a matchup of national powers.
Baylor is coming off a 272.880-253.460 victory at Iona, where former Gannon coach Jacquie Eshleman is in her first year as head coach.

 
What's ahead:

Gannon will close the regular season on the road against No. 3 Quinnipiac on April 6. The NCATA National Championships are scheduled for April 25-28 at Fairmont State. Gannon will look to claim one of eight spots in the national quarterfinals.
 

Gannon's lineup for Saturday:

2 Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge), junior
3 Charisma Felix (Las Vegas, Nev./College of So. Nevada High School West), junior
5 Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas), junior
6 Nicole Pavia (Oxford, Conn./Oxford High), junior
7 Kat Rodriguez (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall), senior
8 Julienne Templeman (Lodi, Calif./Jim Elliot Christian), sophomore
12 Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel), sophomore
13 Bethany Schirz, graduate
14 Annie Colantonio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin), senior
15 Michaelah Lanza (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North), graduate
16 Ashley Fallgren (Beaverton, Ore./Hillsboro), graduate
17 Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), sophomore
18 Tori Soper (Sheffield Lake, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy), sophomore
21 Courtney Solensky (Columbia, Conn./E.O. Smith), senior
22 Reagan McMahon (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic), junior
23 Alexandria DeAngelis (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic High School), freshman
24 Marissa Burge (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), sophomore
32 Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler), junior
34 Kathryn Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), senior
35 Madison Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), senior
37 Lauren Rupert (Central Square, N.Y./Paul V. Moore), junior
38 Montana Muller (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua), senior
39 Megan Revell (Richland, Wash./Richland High), junior
42 Mikayla Kis, sophomore
43 Ariana Fitzpatrick (Burlington, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional H.S.), freshman
44 Alexis Tosado (Sparks, Nev./Edward C. Reed), graduate
45 Brianna Arre (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend), senior
47 Morgan Gilbert (Black River, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central), graduate