ACROBTICS AND TUMBLING
HOME OPENER
NO. 5 AZUSA PACIFIC COUGARS (2-0) AT NO. 4 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (4-0)
WHEN: Tuesday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: Junker Center | Penn State Behrend | Erie, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO
 
ERIE, Pa. – Tuesday is the home opener for the Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team, and it's also Senior Day.

Coach Brandy Duren's No. 4-ranked Golden Knights will host No. 5 Azusa Pacific at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The NCATA meet between Top-5 teams was originally scheduled to be held at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center, but the venue was changed because of scheduling conflicts. The Junker Center is located at 5103 Station Road in Erie.

The Golden Knights face one of the toughest schedules in the National College Acrobatics and Tumbling Association this season, with six consecutive meets against teams that were ranked in the Top 10 in the NCATA Preseason Poll.

This will be Gannon's third consecutive meet against a Top-10 team after beating No. 6 Frostburg State and No. 10 Belmont Abbey in their previous two meets.

Gannon brings a 4-0 record into Tuesday's competition, while Azusa Pacific is 2-0.

 
Senior Day:

Fourteen seniors will be recognized on Tuesday near the end of the meet. Brianna Arre (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend), Annie Colantonio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin), Caitlyn Crawford (Reston, Va./South Lakes), Grace Harrick (Union City, Pa./Mercyhurst Preparatory School), Varvara Liashenko (Atlanta, Ga./Dekalb School of the Arts), Montana Muller (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua), Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge), Kathryn Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), Madison Rhine (Damascus, Ore./Clackamas), Kat Rodriguez (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall), Courtney Solensky (Columbia, Conn./E.O. Smith), and McKenna Wettstein (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead) will be honored along with team managers Brenna Burns and Elizabeth Hartman.

Gannon opened the season by posting a season-best score of 276.235 to defeat Kutztown (250.430) and East Stroudsburg (235.160) in a tri-meet at Kutztown on Feb. 10.

The Golden Knights then beat No. 6 Frostburg State 267.635-260.590 on Feb. 17 and downed No. 10 Belmont Abbey 263.815-242-985 on Feb. 29.

 
Azusa's season:

The Cougars opened the season by defeating Lander 277.97-257.16 in a home meet on Feb. 13. Azusa Pacific then traveled to Hawaii to face No. 9 Hawaii Pacific, and the Cougars pulled out a close, 278.37-274.975 victory in a high-scoring dual.

Azusa's trip to Erie is part of a two-meet eastern swing. The Cougars will visit Buffalo State on Thursday.

Later in the season, Azusa will host No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Quinnipiac.

Gannon and Azusa have a history against each other in the past three seasons. Gannon traveled to California in 2023 and defeated the Cougars 265.630-265.305 in an extremely close contest.

In 2022, Gannon lost to Azusa Pacific 275.600-269.965 during the regular season. The Knights then upset the then-No. 2 Cougars 267.345-262.245 in the 2022 National semifinals as GU advanced to the championship match.
 

Gannon's lineup:

Here's Gannon's lineup for Tuesday:
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 (Reno, Nev./Edward C. Reed), 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 (Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute), 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