NCATA CHAMPIONSHIPS
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
At Fairmont State University
Quarterfinals (Thursday, April 25)
Meet #1: #2 Quinnipiac 266.690, #7 Frostburg State 246.430
Meet #2: #3 Gannon 267.165, #6 Azusa Pacific 252.545
Meet #3: #4 Oregon 262.745, #5 Mary Hardin-Baylor 259.665
Meet #4: #1 Baylor 271.170, #8 Fairmont State 256.070
Semifinals (Friday, April 26)
Meet #5: No. 2 Quinnipiac vs. No. 3 Gannon – 4:30 p.m.
Meet #6: No. 4
Oregon vs. No. 1 Baylor – 7:00 p.m.
Finals (Saturday, April 27)
Meet #7: Semifinal winners – 5:00 p.m.
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Gannon acrobatics and tumbling team is advancing to the national semifinals for the second time in its history.
Coach
Brandy Duren's Golden Knights opened the NCATA Championships with a dominant 267.165-252.545 victory over No. 6 Azusa Pacific in the national quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Fairmont State University's Feaster Center.
Gannon's only other appearance in the National Acrobatics and Tumbling Association semifinals occurred during the 2022 season when GU beat Azusa in the semifinals to advance to the national championship match against powerhouse Baylor.
Gannon, which improved to 7-2 on the season, entered the meet with the No. 3 seed, and the Knights proved they deserved that high seeding. Gannon won all six events against Azusa, and the Golden Knights outscored the Cougars in 19 of the 20 heats.
"Today was just so fun," Duren said at the post-meet press conference. "We put in a lot of hard work the past couple of weeks, and I kind of got on them a little bit harder than they're used to. They didn't love it at first, but hopefully today they can see that it kind of paid off."
The Knights will advance to meet No. 2 seed Quinnipiac, which defeated Frostburg State 266.690-246.430 in the first quarterfinal of the day.
Gannon beat Azusa for the second time this season. The Knights topped the Cougars 270.905-258.625 in a March 5 home meet at Penn State Behrend's Junker Center.
Strong start for GU:
The Golden Knights rolled from the beginning against the Cougars. Gannon opened by winning the Compulsory event 37.500-36.125, thanks to a 9.750 in the Toss, a 9.625 in the Pyramid, and a 9.450 in the Acro.
The Knights' success continued in the Acro where Gannon won 28.725-28.000 on the power of a 9.750 in the 5 Element heat, and a 9.575 in the 7 Element. That expanded Gannon's lead to 66.225-64.125.
Gannon closed the first half with a strong effort in the Pyramid event, scoring 9.650 in the Inversion, 9.700 in the Synchronized, and 9.900 in the Open Pyramid. That gave GU a 95.475-89.575 halftime lead.
Second-half clincher:
Gannon has traditionally been strong in the Toss event, as evidenced by the Knights' 2023 national event titles in the Synchronized Toss and Open Toss. They were outstanding again on Thursday as they outscored the Cougars 28.425-27.050 in the Toss.
GU's top score came in the Open Toss with a 9.650. The Golden Knights also posted a 9.425 in the Synchronized heat, and a 9.350 in the 450 Salto. Those scores gave Gannon at 123.900-116.625 through four events.
Gannon won five of the six Tumbling heats as the Knights topped the Cougars 54.825-52.500 in the event.
Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) led GU with a 9.700 in the Aerial pass, and
Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) added a 9.625 in the 6 Element pass. Upton and Price combined for a 9.275 in the Duo pass, while
Michaelah Lanza (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) scored a 9.250 in the Open pass.
The Golden Knights secured the quarterfinal win with a 88.440-83.420 win in the Team event as they completed the event sweep.
Quinnipiac awaits:
The Knights will face quite a challenge in Friday's semifinal against the No. 2 Bobcats, who are unbeaten at 7-0. Quinnipiac defeated Gannon 277.610-270.345 in GU's regular-season finale on April 6 in Hamden, Conn.
Quinnipiac also eliminated Gannon in the 2023 quarterfinals by beating the Knights 273.845-270.505 when Gannon was seeded No 5 and Quinnipiac was No. 4.
However, one bright sign for the Golden Knights is that they posted a 267.165 score in their quarterfinal victory, while Quinnipiac finished with a 266.690 total.
Friday's semifinals again with be televised on espn+.
Gannon's lineup on Thursday:
1
Kylie Brown (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem), sophomore
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
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
