Acrobatics and Tumbling | 4/26/2026 10:44:00 PM
AZUSA, Calif. – The No. 7 Gannon University Acrobatics & Tumbling team wrapped up its 2026 season on Sunday afternoon, competing in four heats at the NCATA National Championships Event Finals inside the Felix Event Center on the campus of Azusa Pacific University.
The Golden Knights qualified for four heats for the national event finals after posting top-four performances during Thursday's quarterfinal competition. Qualifiers were determined by the highest-scoring performances across all quarterfinal meets, with ties broken by season-adjusted averages in each event.
At-large selections were determined by season-adjusted average among non-qualifying teams.
Gannon earned appearances in the Six-Element Acro, Synchronized Pyramid, Open Pyramid, and Open Toss heats following its quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 University of Oregon.
The Golden Knights were represented in the following event finals:
Six-Element Acro - 7.750
Kylie Brown (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem), Avery Tumler (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings High School), Kayla Lynard, Alex DeAngelis (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic High School), Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler), Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), Sydney Gibson (Painesville, Ohio/Harvey)
Synchronized Pyramid - 9.525
Avery Tumler (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings High School), Marissa Burge (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel), Paytyn Neal (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior High), Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), Kayla Lynard, Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler), Julia Bukowski (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic), Kam Kameg, Alex DeAngelis (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic High School), Reagan McMahon (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic)
Open Pyramid - 9.900 (9.900 TB)
Marissa Burge (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel), Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler), Alex DeAngelis (Audubon, N.J./Camden Catholic High School), Adyson Rothermel (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser High), Alejandra Tosado (Sparks, Nev./Edward C. Reed), Paytyn Neal (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior High), Reagan McMahon (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic), Julia Bukowski (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic)
Open Toss - 9.425
Marissa Burge (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy), Makayla White (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional), Paytyn Neal (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior High), Adyson Rothermel (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser High)
Gannon narrowly missed a national title in the Open Pyramid heat, falling to Quinnipiac in a tiebreaker after both teams posted identical 9.900 scores. The Bobcats earned the title with a 9.950 in the tiebreaker procedure, while the Golden Knights recorded a 9.900.
Event titles were also claimed by Baylor in Six-Element Acro (9.575), Synchronized Pyramid (9.750), and Open Toss (9.700).
On Saturday night, No. 1 Baylor captured the NCATA Team National Championship with a 271.835-266.265 victory over No. 3 Quinnipiac. The title marked Baylor's 11th consecutive national championship and extended the Bears' winning streak to 62 meets.
Gannon concluded the 2026 campaign with a 6-4 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark at home inside the Highmark Events Center.
The Golden Knights also collected several postseason honors. Freshman Adyson Rothermel (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser High) was named NCATA Division II Freshman of the Year, while junior Paytyn Neal (Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior High) earned First Team All-American recognition. Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel) garnered Second Team All-American honors, and Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler) was selected to the NCATA All-Academic Team.
Congratulations to first-year head coach Addy Womeldorph and her staff on a successful 2026 season.
This story was written using the support of AI.
