WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Excitement is building for the 2023 National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling (NCATA) National Championships, which get under way Thursday morning inside the ASRC on the campus of West Liberty University.
For a full tournament schedule along with live scoring, post-match press conferences and ticket information can be found at NCATA Tournament Central. Tickets will also be sold at the gate on a cash-only basis.
Action begins at 10:30 a.m. when No. 3 seed Azusa Pacific (Calif.) takes on No. 6 seed Limestone (S.C.) in the first of four national quarterfinal matches.
Azusa Pacific is led by senior top Jacie Van de Zilver, a 3-time NCATA All-American and the NCATA's 2023 Most Outstanding Athlete (Division II). She's joined by fellow NCATA All-American Madiha Morris, a senior base, and junior base Sarah Lang, one of only eight student-athletes named to the prestigious NCATA All-Academic Team.
Limestone, the Conference Carolinas champion, features 2023 NCATA Freshman of the Year (Division II) and Conference Carolinas Athlete of the Year Katie Kier, a freshman top and tumbler. Joining Kier are fellow NCATA All-American Cameron King, a sophomore base and tumbler, and freshman base Janai Brown, another member of the NCATA All-Academic Team.
The 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal follows with a matchup between the No. 2 seed and four-time national champion University of Oregon and the No. 7 seed, Mountain East Conference regular season and tournament champion Frostburg State.
One of the deepest teams in the tournament, Oregon enters the week with a 4-2 record but both losses came against unbeaten Baylor while three of the four wins were over Top 5 opponents. A pair of NCATA All-Americans, senior base, top and tumbler Karly Nowak and junior top and tumbler Makena Carrion, lead the Ducks onto the mats.
Frostburg State exploded onto the national scene this year behind NCATA National Coach of the Year Katie Nunley. Junior top and tumbler Abbie Baker leads the Bobcats as an NCATA All-American and the MEC Athlete of the Year. Freshman base and tumbler Isabella Mongelluzzo was the MEC Freshman of the Year and junior base and tumbler Kaitlin Bolton was named to the NCATA All-Academic Team.
Seven-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Baylor hits the ASRC floor in the 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 8 seed Fairmont State. Led by head coach Felecia Mulkey, the Bears swept all three of the NCATA's major Division I awards. Senior top and tumbler Kamryn Kitchens was the NCATA Most Outstanding Athlete, sophomore top Jordyn Gruendler was the NCATA Specialist of the Year and freshman base and tumbler Gianna Cameron was the NCATA Freshman of the Year. Add in 3-time NCATA All-Americans Emily Tobin and Riley Chimwala along with 2-time All-American base Bailey Humphrey and Baylor looks ready to make a strong defense of its title.
Fairmont State is no stranger to the NCATA national championships as this is their 10th trip to the NCATA Nationals and fourth in the last five. Junior top and tumbler Katey Koehl became the sixth Falcon to earn NCATA All-America honors this season. She's joined by senior base and MEC Specialist of the Year Peyton Barnes, who won the NCATA's 2023 Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award and made the NCATA All-Academic Team for the third straight year.
The quarterfinal round wraps up with the 7 p.m. match between No. 4 seed Quinnipiac (Conn.) and No. 5 seed Gannon (Pa.). Quinnipiac, led by veteran head coach Mary Ann Powers, features a pair of NCATA All-Americans in senior base Bri Marks and junior top Lyndsey Rudolph. Junior base Melanie Reed was named to the NCATA All-Academic Team and also won the 2023 NCATA Louise Goodrum Academic Award as the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the championships.
Gannon made a run to the national championship match before falling to Baylor a year ago and first-year coach Brandy Duren has the Golden Knights right back in the national spotlight. Sophomore top and tumbler won the NCATA Specialist of the Year Award for Division II while junior top and tumbler Ali Price earned NCATA All-America honors for the second straight year. Senior base and tumbler Sammy Gouge also earned NCATA All-America honors while graduate base Sydney Hess was an NCATA All-Academic Team selection.
Thursday's winners return to the ASRC on Friday for semifinal action, set for 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. with the NCATA national championship match scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The 2023 NCATA Nationals wrap up on Sunday with the Individual Event Championships, beginning at 11 a.m. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
