A&T Ready to Defend National Championship In Waco
4/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
WACO, Texas - The top-ranked Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling (7-0) team is set to face No. 8 Gannon (4-4) at 5 p.m. (ET) on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Baylor-hosted National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) National Championships.
The National Championship will kick off with individual event finals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Bears will look to defend their national championship on their home turf, as the meet will take place at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Sunday marks Baylor first-ever meeting with Gannon. This season is Gannon's third season as an Acrobatics and Tumbling program, following their creation prior to the 2014 season. The Golden Knights have faced similar opponents to the Bears this season, with victories over Adrian, Concordia University (Wis.), King University and Glenville State College as well as losses to Quinnipiac, Fairmont State, Azusa Pacific and Oregon.
Baylor comes into the meet on an 18 meet win streak, including a seven meet win streak at home. The Bears have defeated five of the eight teams in the NCATA National Championship including No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Quinnipiac, No. 4 Hawaii Pacific, No. 6 Fairmont State and No. 7 Alderson Broaddus.
Juniors Kaelyn Cowan and Kiara Nowlin, who were both NCATA player of the week honorees and Academic All-Big 12 first team honorees this season, lead the Bears. Cowan, a base from Hewitt, Texas, has competed in 53 out of 120 heats the season for the Bears, a team high. Nowlin, a junior top/base from Oxnard, Calif., is undefeated in her tumbling 6 element pass this season and has averaged 9.946 in the tumbling event, compared to her opponents who have averaged 9.33.
Tickets for the National Championship may be purchased at the event or online. For those not able to attend, the competition may be viewed for free online at: Live Stream.
In addition, Tuesday's national championship match will be televised live on Fox College Sports Pacific.
2016 NCATA Championship Schedule
(all times central)
Saturday, April 16
Individual Event Finals - 7:30
Sunday, April 17
Quarterfinals
#3 Quinnipiac vs. #6 Fairmont State - 12 p.m.
#2 Oregon vs. #7 Alderson-Broaddus - 2 p.m.
#1 Baylor vs. #8 Gannon - 5 p.m.
#4 Hawaii Pacific vs. #5 Azusa Pacific - 7 p.m.
Monday, April 18
Semifinals
Quinnipiac/Fairmont State winner vs. Oregon/Alderson-Broaddus winner - 5 p.m.
Baylor/Gannon winner vs. Hawaii Pacific/Azusa Pacific winner - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19
Championship
Semifinal #1 winner vs. Semifinal #2 winner - 7 p.m.
Ticket Prices are as follows:
All-Session pass - $30
Daily Pass - Adults - $10, Youth (ages 2-17) - $5, Group (20 or more) - $5
BU Students - free with BU ID card
