BALTIMORE, Md. (Feb. 9, 2024)--Anticipation of the long-awaited inaugural season debut of the 2024 Morgan State Acrobatics and Tumbling team is finally over.
 
The Morgan State Acrobatics and Tumbling team will kick off the 2024 campaign at home on Saturday, February 10 when it welcomes third-ranked Quinnipiac to Hill Field House at 2 p.m.
 
On April 8, 2022, Morgan State announced the addition of acrobatics and tumbling as its 16^th NCAA varsity sport. Saturday's meet will have historical significance, as the program will officially get underway.
 
Morgan State is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) Division I program to offer the sport and is only the third school in Maryland (following Frostburg State and Stevenson) to add acrobatics and tumbling. The Lady Bears are also the 10th NCAA Division I program in competition this season.
 
"This historic moment is so profound not only for Morgan State University, the Community of Baltimore, Maryland and HBCU's, but for all the brown girls who have a passion for these skill sets," said Morgan State head coach Regina Smith, who during her coaching career has captured over 30 national championship college and high school titles. "We are truly honored to embark on this journey and looking forward to representing Morgan State University well tomorrow."
 
Coached by Mary Ann Powers, who enters her 27th season as head coach at Quinnipiac, the Bobcats have remained a top-10 nationally ranked program since 2005. Powers has led the Bobcats to the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) semifinals in nine of the last 12 seasons and has made two NCATA Championship meet appearances, most recently in the 2018 season.
 
Last season the Bobcats went 6-2 on the season and earned a semifinal bid during the 2023 NCATA National Championships. Quinnipiac would take home four individual event titles in the inversion pyramid, duo tumbling, quad tumbling and aerial tumbling events.
 
The Bobcats qualified for the event finals in 12 separate categories and return all three teams that earned the tumbling event championships in 2023.
 
The NCAA added acrobatics and tumbling to its Division I Emerging Sports for Women program in 2020. Acrobatics and tumbling evolved from different disciplines of gymnastics, which includes the athletic aspects of competitive cheerleading. The format was created at the collegiate level to address the interest and abilities of young women competing in this skill set. During competition, individuals and small groups execute acrobatic lifts, tosses, and tumbling conducted on a floor.
 
The sport of acrobatics and tumbling is comprised of six events varying in group sizes. Teams will compete in Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling and Team event. Halftime is after the first three events and each event has anywhere from three, four or six heats. The final team score is out of a total of 300 points.
 
"We are thrilled for the new skills the students will compete tomorrow," said Smith. "They (fans) can look forward to our tosses going front in the Toss events. They can look forward to our Pyramids being our strength in the meet, as well as our freshmen leading the way on the mat." 
 
Hired August 2023, Coach Smith has worked tirelessly building the program from the ground up. On the eve of the start of the inaugural season, Morgan State's acrobatics and tumbling program is ready to be revealed to the world.
 
"This past year had a lot of exciting and challenging moments," said Smith. "Just like I tell the team, we will overcome, this too shall pass, and we will persevere through all the adversity. We were called to be here for this moment, and we look forward to wearing the proud colors of Orange and Blue, as Lady Bears." 
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.