PITTSBURGH – Duquesne base Mia Dipner earned honorable mention for NCATA Freshman of the Week, while the Dukes held steady at No. 12 nationally in the final regular season rankings released Wednesday by the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA).

Dipner received the recognition after a standout performance in Duquesne's highest-scoring meet of its inaugural season — a 260.760-point win over Buffalo State on Sunday. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native competed in a team-high 10 heats, plus the team event, and contributed to four season-best scores: 9.10 in compulsory acro, 8.75 in six-element acro, 9.75 in synchronized pyramid, and 8.50 in synchronized toss.

She also delivered the meet's highest score with a 9.80 in compulsory pyramid. Dipner was instrumental in the Dukes' season-high event totals in compulsory, acro, pyramid, and team. She participated in all three pyramid heats that combined for a 28.90 out of a possible 29.50 — just 0.60 in deductions, the lowest of any event this season for Duquesne. In the team event, she anchored base segments across acro, pyramid, and tosses, helping the Dukes post an 88.86.

Dipner joins Oregon's Angelica Martin as this week's honorable mention selections. Baylor's Leavy McDonald was named NCATA Freshman of the Week.

This marks Dipner's second national recognition of the season — she previously earned NCATA Freshman of the Week honors following Duquesne's debut win over then-No. 3 Gannon.

Duquesne remained at No. 12 for the third consecutive poll. The Dukes debuted at No. 15 in the NCATA preseason rankings before jumping to No. 12 in the first regular-season release and holding that spot throughout the year. They closed their first season with a 4-3 record, highlighted by the upset of defending national runner-up Gannon and Sunday's season-high win over Buffalo State. All three losses came against nationally ranked opponents.

The NCATA rankings are determined by the championships committee based on overall team performance using the following criteria: win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, common opponents, average meet score and start value (both adjusted to remove high/low), score differential (adjusted), and team progression.

The 2025 NCATA Championship field and individual event qualifiers will be announced Sunday, April 13.
 
NCATA National Rankings (Regular Season Release #3 – April 9, 2025)

1. Baylor University
2. University of Oregon
3. Quinnipiac University
4. Augustana University
5. Fairmont State University
6. Iona University
7. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
8. Limestone University
9. Azusa Pacific University
10. Gannon University
11. Saint Leo University
12. Duquesne University
13. Glenville State University
14. Coker University
15. Lander University

* The top 8 teams in final ranking will qualify for 2025 NCATA National Championships
** Results as of 4/6/25 considered in this week's rankings

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ABOUT ACROBATICS & TUMBLING
For more information on the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling, visit TheNCATA.org.