Azusa, Calif. – The Duquesne University acrobatics & tumbling team has qualified for four National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA)
Individual Event Finals, scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and streaming live on ESPN+.
NCATA Individual Event Finals
Sunday, April 26 • 1:00 PM (ET) / 10:00 AM (PT)
Felix Event Center • Azusa, CA
Qualifiers are determined by the top four scores in each heat from Thursday's team quarterfinal round plus one at-large qualifier. Duquesne earned spots in the acro five-element heat and three tumbling heats: quad pass, aerial pass and open pass. In just its second season, Duquesne will compete in its first individual event finals and is the youngest program represented in the field.
The five-element acro squad of
Carly Longenecker,
Alia Ellis,
Taylor Wallace and
Caileigh Kertis, with
Clare Frantti serving as counter, posted a 9.50 in Thursday's quarterfinal to advance. The unit has scored 9.75 or better in six of seven heats this season, including a pair of 9.90s, and enters the finals with a 9.764 average.
Frantti,
Sienna Johnson,
Sarah Golie and
Lindsay Kivlan will represent Duquesne in the quad pass after posting a 7.950 (out of 8.75) in the quarterfinals, the third-highest score of the opening round. The group has competed together in four meets this season, including each of the last three, and owns the program record of 8.350, set against La Salle.
Anna Trent will count for quad pass.
Briella Unger (aerial pass) and Kivlan (open pass) also qualified in their respective individual tumbling events, with both outscoring top-ranked Baylor in Thursday's meet.
Unger recorded a 9.650 in the quarterfinals, the third-best score of the opening round, to secure her spot in the finals. The sophomore from Allentown, Pa., debuted a 10.0 start-value aerial pass in the regular-season finale against La Salle and set a program record with a 9.725.
Kivlan, a freshman from Mars, Pa., has competed the open pass in all seven meets this season. She qualified with a 9.775 in the quarterfinals — the second-best score of the round — after increasing her start value to 10.0 in the regular-season finale. Kivlan owns the program record at 9.850 and averages 9.489 on the season.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow the Duquesne Acrobatics and Tumbling team all season online at
GoDuquesne.com and on
Twitter (X) and
Instagram (@duqacrotumb).
ABOUT ACROBATICS & TUMBLING
Created in 2009, Acrobatics & Tumbling is the evolution of multiple gymnastics disciplines, incorporating the athletic elements of competitive cheerleading. The sport is sponsored by 52 NCAA varsity programs, with 47 teams competing this spring and more than 1,300 student-athletes nationwide. In January, Acrobatics & Tumbling was officially elevated from an NCAA Emerging Sport to an NCAA Championship Sport and will debut its first National Collegiate Championship in spring 2027. For more information, visit
TheNCATA.org.
