BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team has been ranked seventh in the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association Championship Rankings, sealing its fate as the lone Division III team to earn a spot at the national tournament.
UMHB is ranked seventh in the final championship rankings and will compete in the program's second NCATA National Championship. The Cru will face off against No. 2 Oregon University on Thursday, April 24
th at 1:30 p.m. UMHB played the Ducks in last year's NCATA quarterfinal and traveled to Eugene earlier this year for a regular-season meet.
Baylor University is ranked No. 1 and will open championship play against No. 8 Limestone on Thursday, April 24
th at 4:30 p.m. No. 4 Augustana and No. 5 Fairmont State will face off at 7 p.m. on Thursday with No. 3 Quinnipiac and No. 6 Iona opening the day with a 10 a.m. meet. UMHB faced No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Oregon and No. 6 Iona earlier this season. The Cru will represent Division III athletics in a field that includes four Division I programs and three Division II squads.
This year's championship will be hosted by Augustana University at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls. The eight-team, single-elimination tournament will begin on Thursday, April 24th with four quarterfinal matchups. The semifinals are set for Friday evening, while the National Championship meet will be contested on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. National event finals are scheduled for Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
The NCATA championships committee considers the overall performance of teams throughout the season thus far and utilized the follow criteria to consider team rankings: W/L record, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, common opponents, average meet score, average meet start value, score differential and the team's progression through the season.
To purchase tickets or learn more about the NCATA National Championship, visit
www.thencata.org.
