The four-time defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Baylor acrobatics & tumbling team is set to begin its 2019 National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) season this Sunday, Feb. 3 at West Liberty University in West Liberty, West Virginia at noon CST.
The Bears are coming off an 11-0 season in which they defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 283.360-274.650 to earn the program's fourth-consecutive national title.
The Bears return 24 members from its 2018 NCATA championship squad, including two All-Americans in 2018 NCATA Specialist of the Year Kaylee Adams[baylorbears.com] and 2018 NCATA Most Outstanding Player Ceara Gray[baylorbears.com]. Additionally, 21 freshmen join the roster for the 2019 season to provide great depth.
Head coach Felecia Mulkey [baylorbears.com], who boasts a 41-1 career record at Baylor, said she is thrilled with the balance and depth of this year's roster.
"This year has been a lot of fun because we have such great leadership," Mulkey said. "These seniors, to watch them take the freshmen under their wings and talk about our standard, this is what we do, this is how we do it, I like that part of it. This year more so than ever, we're so deep. These freshmen, man they're talented. When we get them to figure it out and they can live up to that Baylor standard, we're really, really deep."
To watch the meet live, visit https://team1sports.com/hilltoppersports/[team1sports.com]
The Bears will hit the mat at the Ferrell Center on Sunday, Feb. 24 for the home opener and rematch of the 2018 national championship against No. 3 Quinnipiac at 1 p.m. Baylor will also host No. 8 Converse College and No. 2 Oregon in home meets in 2019, as well as the NCATA National Championships on April 25-27.
A&T meets consist of six events: Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling and Team Routine. Teams compete in a predetermined rotation order throughout each event. Events are immediately scored by officials and overall standings are displayed on the scoreboard.
