SIOUX FALLS, S.D. –  The Augustana acrobatics and tumbling team is on the road this weekend for two meets starting in Hamden, Connecticut, on Sunday to face Quinnipiac followed by a trip Caldwell, New Jersey, on Tuesday to compete against Caldwell.
 
This is the second road trip for the first-year program following the program's first victory over Concordia University on February 19. Live streams of each even are available at GoAugie.com/Live. 
 
The Bobcats
Quinnipiac, ranked No. 4 in NCATA Preseason Coaches Poll, holds a current record of 1-0 after beating Kutztown on February 11, by a score of 265.390-234.330. Last season the Bobcats advanced to the NCATA National Championships semifinal round before falling to Baylor. 
 
In the season opener for QU, the Bobcats swept all six events including a seven-point win in the team event, and nearly four point victories in the compulsory, acro, pyramid and toss. In the tumble, QU outscored Kutztown 54.650-44.600.
 
The Cougars
Caldwell stands with a record of 0-1 in its inaugural season with a loss to Stevenson, 186.660-113.350, on February 19. Under the direction of head coach Jenna Adams, Caldwell received a heat victory in the aerial tumbling pass as she scored an 8.250. In addition, Mickennah Lanza won the open pass heat with a score of 8.15.
 
The Vikings
The Vikings are currently 1-1 with a win over Concordia-Wisconsin, 261.805-239.940. Looking to build on their victory against CWU the Vikings after improving their first meet score by 10.150 points. 
 
Freshman Paige Simon competed in 11 heats in the win at CWU and was a part of the near perfect 9.85 pyramid in the pyramid open heat. On her tumbling pass heat, she scored a 9.275, less than a .2 deduction on the pass.
 
Another strong performer in the win was McKenna Trowbridge as she competed in all four compulsory heats. She helps the seven element acro have a start value of a 10 while that heat totaled a 9.15. In the individual tumbling passes, she has the highest start value at 9.5. She received less than a .2 deduction in scoring a 9.325.
 
About Acrobatics & Tumbling
An NCATA meet is a team competition consisting of six events. The first event is compulsories, followed by three heats within the acro event, followed by the pyramid event and then halftime. After halftime, there will be the toss event, the tumbling event, and the team event. A running score will be kept throughout the meet. The team with the most cumulative points at the end of all six events is the winner of the meet.
 
The Compulsory event consists of four heats; an acro heat, a pyramid heat, a toss heat and a tumbling heat. The skills for the compulsory event represent the basic skills of the sport of acrobatics and tumbling. In this event, each team will execute the same skills for direct comparison. Each heat begins with a starting value of 10. The officials will be looking for execution, body positions and stability of structures.
 
The acro event marks the beginning of the optional portion of the meet. Each team will compete with skills previously chosen with different possible start values. There will be between two and four athletes on the floor in each of the three heats. Heat one has five elements, heat two has six elements and heat three has seven elements. The start value is determined by the difficulty and combination of each skill. In addition, each position must be held for three seconds. This event demonstrates power, strength and balance.
 
The Pyramid event is the final event in the 1st half. In the Pyramid event, athletes will build three layers in a structure. The start value of each heat is determined by the difficulty and the combination of the entry, structure and dismount. The Pyramid Event has three different heats with different requirements for each heat. Heat one must have an inversion. Heat Two must be synchronized and Heat Three is an open heat. Two key things the officials will be looking for are the position of the top and the stability of the structure.
 
The first event of the second half is the Toss Event. Here you will see four athletes toss a teammate into the air. The teammate tossed in the air, known as a top, will execute a flip or twist before being caught. There are three heats in this event. The synchronized toss features two toss groups. These groups should look exactly alike and be in sync. The start value of the toss depends on skills that the top executes in the air. Officials will be looking for height, the top's body position and tight catches by the bases.
 
The fifth event of the meet is the Tumbling Event. This event has six heats. The first three are synchronized group tumbling passes; a duo, trio and quad tumbling pass. The last three are individual tumbling passes. The start value of each heat are determined by the difficulty and combination of skills in each pass. Officials will be looking for body position, continuity of skills and technique in each skill.
 
The final event of the day will be the team event. It encompasses everything you just watched in the first five events. The team event features up to 24 athletes on the floor at one time performing skills in Acro, Toss, Pyramid and Tumbling in a routine set to music. Key items for officials to evaluate include synchronization of skills, stability of the structures, body position and technique of the tumbling. This is a very fast-paced event so be sure to keep your eyes on the mat.