Schedule | Roster | Live Video
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It has been nearly 16 months since Kutztown University and the Golden Bears athletic department announced the edition of women's acrobatics & tumbling as the university's 22nd varsity intercollegiate sport. The wait to compete is finally over as KU will take to the mat for the first time as a varsity sport this Friday, Feb. 18, at Keystone Arena. First match is against nationally ranked Quinnipiac at 7 p.m.
 
Karah Naples, hired as the program's first head coach almost a year ago to date, is excited to be able to see what her team can do in the first go around for many involved in the program.
 
"We're looking to start a foundation of success for this program," said Naples. "And that starts with the opener on Friday. I'm hoping to see all of the girls' hard work pay off this year. We're all super excited. They have been waiting for this moment for a long time, myself and my assistants included."
 
The Golden Bears are the first program that Naples will lead, coming from Fairmont State University where she was a former student-athlete and assistant coach. A majority of the 2022 Kutztown roster is wet behind the ears when it comes to competitive acrobatics & tumbling at the highest level.
 
"About half of our roster were already students here on campus when I got the job, but most of them didn't know much about the sport," Naples said. "A lot of the girls have backgrounds in gymnastics or cheerleading, but not many have competed in this sport. It's really a brand-new thing so there's been a big learning curve these last few months."
 
Meets include six events, with a halftime of 15 minutes sandwiched in between, all of which are competed on the floor and in varying group sizes:
 
Event 1, Compulsory: (Both teams will compete the same skills in all heats of the compulsory event. These skills are the foundation of the sport)
Event 2, Acro: (This event opens up the optional portion of the meet where each team will perform skills to their team's strengths. The skills preformed will then determine the start value based on the level of difficulty)
Event 3, Pyramid
Halftime (15 minutes)
Event 4, Toss
Event 5, Tumbling
Event 6, Team Routine
 
Kutztown will provide live streaming of its home meets at KUBears.com/watch, or by clicking on the live video link above.
 
The home and season-opening meet against No. 4 Quinnipiac on Friday is part of a six-meet schedule for the Golden Bears that includes future home dates against Gannon, Saturday, April 2, and East Stroudsburg, Friday, April 8.
 
Kutztown will travel to East Stroudsburg for a tri-meet with the host Warriors and Stevenson Friday, March 4, before heading to Angola, Ind., to face Trine Saturday, March 19.