Duquesne University Acrobatics and Tumbling team prepared for inaugural match
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A new women's sport has arrived at Duquesne University - acrobatics and tumbling.
Think competition cheerleading mixed with gymnastics and it's a sport created for women who want to continue doing crazy stunts, acrobatics, and cheer.
It's a newer sport, just 20 teams existed across the country just five years ago, and now there are 56.
Duquesne University has one of those new teams and it was just created this year.
Head Coach Michaela Soper and her staff built a roster of 33 freshman girls who began practicing in August. Now, they'll have their first meet next week.
Soper is not new to the sport. She competed in college after suffering a bad injury in gymnastics.
"I was a gymnast my whole life growing up, my senior year I had a career-ending injury," she said. "I was contacted by a collegiate coach who was starting an acrobatics and tumbling program. He asked me to do an official visit, tried out for the team, ended up landing a spot on the team, and was offered a scholarship."
She also isn't new to building a program from scratch, doing the same thing at her previous institution.
"Ended up in the coaching realm," Soper recalled. "I was an assistant coach at Limestone University for one year and stepped into the head coaching role right after. Was there for four years, really building the program similar to what we hope to do here."
Soper went on to say that being part of history here at Duquesne is incredible and something her coaching staff and athletes are excited to be part of.
"They know they're a part of history," she said. "I think when you're young, you can't really understand the impact you're making. One of the reasons I stuck with it is by the time I was a senior I fully understood what we were doing as young women. Creating a brand new sport and pioneering something that's never been done before."
"This was a new opportunity that was presented to me," said Abigail Eberle, one of the members of the team. "I really wanted to grab it and jump on it. Looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to stay local. So to have an opportunity to continue athletics here in my hometown it's really special."
These young women have been practicing for nearly six months, so the excitement is obvious for their first meet on February 7 at 6 p.m. at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Attendance is free.
