ELKINS, W.Va. - Following a fourth-place preseason poll standing in the Mountain East Conference, head coach Shelby Armstrong will guide her third-year acrobatics & tumbling program into competition on Saturday, hosting to Urbana as part of the inaugural Beauty and the Beast event, sponsored by Senator Entertainment in partnership with D&E's wrestling team.
The Senators defeated Urbana last year 234.095-140.250, as the Blue Knights worked through their first year as a program. D&E will add eight freshmen to a roster that returns three All-Mountain East selections from 2019 in Nina Day, Kassidy Montondo, and Cheyenna Jones. A&T recently won their vote to become an NCAA Emerging Sport on January 26.
"We have made the most improvement in the tumbling event," Armstrong said. "As a team that has had smaller numbers in the first two years, we also didn't have the tumbling that our opponents did. I went out last year and sought out as many gymnasts as I could in the recruiting cycle. Our scores are going to jump big time this year and I am so excited for their passes."
"I am excited about the schedule; we have quite a few meets each month so that is going to be tough," Armstrong continued. "Good reps will be key for us this year to limit impact. For spring break, we travel to Quinnipiac, a DI program that has always been great and will no doubt be our toughest opponent. Our most exciting meets are typically with West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty, because we all started our programs at the same time and our meets have always felt a little more competitive with them."
Davis & Elkins will open their schedule with two home meets, taking on Urbana Saturday (February 8) and Concordia (Wis.) on February 22, before a big MEC road meet with preseason NCATA #7 Fairmont State on February 27. D&E will travel to Connecticut over Spring Break to compete against Division I Quinnipiac, currently ranked third in the country by the NCATA, before returning home to host Glenville State on March 6. D&E makes the short trip to Buckhannon on March 20 to take on West Virginia Wesleyan, and host West Liberty on March 27 at home, ahead of the MEC A&T Championships on April 10.
