Spartanburg, SC - The NCATA officially released its Pre-Season national Poll on Tuesday and the Converse College Acrobatics and Tumbling Team has been chosen #6 in the poll.  The Valkyries wre previously ranked #1 in the Conference Carolinas Pre-Season Poll and will open their season on February 27th when they host Belmont Abbey College. 

Baylor University, winners of five-consecutive National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) National Championships, has been voted No. 1 in the associations preseason top 10, following a vote of the competing head coaches from around the country.
 
The Bears received 24 of the 26 first-place votes and topped the voting with 388 total points. Baylor won the 2019 NCATA National Championships, its fifth-consecutive NCATA crown, and was off to a 6-0 start in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season and the 2020 National Championships.
 
Oregon received the final two first-place votes and came in second place in the voting with 363 points. UO was off to a 4-1 start in 2020 with its only loss coming to Baylor last February in Waco. The Ducks have advanced to the national championship meet in four of the last five years (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019).
 
Quinnipiac, a national finalist in 2018, finished third in the preseason voting with 322 points, followed by Azusa Pacific (282) and Gannon (270) to round out the top 5.
 
Converse (257), Fairmont State (237) and Hawaii Pacific (220) occupied the next three spots in the preseason poll, while King (195) and Limestone (136) rounded out the preseason top 10 for the second-consecutive season.
 
The 2021 season gets underway on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., when No. 9 King University travels to Greenwood, S.C. to compete against Lander University.
 
The 2021 NCATA meet schedule is contingent upon the ability to conduct the sport safely while adhering to state and local guidelines and COVID-19 testing requirements at each member institution utilizing NCATA and NCAA guidelines for high-risk classified sports.
 
Spectators for 2021 Acrobatics & Tumbling meets will be at the discretion of each competing institution and will be considered based on state and local guidelines and social distancing protocols to keep all student-athletes, coaches, officials and game day personnel safe at all times.
 
The dates, plans and location for the 2021 NCATA National Championship event are still in the planning stages and will be announced in the near future.

2021 NCATA Coaches' Poll (2/9/21)
1. Baylor (24) - 388
2. Oregon (2) - 363
3. Quinnipiac - 322
4. Azusa Pacific - 282
5. Gannon - 270
6. Converse - 257
7. Fairmont State - 237
8. Hawai'i Pacific - 220
9. King - 195
10. Limestone - 136
 
( ): 1st-place votes