The season begins Sunday for No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling, which will face Missouri State University at 1:00 pm PT. Around the nation, five other ranked teams will kick off their campaigns, including a top-10 matchup and a joint meet on Saturday and Sunday. The Daily Emerald breaks down notable meets in Week 1 of NCATA competition.

No. 3 Quinnipiac University vs. No. 9 Gannon University (Feb. 9, 3:00 pm PT, Hamden, Connecticut)

Quinnipiac remains one of the most viable challengers to what’s been a relatively consistent top-two of Oregon and Baylor in the NCATA. The Bobcats qualified for the National Championship semifinals or better every complete season since 2016, gone 52-22 in those seasons, and since 2021 have only been knocked out by Baylor (five times), Oregon (twice), and Gannon.

This Week 1 meet, then, is the marquee event in what’s a season-defining stretch early in the season for the Bobcats. They travel to Oregon Feb. 21, and face just one more ranked team (No. 4 Iona) in a six-meet regular season. Gannon, meanwhile, will face six ranked opponents in its nine-meet season. The Knights went 8-3 in 2024, when they qualified for the National Championship but lost to Baylor, but followed that season up with a 3-5 2025 campaign hampered by significant roster turnover.

Last year’s regular season ended with a No. 3 Quinnipiac win over then-No. 11 Gannon, after which Knights head coach Brandy Duran stepped down. Gannon promoted assistant Addy Womeldorph, who will take charge of her first meet on Monday.

No. 11 Saint Leo University vs. No. 1 Baylor University (Feb. 6, 3:00 pm PT, Saint Leo, Florida)

The Lions host the nation’s top preseason team in their season opener, and are looking for an upset that would boost them into postseason contention. The two faced off last season in Waco, Texas — a 27.51-point victory for the Bears — and Saint Leo finished the season 6-2 with five event final qualifications. 

It’s the only other ranked matchup of the opening slate, but one that could have major implications for the Lions. They face just one other preseason-ranked program in 2026, No. 14 Lander on March 6, and have a chance to put early positive tape on the record for the postseason committee. A win is relatively unlikely, but they’ll need to start their season fast in order to have a shot.

Baylor, meanwhile, faces a slate of several ranked teams (including No. 2 Oregon both home and away). For the Bears, their season opener will be on the road for the third-straight season ahead of a year where they look to capture their 11th-consecutive national championship. Tumblers Payton Washington (the reigning NCATA Division I Athlete of the Year) and Emily Bott (a 2025 All American) are entering their third season in Waco as the engines of the national championship favorite, but keep an eye on a pyramid event where Baylor put together back-to-back-to-back perfect scores in a meet against Oregon last season.

Around the NCATA

Outside of that pair of ranked matchups and Oregon’s matchup with Missouri State, No. 6 Fairmont State takes on West Liberty University and West Virginia State University in a joint meet on Feb. 7. The Falcons face four ranked opponents this season — No. 7 Duquesne University, No. 9 Gannon, No. 10 Azusa Pacific University and No. 12 Glenville State University — back-to-back in their final four meets of the season. 

After its Sunday meet, Oregon will sit idle until its home opener, Feb. 21 against Quinnipiac.

This story was updated to reflect that Baylor’s meet at Saint Leo starts at 3:00 pm PT, not 2:00 pm.