HONOLULU – The Hawai'i Pacific University Acrobatics and Tumbling team is ranked eighth the first regular season championship rankings by the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association.
 
The Sharks have faced three of the top five schools, one twice, in their four matches this season while posting a combined average score of 265.479. The Sharks have the 11th and 13th best scores of the season with their 272.800 against Azusa Pacific on Feb. 18 and their 271.865 against Oregon on March 12.
 
Six-time national champion Baylor is ranked number one in the first of three regular season rankings. Azusa Pacific is second, Gannon (Pa.) is third, with Quinnipiac (Conn.) fourth and Oregon fifth.
 
Limestone (S.C.) is sixth, with Converse (S.C.) seventh and HPU eighth. King (Tenn.) and Fairmont State (W.Va.) are ninth and 10th respectively.
 
The final rankings will determine the eight-team field for the NCATA National Championships April 28-30 at Oregon's Matthew Knight Arena.
 
The NCATA championship committee considers the overall performance of teams throughout the season thus far and utilized the following criteria to consider team rankings: won-loss record, head-to-head competition, strength of schedule, common opponents, average meet score, average meet start value, score differential (execution) and human elements.
 
Two more sets of regular season rankings will be released on March 30 and April 6. The 2022 championship field and at-large qualifiers for individual event finals will be released on Monday, April 11.
 
HPU travels to Texas for its final two meets of the season next week. The Sharks visit East Texas Baptist next Tuesday for a 1 p.m. HST (6 p.m. CDT) match in Ornelas Gym in Marshall, then goes to Waco to face No. 1 Baylor on Saturday, April 2 at the Ferrell Center.
   
NCATA Championship Ranking
March 23, 2022 
 

1. Baylor
2. Azusa Pacific
3. Gannon
4. Quinnipiac
5. Oregon
6. Limestone
7. Converse
8. Hawai'i Pacific
9. King
10. Fairmont State