Lillian Stephens, Managing Editor with The MSU Spokesman
More than two dozen young women — all newly recruited members of Morgan State University’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team — wipe the sleep from their eyes, roll out of bed and make their way to the university’s Hill Field House each week Monday through Friday by 6:00 a.m.
Many of the team’s members have done cheer, gymnastics or tumbling throughout their lives and started at just three or four years old. Regina Smith, head coach of the team, was responsible for finding and recruiting all of the newly-established team’s members and traveled all over the country to find women and girls she saw as having the necessary skills, talent, strength and potential to be on Morgan’s roster.
This journey began more than a year ago when Smith first accepted the position of head coach early in 2023 — a position that also held historical significance as it meant Morgan would be the first and only HBCU to have a Division I acrobatics and tumbling team.
“Being the first HBCU Division I institution was obviously a big deal in both worlds — artistic gymnastics world and competitive cheer,” said Smith. “We had to first do baby steps. We had to build on the ground. We had to build muscles. We had to start with technique all over again.”
School officials set the idea in motion in 2022, just months after Morgan reinstated its men’s wrestling team. According to the NCAA’s website, universities must maintain an equal number of men’s and women’s sports to be Title IX compliant. After careful consideration, the university decided to make history and establish the first HBCU Division I acrobatics and tumbling team.
The team consists of nearly 30 women from all over the country: some being Maryland natives and at least one hailing from the West Coast. According to Smith, preparing for this season was a process of building upon each individual’s skills and talents as well as learning to come together as a team.
Ga’moni Gaskins hails from Prince George’s County, is a freshman in business management and serves as a base and tumbler for the team. She said she committed to the team while she was still in high school and has been tumbling since she was only three years old.
“You literally gotta be a robot in acro,” she said. “They look at every little thing. [In acro], it’s deductions by falling, moving, if the synchronization’s not up … It’s the little details in acro.”
Gaskins’ eyebrows raised well into her forehead and she shook her head as she recalled times when the stress of practice, classes, interteam conflict and the coming meets got to her. She said she remembered feeling upset, frustrated and cried on several occasions.
“I thought we were gonna start off basic. But no, our coach wanted us to start off … the top of the top,” said Gaskins. “As a team, we’ve grown a little closer than what we were before. A lot has gotten better from where it started.
The team has seven meets scheduled between Feb. 10 and April 11. They’ve faced Quinnipiac University, Iona University, Stevenson University, Presbyterian College, and Bluefield State. Their meet against Long Island University will be the last before the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association Championships.
Tehya Pureifoy, a sophomore computer science major from Douglasville, Ga, and member of the team said the team’s ability to work together and perform as individuals has vastly improved since their early days in August.
“We fall [now], yes — but we was falling all over the place in the beginning of the year,” she said. “Everyone was just so confused because it’s a new sport, everybody’s new to it. We’re kind’ve having to learn together as to what to do.”
According to Smith, everyone on the team had high skill sets but had to adapt them specifically for the judges in acrobatics and tumbling. The judges in this sport pay close attention to fine details.
Although the way the team members performed the movements would be exceptional by competitive cheer’s standards, the exact same performance would result in deductions at an acrobatics and tumbling meet.
“It was stressful in the beginning … but then it started to get more easier once you started working it and working it. It built — it built patience for me,” said Pureifoy. “We still have a lot to work on but we are way better than what we’ve been doing. I would rather fall at practice every single time than fall at a meet.”
As of today, the team completed the fifth meet of their inaugural season and obtained their second win. Only one meet against Long Island University remains in the season, whose team has a 5-4 record.
“I think for me, one of the biggest rewards is seeing where they are now, seeing how far they’ve come,” said Smith. “I truly am excited for this team, with such a young team and the ability that they have. I’m excited to see where we’re headed in the future — knowing the classes that are coming in behind them, it’s just gonna make it way more competitive in this group and I’m excited for that.”
Smith, Gaskins and Pureifoy all said they’ve overcome many of the adversities or challenges — whether personal, interpersonal, strength or skill issues — they had faced earlier in their season. Regardless, all of them say they were excited.
“We’ve got a lot of barriers to break,” said Smith. “They already have their backs against the wall. [The girls] know that they’re making history. This is the first ever Division I HBCU, first ever all-minority team in our sport … I think we’re just really excited for the community to come out and support us and check out what our sport is.”