Acrobatics & Tumbling
- Title:
- Acrobatics & Tumbling Head Coach
- Email:
- maryann.powers@qu.edu
- Phone:
- (203) 582-5325
Mary Ann Powers enters her 29th season as head coach for Quinnipiac Acrobatics & Tumbling in 2025-26. Powers has coached at several levels including Pop-Warner, All-Star level 6 squads and at the university level.
Her greatest career achievement lies in her success with Quinnipiac University, where the team has remained a top-ten nationally ranked team since 2005. Their personal-best finish was fifth place in All-Girl Division I in 2007. In 2009, Powers became one of the founding coaches of the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA). In 2020, Powers' hard work along with her fellow co-founders reached new heights as the sport was adopted as an emerging sport for women by the NCAA and in 2025, it was announced that the NCAA would adopt the sport to championship status, paving the way for the first NCAA Acrobatics and Tumbling championships to begin as soon as the 2026-27 seasons.
Quinnipiac has been competitive nationally in every season since the NCATA's creation. Over the last seven seasons, the Bobcats have been ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation or higher, entering the 2024 NCATA National Championships as the No. 2 seed. Powers has led the Bobcats to the NCATA semifinals in nine of the last 12 seasons and has made to NCATA Championship meet appearances, most recently in the 2018 season.
The Bobcats were again successful at the 2025 National Championships, earning a pair of individual titles and another berth in the national semifinals, a staple for the Quinnipiac program over the last few seasons. Quinnipiac earned victories in the seven-element acro and the trio tumbling events.
In 2022, the group of Tiffany Zieba, Layla Tracey, Lyndsey Rudolph, and Summer Knoell earned an Individual Event Final National Championship by posting an 8.775 in the Quad Pass heat of the Tumbling event at this weekend's NCATA National Championships. The Bobcats defeated Hawaii Pacific in the event to earn the National Title in Saturday's Event Finals that would be the final competition of the 2022 season.
Powers was recognized by the NCATA in 2016 as the Coach of the Year and was named the ECAC Coach of the Year in three straight seasons from 2017-19.
She has coached 15 NCATA All-Americans, three members of the NCATA All-Academic Team, two NCATA Newcomers of the Year and the 2018 Louise Goodrum Academic Achievement Award Winner.
Quinnipiac has also won eight individual championship titles under Powers' leadership at the NCATA Individual Event Finals as part of the championship weekend.
She is the founder and co-director of the Quinnipiac University Annual Cheer and Dance Challenge which typically draws 110 teams of all ages and levels. In conjunction with the event, Powers has raised over $80,000 for charities such as the March of Dimes, the Make a Wish Foundation, The Tommy Fund, and Jimmy V Foundation.
She is also a USA Gymnastics certified coach.
In college, Powers cheered for Southern Connecticut from 1978-82 and served as team captain in her junior and senior seasons.
