'Growth Over Glory': The Mind Behind Duquesne Acrobatics and Tumbling

By: Mireya Maymi

PITTSBURGH -- Michaela Soper is not fond of taking credit. 

After being named Duquesne University Athletics' “Staff Member of the Year", she said that she wished she could “break (her) award up into tiny little pieces” in order to share it with those around her.

This is the mind behind the Dukes' acrobatics and tumbling team, a second-year program that has just returned home from its historic first NCATA National Championship appearance this past weekend.

Head Coach Michaela Soper at Duquesne's inaugural acrobatics and tumbling meet vs. Gannon on Feb. 7, 2025. Photo by Joe Sargent.

Over seven seasons, Soper has helped build two different programs, leading them each to claim National Championship berths. Nevertheless, deflecting the credit that comes with her success continues to be instinct.

The Fallston, Maryland native spent her youth as an artistic gymnast, competing for Harford Gymnastics Club. Soper continued her athletic career in Erie, Pennsylvania at Gannon University on its acrobatics and tumbling team for the 2015-2018 seasons.

She then launched her collegiate coaching career as the assistant coach of the inaugural acrobatics and tumbling team at Limestone University in the summer of 2018. The following season, Soper was promoted to head coach of the program.

All roads eventually led her back to Pennsylvania, where she first began her journey in the sport. Soper was hired to be Duquesne's first head coach of the newly announced program in May of 2024.

Soper attributes much of her aptitude for coaching to her experiences as both a gymnast and acrobatics and tumbling athlete. Her versatility throughout positions and events during her athletic career has allowed her to coach from multiple perspectives.

"I always considered myself jack of all trades, master of none," Soper said.

Soper recalled being "average" on each of the four events in her gymnastics career, but expressed her connection and love for the floor exercise, making her a great candidate for acrobatics and tumbling. She also explained that her "unique body type" allowed her to experience nearly every aspect of the new sport.

"I kind of blend and mold into a bunch of different positions," Soper said. She took on the roles of top, base, back-spot, and tumbler for the Golden Knights, contributing to 75 heat victories throughout her career.

As a coach, Soper hopes to expose her athletes to as many positions as possible, reflecting her own career. In doing so, she refrains from "putting (athletes) in a box", intending to allow them to reach their full potential. This is just one of Soper's characteristic philosophies that the Duquesne program is being built upon.

Human first, athlete second is another. Soper's standards for recruiting her team go far beyond scores and skills. 

"It's more so about each individual character and the humans that are on the team," she said, concluding that it is her athletes that make her "look good" by being who they are, on and off the mat.

This respect for humanity goes both ways. Former base specialist for the Dukes, Abby McDermott, expressed her appreciation for her coach's character during the recruiting process.

"Before committing to Duquesne, I had a significant knee injury, and Coach Mic (Soper) still took a chance on me," McDermott said. "That says everything about the kind of coach and person she is."

Claire Piper, sophomore base and tumbler at Duquesne, agrees with McDermott from another context.

"I would never have had the opportunity to be a collegiate athlete if it wasn't for Coach Mic," Piper said. "She saw something in me that I never knew I had in myself, and for that, I am so grateful."

For Soper, her ability to lead both the Division II Limestone Saints, and the Division I Duquesne Dukes to National Championships has become a testament to the culture of her teams.

"I'm the face," she said in a press conference following Duquesne's matchup against #1 ranked Baylor University at the 2026 NCATA National Championship Quarterfinals, "but they put in the work. They're the beating heart and soul of this program."

While actively preparing her athletes for the future, Soper constantly reminds them to be filled with gratitude for the women who came before them. When acrobatics and tumbling received the vote to become the 93rd NCAA Championship sport on January 16, 2026, Soper did not hesitate to honor those who have paved the way for her and for countless other athletes and coaches, despite being a large advocate for the process herself.

"I would be nothing without them," she said.

Soper also admires the collaborative nature of the sport and the motto of "women supporting women" that acrobatics and tumbling operates on-- there will always be those that came before and those to come after.

"I think that that's the coolest thing about this sport is it doesn't just land on one person's shoulders," she said. "You know, I think even the founders now have realized that it's up to us."

Founding member and current head coach of Quinnipiac University's acrobatics and tumbling program, Mary Ann Powers, solidified Soper's claims when she stopped the Dukes on their way to Event Finals of the 2026 NCATA Championships to give her remarks.

"You all are really so blessed to be coached by Michaela," Powers said. "I cannot wait to see what you guys do in the future."

Soper's path to acrobatics and tumbling was not an easy one. An injury that not only fractured her back, but also her dreams of becoming a collegiate gymnast led her to understand that her identity could not only be placed in her sport.

"I've always worked hard after that moment," Soper said, "trying to be somebody that when I take that hat off and I say, 'I'm no longer a coach and my sport is off to the side', what do I try to do to fill my cup?"

Soper roots herself in her faith, family and education. Whether it is singing songs of praise, reading the Bible, spending time with immediate family, laughing with her team, or furthering her education, Soper hopes to be a role model for her student-athletes beyond just the sport of acrobatics and tumbling.

She achieved a Masters level Degree in Business Administration during her time as a coach at Limestone as a way of growing in her role of professional development, adding to her Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science achieved at Gannon.

"Education is something that I also find fun, even though it does have something to do with work," Soper said. She feels that contributing to her overall education has allowed her to "pour back into the world" in other ways than just through her job as a coach.

Dukes are congratulated by display at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse upon return on Monday. Photo by Mireya Maymi.

Under Soper's leadership, the Dukes walk away from the 2026 season having gained experience against ranked opponents on the sport's largest stage as well as the first individual national championship title in Duquesne athletics history. That title was won by freshman, Lindsay Kivlan, in the open tumbling pass on Sunday.

Soper continuously uses the phrase, "growth over glory" to describe her team's goals, also reflecting her personal values in refusing to glorify herself in team success.

Still, the early success of the Duquesne acrobatics and tumbling program has been attributed to Coach Michaela Soper by many, whether she threatens to break her trophies in attempt to share that success with others or not.

Soper and the Dukes await the 2027 season, where they will compete under NCAA status for the first time with their sights set on the NCAA's first ever acrobatics and tumbling championship.

Michaela Soper wins Staff Member of the Year at annual Dukes Awards ceremony on Wednesday. Photo by Mireya Maymi.