Why Duquesne’s Lindsay Kivlan, a Mars grad, had ‘no expectations’ before winning national championship
ADAMS TWP — Lindsay Kivlan did not compete in athletics at Mars Area High School.
But she is quite an athlete.
A gymnast since age 2, the 2025 Mars graduate — now a freshman on the acrobatic/tumbling team at Duquesne University — recently won a national title in open pass during the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association National Championships at Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) in April.
She became the first individual national champion in Duquesne’s athletic history.
“I wasn’t expecting anything to happen out there,” Kivlan said of her individual performance. “I was just happy to be there and wanted to do my best, no expectations.
“My first reaction was … I was so grateful for everything.”
Kivlan scored a 9.800 in the open pass, a tumbling event that carried no requirements.
“She could do whatever she wanted,” Duquesne coach Michaela Soper said. “Tumbling is Lindsay’s strength, and she performed a routine she had never done before and just nailed it.
“As far as I know, no other tumbler in our sport put together a score like that in open pass this year.”
Kivlan admitted to feeling “a bit shocked” over the outcome. But at the same time, she said: “I was just gonna go for it.”
Her performance also landed a brief write-up in the “Faces in the Crowd” segment of Sports Illustrated magazine.
“That was crazy,” Kivlan said. “I’m really appreciative of the support I received from my coaches and my teammates. None of this happens without them.”
Quite literally, actually.
Duquesne’s acrobatics/tumbling program just completed its second-ever season under inaugural coach Soper. The Dukes earned the No. 8 seed — the final qualifying spot for NCATA Nationals. The Dukes’ 38-woman roster consisted of all freshmen and sophomores except for two competitors.
Kivlan tried qualifying for nationals as an individual wild-card before the season ended.
“She fell short in that regard,” Soper said. “Our team went on a late push to snare that final seed. If the team didn’t get in, Lindsay would not have had the opportunity to compete.
“Because our sport is so new, we teach our athletes what it’s all about after we recruit them. These girls grow up in gymnastics, competing on a mat. In our sport, they’re competing on a hard floor, and that’s a big difference.”
Kivlan began her gymnastics career at Trinity Gymnastics near Russelton. She moved on to Gymkhana in Monroeville before spending her junior and senior years with X-Cel Gymnastics in Cranberry Township.
A Level 10 gymnast by the time she graduated, Kivlan was a Level 9 state champion her junior year in all-around, vault, bars and beam. She only fell short of a state title in floor exercise.
“The floor and tumbling, that’s my favorite event,” she said.
Her father is department chair of Duquesne’s physical therapy program. She learned of the Dukes’ new acrobatic/tumbling program through him.
“He came home one day and told me about this new program they were starting,” she said. “I was into it right away. I practically grew up on that campus and love the school. I entered the recruiting process my junior year and wound up getting a spot on the team.”
Soper said “what Lindsay attempted at nationals is so difficult to do. When she finished, I couldn’t believe what I just saw. I don’t think she believed it, either.
“Just so, so proud of her.”
Acrobatics/tumbling will become an official NCAA sport next season.
“That is so exciting,” Kivlan said. “I just want to continue on an upswing as a tumbler, help our team get back to nationals, maybe do a little basing as well.”
The Dukes were knocked out by eventual champion Baylor in the first round of the NCATA team event.
“This year was a big step for our team,” Soper said. “Lindsay has become a face of the program. Winning that (individual) title was so delightful, harmonious. … All the stars were aligned for her.
“It was a beautiful thing to see.”
