GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the first time in program history, the Belmont Abbey acrobatics & tumbling team earned three specialty awards Conference Carolinas unveiled its 2023 acrobatics & tumbling all-conference honors Thursday.
 
Erena Chaples was selected as the Specialist of the Year, Gracie Grady was chosen as the Freshman of the Year and Emily Powers was selected as Coach of the Year. The all-conference awards were chosen by the league's head coaches.
 
Additionally, Grady and Amiya Shazier were first-team selections while Chaples, Anna Davis and Lauren Pipes were second-team selections. Davis and Chaples are also both three-time all-conference selections and Pipes was selected for the first time.
 
A junior from Independence, Missouri, Chaples is a pyramid specialist for the Crusaders, she competes in the hand-in-hand pyramid in heat one and the straddle bridge pyramid in heat two. She averaged a 9.643 out of 9.9 in pyramid heat one this season and also received NCATA Specialist of the Week Honorable Mention honors in week four. 
 
A freshman from Kyle, Texas, Grady was selected as the Freshman of the Year. A base, she competes in seven heats and the team event each meet. The Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Month in February, Grady was named NCATA Freshman of the Week Honorable Mention for the fourth and fifth weeks of the season. 
 
Fifth-year head coach Emily Powers of Belmont Abbey was chosen as the Coach of the Year in Conference Carolinas. Powers led the Crusaders to a runner-up regular season finish with a 7-1 league mark and an 8-2 record overall. Picked to finish third in the preseason, The Abbey is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Conference Carolinas championship.
 
The full All-Conference teams will be recognized ahead of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Acrobatics & Tumbling Championship this weekend at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.
 
First Team All-Conference
Cameron King, Limestone
Genesis Carson, Limestone
Gracie Grady, Belmont Abbey
Kathryn Coker, Limestone
Kacie Kier, Limestone
Bridget Sweeney, King
Madison McAfee, Coker
Acacia Johnson, Limestone
Alexis Wynn, King
Ayanna Manning, Converse
Amiya Shazier, Belmont Abbey
Amber Garcia, Coker
Jessica Holder, Converse
Rosemary Sponable, Lander
Paula Urquidi, Coker
Ceanna Brown, Converse
 
Second Team All-Conference
Chloe Cleland, Converse
Kharissa Norvell, King
Anna Davis, Belmont Abbey
Lelia Brozowski, Coker
Ryann Swope, Lander
Erena Chaples, Belmont Abbey
Nia Jackson, Converse
Isabelle Cunningham, Emmanuel
Lauren Pipes, Belmont Abbey
Chloe Hull, Coker
Noa Ortiz, Converse
Christina Bapple, Emmanuel
Morgan Bramble, Limestone
Emilee-Clarie Carter, Converse
Kayla Young, Coker
Sarena Michnick, Emmanuel