Tiffani Lincoln was named head women's acrobatics and tumbling coach at Calvin University on July 17, 2025. Lincoln arrives at Calvin after a decorated four-year acrobatics and tumbling career at Kutztown  University.
A native of Oneonta, New York, Lincoln takes over a Calvin acrobatics and tumbling program that is headed into its second year of competition as a varsity program. She replaces former coach Ellen Barker who launched the Calvin program and then left earlier this summer to pursue graduate school education.Â
At Kutztown, Lincoln was a four-year member of the school's acrobatics and tumbling program. As a senior top/tumbler this past spring, she earned First Team All-Mountain East Conference honors, becoming one of the first three individuals in program history to receive the award. As a freshman in 2022, she played a key role in Kutztown's inaugural acrobatics and tumbling season. During the season, she recorded a score of 9.0 or higher 18 times to help the Golden Bears finish 3-3. At the conclusion of the season, she received the Kutztown Acrobatics and Tumbling Coaches Award. In 2023, she helped Kutztown finish 5-3 overall and record its first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent. In 2024, she was part of Kutztown's 5-element event team that qualified for the NCATA Nationals. That 5-element event team placed fourth at the national competition. As a senior in 2025 she was the Mountain East 6 Element tumbling champion to help her earn First Team All-Mount East Conference honors. At the conclusion of the season, she received team MVP honors from the Kutztown coaching staff.
Lincoln started her athletics career at the age of three, joining a YMCA club gymnastics program. She continued her club gymnastics career through high school which included a YMCA Northeast Regional All-Around championship in 2012. In high school, she also participated in sideline cheer and one year of track and field. During the summer of 2024, she served as a camp counselor and instructor at an international gymnastics camp in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. She is currently a youth gymnastics coach at the Oneonta Family YMCA.
Lincoln graduated from Kutztown this past May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Spanish along with a minor in musical theatre.
"I am excited for this (head coaching) opportunity," said Lincoln. "My coach at Kutztown – Karah Paull – always told me to face challenges and opportunities head on and that is the way I plan to approach my opportunity at Calvin. Coach Paull was one of the first individuals that encouraged me to start thinking about becoming a coach and I am thankful that she got me started on this path. My first task at Calvin will be learning patiently. I want to understand the in's and out's of the program while growing as a coach. I'm grateful that I will have seasoned colleagues to help in that growth process. Calvin is a wonderful faith-based community with a strong tradition in athletics. I'm looking forward to joining this community and becoming a part of its athletics tradition."
Lincoln feels that recent experiences as a student-athlete will translate in helping her relate to the student-athletes on the Calvin acrobatics and tumbling program. "I'm fortunate that I am taking over a program that is up and running," said Lincoln. "Having just finished my collegiate student-athlete career, I still have an athlete mind-set. That will help me know what our team members are trying to accomplish and what their goals are. One of the things I've appreciated as a student-athlete is the connection you can make as a team and striving for common goals. My plan is to bring that same connection to the Calvin acrobatics and tumbling program."
Calvin Director of Athletics Dr. Jim Timmer is looking forward to bringing Lincoln into the Calvin athletics program. "We are very excited to have Tiffani join the Calvin athletics program," said Timmer. "She brings great enthusiasm to the position with first-hand experience as a collegiate acrobatics and tumbling student-athlete. We are looking forward to watching her grow as a young coach and lead a young and growing Calvin acrobatics and tumbling program."
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