EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon acrobatics and tumbling sets its sights on the 2024 NCATA Championships in Fairmont, W. Va. Oregon was awarded the fourth seed in this year’s tournament and will face fifth-seeded University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
NCATA QUARTERFINALS
When: Thursday, April 25
Where: Fairmont State | Fairmont, W. Va.
Time: 1:30 p.m. PT
Watch (ESPN+): https://plus.espn.com/
BACK ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
Oregon has reached the NCATA Championship Finals nine out of 12 possible times, winning four consecutive national titles from 2011 to 2014. The Ducks reached the semifinals in nine consecutive years until 2022 and have finished as national runner-up six times. Oregon also owns 52 individual event titles, and 28 Ducks have been named all-americans.
THE DUCKS vs. CRUSADERS
This will be the first all-time meeting between Oregon and UMHB. The Crusaders are 9-1 in 2024 and are the back-to-back NCAA DIII champions, but the Ducks hold the advantage in overall scoring this season with an average of 269.409 to UMHB’s mark of 267.409. The battle to watch will be in the open heat of the pyramid event as each team has logged a perfect 10 in the heat this season.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 4 Oregon was victorious in each of the six events in a 270.420-266.370 win over No. 6 Azusa Pacific. Oregon took control of the meet early with a 37.05-36.25 victory in the compulsory event and kept hold of its lead throughout the duration of the meet. The Ducks continued to impress in the pyramid event as scores of 9.90 in both the inversion and open heats powered them to a score of 29.55 and gave Oregon a 95.15-92.95 lead entering halftime. Despite losing its first heat of the night in the third heat of the toss event, Oregon won the event 28.45-27.75 to further increase its lead. Solid scores on the back-half of the tumbling event helped Oregon add some insurance to its lead entering the team event, and after narrowly winning the final event of the night, 90.82-90.37, the Ducks secured their third victory of the season over a top-10 team.
1-2 PUNCH
Oregon’s pyramid and toss events have been anchors for the Ducks, combining for a record of 9-3 in the events this season, including a 5-1 record in the toss. Oregon has scored above 29.00 in the pyramid event in each meet this season, highlighted by a 29.60 against Hawaii Pacific on March 24. The Ducks have surpassed a score of 28.50 in all but one meet in the toss event and have been particularly effective in the third heat of the event, scoring above 9.70 in four of six meets.
GOOD ON THE ROAD
Oregon had displayed an ability to perform better when competing in arenas away from Eugene this season. Three of the Ducks’ four best scores this season have come in road contests as UO has scored over 270 points in each of its contests away from home. Additionally, two of Oregon’s three victories in 2024 have come in road environments.
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