EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon acrobatics & tumbling head coach Taylor Susnara has announced the hiring of Jacie Van de Zilver, who will join the program as an assistant coach.
“We are eager and excited to welcome Jacie to our coaching staff,” Susnara said. “She brings a unique perspective having been a student-athlete and assistant coach from two different programs. Her passion and enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and we know her knowledge is going to help elevate our program. Welcome to the Duck Family, Jacie!”
Van de Zilver joins the Ducks following a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Hawai’i Pacific. In her season in Honolulu, the Sharks entered the season as the No. 9 team nationally and went on to average 259.445 across seven meets.
“I am incredibly excited and truly blessed to embark on this new journey with the University of Oregon acrobatics and tumbling coaching staff,” Van de Zilver said. “It’s an honor to contribute to such a prestigious program and help shape the future of this sport. I am eager to learn from coach Susnara and coach Nowak, as well as work alongside them as I enter into this position.”
A native of Jackson, N.J., Van de Zilver enjoyed a successful career as a student-athlete at Azusa Pacific where she competed as a top for the Cougars’ acrobatics and tumbling team from 2019-23. Van de Zilver was one of the top athletes in the sport throughout her career, earning NCATA All-America honors three times and being named the NCATA Division II Most Outstanding Athlete in her junior and senior seasons.
In Van de Zilver’s five seasons, the Cougars compiled a 21-11 record highlighted by a 4-1 mark in 2021 that included a run to the NCATA National Championship meet. In her final two seasons, Van de Zilver collected an impressive four national event titles, including a hat trick during the 2022 championships in which she won the 450 salto toss, duo tumbling pass and aerial tumbling pass.
A two-time graduate of Azusa Pacific, Van de Zilver earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2021 and went on to earn her master’s in industrial and organizational psychology in 2023.
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