Acrobatics and Tumbling’s Postseason Run Ends in NCATA Semifinals

The Ducks advanced to their fourth straight national semifinal before falling in a tight battle with Quinnipiac.

Oregon acrobatics and tumbling made another deep postseason push at the NCATA National Championships, advancing to the semifinals for the fourth straight season before seeing its run come to an end Friday night against Quinnipiac at the Felix Event Center in Azusa, California.

The No. 2-seeded Ducks opened the tournament Thursday with a convincing 262.510-251.165 quarterfinal win over Gannon, then came up short one day later in a 260.990-256.010 semifinal loss to third-seeded Quinnipiac.

Oregon finished the season 6-3, recording its fourth straight winning campaign and again earning at least one victory at the NCATA Championships.

Ducks Control Quarterfinal Against Gannon

Oregon’s postseason opened with one of its most complete performances of the season. The Ducks never trailed against Gannon, winning all six events and steadily increasing their lead throughout the meet.

Oregon jumped ahead 36.500-35.400 in the compulsory event by outscoring the Golden Knights in all four heats. The Ducks followed with a 28.650 in acro, highlighted by Angelica Martin and Cassidy Cu posting a 9.900 in the five-element heat and a 9.775 in the seven-element heat.

The pyramid event was Oregon’s best of the day. The Ducks scored 29.200, with marks of 9.825 in inversion pyramid, 9.600 in synchronized pyramid and 9.775 in open pyramid. That gave Oregon a 2.575-point lead at halftime.

From there, the Ducks kept widening the gap. Oregon won toss 28.150-26.300, led by a 9.600 in the 450 salto toss, then dominated tumbling 56.000-50.150. Sophomore Morgan Willingham led the event with a 9.850 in the aerial pass.

By the time the team event arrived, Oregon had built a double-digit lead and closed the meet with an 84.010 to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Quinnipiac Rallies Late in Semifinal

Friday’s semifinal was a much tighter contest. Oregon and Quinnipiac traded momentum throughout the night, and the Ducks carried a narrow 0.9-point advantage into the final event before the Bobcats surged ahead in the team event.

Quinnipiac took a slim lead after compulsory, 36.500-36.200, but Oregon responded in acro. Behind a 9.700 in the five-element heat from Cu and Martin, the Ducks moved in front and built their largest lead of the meet at 64.400-62.275.