University of Oregon
Hawaii Pacific
Ducks Win in Electrifying Fashion in Home Opener
02/15/17 | Acrobatics & Tumbling
EUGENE, Ore. - The University of Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team (1-0) defeated the Hawaii Pacific Sharks (1-1) 284.98 - 273.18 Wednesday evening at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks won four events - compulsory, toss, tumbling, and team routine - for their first win of the 2017 campaign.
How it Happened: The Ducks started off the season with scoring a perfect 10 in the compulsory toss heat, solidifying an event win of 38.60 to the Shark's 38.00. In acro, the Ducks tallied a 9.60 and added another high mark with a 9.85 in the pyramid heat.
Oregon held onto their overall lead through the second event, Acro, tallying scores of 9.70, 9.30 and 9.50 in the five, six and seven element heats, respectively. However, Hawaii Pacific outscored the Ducks in the six (9.70) and seven (9.65) elements to earn the event win.
After pyramid, the third event of the night, the Ducks and Sharks were matched at 96.25 apiece. Hawaii Pacific was able to edge out Oregon to claim the event, 29.35 - 29.15, matching things up.
Coming out from the locker room, the toss event proved to keep both teams locked in a close battle, with the Ducks barely walking away with a 28.65 - 28.55 win. In the first heat, freshman Payton Coon, seniors Taylr Keating, Krista Phillips, Kaile Michaud and Hannah Lichtenthaler executed a back salto layout 720 to earn a 9.45 to Hawaii's 9.30.
Oregon came out hot in the tumbling event, running away with a substantial lead heading into the team routine. In the duo pass, seniors Blaire Wilson and Phillips impressed with a synchronized round off-double whip-double back handspring with a 1.5 twist, earning a 9.60. Junior Reagan Trussell earned a high mark of 9.80 after performing a front handspring-front tuck-front handspring-front tuck-round off with a 1.5 twist during the aerial heat.
The Ducks highest tumbling score of the night was performed by returning All-American Taylor Galvin. The junior earned a 9.95 after an exceptional round off-whip Arabian-round off-back handspring with a 1.5 twist.
With a starting value of 109.95, Oregon's high-energy team routine solidified the Ducks' win, earning a statement 101.85 event score.
What it Means: The Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team won their season and home opening meet against the Hawaii Pacific Sharks at Matthew Knight Arena.
From last season's first meet to this season's first meet, the Ducks improved their overall scores in tumbling (58.225 tonight, 56.100 last year), team routine (101.85 tonight, 95.92 last year), and the final score (284.98 tonight, 278.420 last year).
Quotes: Head coach Chelsea Shaw -
On starting the season with a win…
"The girls trained really hard all fall and we felt really prepared for this meet. The team has such great chemistry and I'm really proud of how we started things off tonight."
On expectations…
"Hawaii Pacific is a great team. They're well coached and very clean...they've always been. You can never underestimate any team, but ultimately, we're just competing against ourselves. We just want to execute what we can the best every time."
On being outscored in the second and third events…
"There are just little things we can adjust. I think a little bit of nerves in some of those heats were factors, but those are easy fixes for us. We don't really pay attention to the score so much as how we feel we did ourselves."
On looking forward…
"With every meet, we want to get better. This team has been awesome to work with and their chemistry is incredible. They trust us and we trust them. It's just a great family dynamic. I'm really excited to see what they are going to accomplish this season."
Alexis Cross, Junior - Top
On today's meet…
"I think we really showed up today. We've been working hard all week, and had some injuries that threw a little kink in the road for us. Ultimately though, we really figured it out, and rose above all of that. We feel good about this win for sure."
On Hawaii Pacific…
"We know that they are very, very clean. They make very good catches, and have super good lines from the to. We really focused on our catches and made sure that we were just as tight and clean."
On looking forward…
"There are always things that we can get better on. We definitely had some mistakes today, as everybody does, so we are going to work on those and do everything we can to make sure not to repeat them."
On recovering from mistakes…
"Our team has this 'next play' mentality that, if something goes wrong, we come off to the side and we say 'next play.' It reminds us that it's done and over with, so we don't think about it again until practice the next day."
Compulsory Scores
Acro - Oregon: 9.60, Hawaii Pacific: 9.55
Pyramid - Oregon: 9.85, Hawaii Pacific: 9.85
Toss - Oregon: 10.00, Hawaii Pacific: 9.90
Tumbling - Oregon: 9.15, Hawaii Pacific: 8.70
Event Winner: Oregon, 38.60 - Hawaii Pacific, 38.00
Acro Scores
5 Element - Oregon: 9.70, Hawaii Pacific: 9.55
6 Element - Hawaii Pacific: 9.70, Oregon: 9.30
7 Element - Hawaii Pacific: 9.65, Oregon: 9.50
Event Winner: Hawaii Pacific: 28.90, Oregon: 28.50
Pyramid Scores
Inverted - Oregon: 9.70, Hawaii Pacific: 9.60
Synchronized - Hawaii Pacific: 9.80, Oregon: 9.75
Open - Hawaii Pacific: 9.95, Oregon: 9.70
Event Winner: Hawaii Pacific, 29.35 - Oregon: 29.15
Toss Scores
460 Salto - Oregon: 9.45, Hawaii Pacific: 9.30
Synchronized - Hawaii Pacific: 9.65, Oregon: 9.55
Open - Hawaii Pacific: 9.60, Oregon: 9.65
Event Winner: Oregon, 28.65 - Hawaii Pacific: 28.55
Tumbling Scores
Duo - Oregon (Wilson, Phillips): 9.60. Hawaii Pacific (Paulino, Garland): 9.20
Trio - Oregon (Galvin, Matos, Coon): 9.55. Hawaii Pacific (Didriksen, Podelnyk, Fields): 7.90
Quad - Oregon (Michaud, Kelly, Thomas, Blair): 9.40. Hawaii Pacific (Poquette, Turner, Riker, LaPenes): 8.30
Aerial - Oregon (Trussell): 9.80. Hawaii Pacific (Poquette): 9.275
6 Element - Oregon (Galvin): 9.95. Hawaii Pacific (Paulino): 9.65
Open - Oregon (Phillips): 9.925. Hawaii Pacific (Garland): 9.90
Event Winner: Oregon, 58.225 - Hawaii Pacific, 54.225
Team Routine Scores
Oregon: 101.85
Hawaii Pacific: 94.15
Final Meet Score - 284.98 - 273.18, Oregon
Looking Ahead: Following Wednesday's home meet, the Ducks will hit the road and head to Hamden, Conn., to go head to head against Quinnipiac.
Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team action both on and off the mat. Make sure to follow @OregonAcroTumb on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Ducks Acrobatics and Tumbling and following @OregonAcroTumb on Instagram. Go further by adding @oregonacrotumbl on Snapchat for behind-the-scenes looks at practice, team events, and competitions.
#GoDucks
