Oregon Faces Quinnipiac in Top-Three Matchup

HAMDEN, Conn. -- The No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team heads into a top-three matchup this weekend against No. 3 Quinnipiac on Sunday at 11 a.m. (PT) in Hamden, Connecticut.

Compulsory – The Ducks opened their 2019 season this past Friday against No. 7 Hawaii Pacific at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon defeated the Sharks, 275.180-267.190. This marked their highest season opener score since defeating Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 15, 2017. The Ducks opened up the night with a compulsory score of 38.25, registering the highest scores of the meet with a 9.85 in each the pyramid and toss heats.

Acro –Senior Megan Barney and sophomores Yeelena Faustino, Mikaela Moore and Addie Lacewell led the Ducks in the 6-element heat with a score of 9.80. The Ducks finished the first acro event of the season with a 28.95.

Pyramid – UO will build on last year's success as 23 letterwinners return from last season's squad. Oregon lost 15 athletes to graduation or transfer. The Ducks replenished their depth by adding 10 newcomers to this year's squad.

Toss - This Sunday's meeting between Oregon and Quinnipiac marks the 13th all-time meeting between the two schools. The Ducks and Bobcats have faced one another every year since the founding of the NCATA in 2010. Quinnipiac is one of four active programs to ever record a win over the Ducks, with UO holding an all-time series record of 11-1 against the Bobcats. Quinnipiac defeated Oregon for the first time last season, 284.660-274.225, on March 11 at Matthew Knight Arena.

Tumbling – Senior Hannah Blair closed out Oregon in the tumbling event on Friday with the highest heat score of 9.85 in the open pass. This is Blair's first season competing in the open pass heat, replacing assistant coach Taylor Galvin in the position from the 2018 season. The Ducks totaled a 56.350 overall tumbling score against Hawaii Pacific.

Team – Taylor Galvin will transition from teammate to coach during the 2019 season. Galvin was named Oregon's new assistant coach on July 31, 2018, after graduating from Oregon in 2018. She helped the Ducks to reach the NCATA Championships three times while compiling a 31-13 career record over that span. Galvin was a three-time All-American (2016-18), two-time open tumbling champion and two-time 6-element tumbling pass national champion (2016 & 2017). She captured her second open tumbling national title in 2018 behind a perfect score of 10.00. As a senior, Galvin was twice named the NCATA Player of the Week.

THE 2019 SCHEDULE
The acro team will host four three more home meets this season. Oregon hosts Arizona Christian on Feb. 23, before facing off against four-time national champion Baylor on March 3. The Ducks round out their home slate with Azuza Pacific on March 30. This year's NCATA National Championships will take place from April 25-27 at Baylor in Waco, Texas.

POLL POSITION
For the fourth straight season, the Ducks opened the year ranked second in the NCATA Coaches Poll. Four-time reigning NCATA national champion Baylor took first. Oregon received two first-place votes, with the Bears receiving the remaining 20. All but one of UO's opponents this season are ranked in the top-10 with Quinnipiac at third, Azusa Pacific fourth and Hawaii Pacific seventh.

SCOUTING REPORT
Quinnipiac opens the 2019 season coming off its best season since 2016 with a 7-3 record last year. The Bobcats advanced all the way to the NCATA National Championship Finals in 2018, where they fell to No. 1 Baylor, 283.360-274.650. Quinnipiac returns 24 players from last season, including NCATA All-American Camren Diaz. The Bobcats are led by 2018 ECAC Coach of the Year Mary Ann Powers.

Quinnipiac was one of only two schools to defeat the Ducks last season. The Bobcats ended Oregon's 10-meet win streak between the two programs, when they defeated the Ducks by just two points, 274.585-272.230, on March 11, 2018.

STORIED HISTORY
Since the NCATA's inception in 2010, the Ducks have won four of eight NCATA National Championships. In that eight-year span, UO has tallied a 70-15 meet record, including a total of 46 individual event titles and 19 All-Americans.