Ducks Head to NCATA National Championship

WACO, Texas - The No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team opens the NCATA National Championship in the quarterfinal round against No. 7 Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, April 25 at 12:00 p.m. (PT) at the Ferrell Center.

The Ducks hold an overall record of 7-1 against the Sharks and defeated HPU, 275.180-267.190, in their season opener at Matthew Knight Arena on Feb. 7.

HOW TO FOLLOW
NCATA Tournament Central can be found at baylorbears.com. Each meet will also be broadcasted live courtesty of baylorbears.com. For score updates throughout the meet, fans can follow @OregonAcroTumb on Instagram and Twitter.

THE SIX EVENTS
Compulsory – Three of Oregon's four perfect-10's this season have come in the compulsory event. The Ducks have registered two perfect scores in the compulsory toss at Quinnipiac on Feb. 17 and against Arizona Christian on Feb. 23. UO also tallied a 10.0 in the compulsory pyramid vs. Arizona Christian. The Ducks recorded their best season-averages in these two heats with an average of 9.92 in the compulsory toss and a 9.87 in the compulsory pyramid.

Acro – Oregon earned a season-high 29.45 in the acro event during its last meet at Baylor on April 7, improving from its previous high of 29.25. The event score tied UO's fifth-best acro score in program history. The Ducks also tallied a season-best 9.95 in the six-element heat.

Pyramid – The Ducks have been lights out in the pyramid event this season averaging an event score of 29.25 out of 30 possible points. Oregon has especially shined in the open pyramid, averaging a 9.84 across all seven meets. UO recorded its season-best pyramid score of 29.75 vs. Arizona Christian on Feb. 23 and has tallied season-highs of 9.95 in the synchronized and open pyramids and 9.90 in the inversion pyramid.

Toss - UO also had its best performance in the toss event this season against Arizona Christian with a season-high score of 29.50 and season-bests in every heat. The Ducks registered scores of 9.85 in both the 450 salto toss and and open toss and a 9.80 in the synchronized toss. Oregon is coming off its second-best toss execution this season with a 29.05 at Baylor on April 7.

Tumbling – The Ducks are 5-2 this season in the tumbling event, winning every meet in which they gain a victory in the event and falling only to No. 1 Baylor. Oregon has a tumbling season average of 55.886 and earned its season-high of 56.950 at Azusa Pacific on March 12. Senior Hannah Blair has the highest average heat score in the tumbling event with a 9.746 average in the open pass.

Team – The Ducks have seen an overall improvement of 8.77 points in their team event throughout the 2019 season and have a season-average of 94.81. The Ducks earned a season-high of 98.40 in the team event at Azusa Pacific on March 12 and came close again with a 98.37 in their rematch against APU on March 30, improving vastly from their low of 89.63 at Quinnipiac on Feb. 17.

THE 2019 SCHEDULE
The Ducks finished the regular season 5-2, falling only to No. 1 Baylor. Oregon defeated a ranked opponent four times this season, including Quinnipiac, Azusa Pacific and Hawaii Pacific. Along the way, UO recorded two scores that ranked among the program's top-five all-time scores with a 29.50 in the toss event vs. Arizona Christian on Feb. 23 and a 29.45 in the acro event at Baylor on April 7.

NCATA WEEKLY AWARDS
Oregon has had six players honored throughout the season with NCATA weekly awards. Casi Jackson, Addie Lacewell and Yeelena Faustino each earned Athlete of the Week titles once, and Payton Coon received Specialist of the Week honors once. Jackson, Coon, Hannah Blair and Calyx Hampton also received honor mention recognition throughout the season.

POLL POSITION
The Ducks are seeded at No. 2 in postseason competition heading into the NCATA National Championship. Oregon has remained consistent all season in the No. 2 position, trailing only Baylor.

NCATA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The NCATA National Championship will be held at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, from April 25-27. Tickets are currently on sale on thencata.org.

SCOUTING REPORT
Hawaii Pacific finished the regular season with an overall record of 1-5. Higher-ranked opponents Oregon, Baylor, Fairmont State and Azusa Pacific defeated the Sharks this season, while HPU earned its one win over Arizona Christian. Oregon defeated Hawaii Pacific in their season opener on Feb. 9, but the Sharks took the victory over UO in the pyramid event.

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 tallied a 70-15 meet record, including a total of 45 individual event titles.