Ducks Head to Waco for Rematch With Baylor

EUGENE, Ore - Oregon Acrobatics & Tumbling heads out for their final road meet of the season in a rematch with the No. 1 Baylor Bears.

Saturday's matchup will be a clash between the top-two teams ranked in the recent NCATA Championship rankings. The Ducks moved up from fifth to second following a 3-1 start, while the Bears remain in the top position they have held since the preseason.

MEET INFO
When: Saturday, April 1
Where: Ferrell Center | Waco, Texas
Time: 3 p.m. PT
Watch: https://bit.ly/40L9Jgg (ESPN+)
Live Scoring: https://baylorbears.com/sports/2022/2/16/sports-acrotumb-live-scoring.aspx

THE DUCKS vs. THE BEARS
Saturday evening will be the 34th meeting between Oregon and Baylor and the second between the schools this season. The two powerhouses are the only two prgrams to claim a NCATA national title, with the Ducks capturing the first four and the Bears winning the last seven. Oregon trails in the overall series, 13-20, with Baylor having won the last five meets between the two sides. The Ducks are the only program to defeat the Bears during their title run, last beating the Bears on March 6, 2021. Baylor is off to a 3-0 start this year and is led by former Oregon head coach Felecia Mulkey.

DUCKS PUT TOGETHER SEASON-BEST MEET AGAINST BAYLOR
Despite suffering their first defeat of the 2023 season, Oregon produced a season-best score of 278.910 against Baylor. The Ducks posted season-high scores in five of the six events following a season-low in overall score against Gannon the meet prior. Karly Nowak received NCATA Athlete of the week honorable mention recognitoin for her contributions while Rachel Furlong finished with a career-best 9.875 in the six element pass of the tumbling event.

NO PROBLEM FOR NOWAK
Nowak has been the anchor and leader for Oregon Acrobatics & Tumbling this season. Nowak was awarded for her efforts against Azusa Pacific on Feb. 22 with her first career NCATA Athlete of the Week award. The Howell, N.J., native became the first Duck since Addie Lacewell in 2021 to take home the honor. The senior helped the Ducks earn season-best scores in eight of the 10 events in which she competed in, with notable performances in the aerial tumbling heat and the pyramid and toss sections of the compulsory event. Nowak's recognition is the 14th NCATA Athlete of the Week award in program history as she becomes the eighth UO athlete to win the weekly honor. Nowak has received recognition during each week of competition for the Ducks, earning athlete of the week honorable mention recognition following Oregon's three other meets this season.