Saturday, April 29
West Liberty, W.Va.
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
268.555
vs
278.855
Baylor University
Photo by: Eric Evans Photography
Ducks Postseason Run Comes to an End
04/29/23 | Acrobatics & Tumbling
WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. —Oregon put on a tremendous showcase of grit and talent but came up short in its championship pursuit in a 278.855-268.555 defeat to Baylor on Sunday in the NCATA National Championship meet.
The Ducks posted their best scores of the 2023 tournament in three of six events, highlighted by contributing efforts throughout the roster. Oregon's national runner-up finish is the sixth in program history.
"We wanted to just focus on ourselves, and we did that," said head coach Taylor Susnara following the national championship meet. Little things here and there came up, but no matter what, I think we came out stronger, and I am really proud of every person on the team. I could not have asked for a better show out today."
When speaking about what set this year apart from last, Susnara had clear takeaways. "I think our mindset and our overall confidence that we have in ourselves and what we are capable of. We got better in our start values and our skill sets, but we came together this year. We've had some coaching changes, some athlete adjustments throughout the year, and I think they came together this year, which showed in our success."
How it Happened: Baylor jumped out to an early 38.475-38.200 lead following a contested compulsory event. The pyramid and toss heats defined the first section for Oregon with scores of 9.825 and 9.850, respectively.
The Ducks lost some ground against the defending champions in the acro portion of the competition, going down 67.775-66.475. The group of Bethany Glick, Bailee Lamson, Karly Nowak, and Blessyn McMorris in the five element heat highlighted the event, earning a 9.75, the third-best score in the heat for the Ducks this season.
The Bears increased their lead to 97.350-95.950 heading into halftime after a back-and-forth pyramid event. Sunday's pyramid was the best for Oregon at this year's championships, earning above 9.775 in every heat. Davee Birch, Cami Wilson, Emilie Henningsen, and McMorris were awarded a season-high score of 9.925 in the open pyramid.
The Ducks had ground to make up coming out of the half and saw impactful performances leading to the third-highest toss score of the season for Oregon. Baylor continued to narrowly improve its advantage, making it 126.050-124.525 prior to the tumbling portion of the day.
The duo of Rickelle Henderson and Nowak continued to thrive in the tumbling event for Oregon. The tandem first combined for a 9.50 in the duo pass before each posting 9.850 in their individual passes. The Ducks trailed by a score of 183.625-180.675 heading in the last section of the night.
Oregon left everything on the mat during the team event, but some minor setbacks left the Ducks unable to overcome the deficit.
Quotable:
Junior Cami Wilson on the overall result
"One thing we did today was go in thinking one skill at a time, and that is exactly what we did. We weren't thinking about the team event. We were in the competition thinking about every single heat and I think our scores reflected exactly that. Unfortunately, we did come up short at the end but I think that is the best and worst part about this sport: you never know what kind of day you are going to have, you never know what kind of flukes are going to happen, and unfortunately, it fell on our side today. Baylor was great to compete against and I think we were able to hold up right there with them until the end."
Junior Kaylie Barrera on the impact of the overall championship run and going forward
"It was really fun. We are both juniors and we have not gone through a full nationals, three days in a row, so it was fun to experience every single day. I think we got better each week, and that is great. We now know what to expect. We've never made it this far and this is a team that is so great and has grown so much together. I'm happy and excited to carry the culture into next year. "
Up Next: Several members of the Ducks will look to earn NCATA Individual Event titles on Sunday, April 30, beginning at 8:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. ET.
The Ducks posted their best scores of the 2023 tournament in three of six events, highlighted by contributing efforts throughout the roster. Oregon's national runner-up finish is the sixth in program history.
"We wanted to just focus on ourselves, and we did that," said head coach Taylor Susnara following the national championship meet. Little things here and there came up, but no matter what, I think we came out stronger, and I am really proud of every person on the team. I could not have asked for a better show out today."
When speaking about what set this year apart from last, Susnara had clear takeaways. "I think our mindset and our overall confidence that we have in ourselves and what we are capable of. We got better in our start values and our skill sets, but we came together this year. We've had some coaching changes, some athlete adjustments throughout the year, and I think they came together this year, which showed in our success."
How it Happened: Baylor jumped out to an early 38.475-38.200 lead following a contested compulsory event. The pyramid and toss heats defined the first section for Oregon with scores of 9.825 and 9.850, respectively.
The Ducks lost some ground against the defending champions in the acro portion of the competition, going down 67.775-66.475. The group of Bethany Glick, Bailee Lamson, Karly Nowak, and Blessyn McMorris in the five element heat highlighted the event, earning a 9.75, the third-best score in the heat for the Ducks this season.
The Bears increased their lead to 97.350-95.950 heading into halftime after a back-and-forth pyramid event. Sunday's pyramid was the best for Oregon at this year's championships, earning above 9.775 in every heat. Davee Birch, Cami Wilson, Emilie Henningsen, and McMorris were awarded a season-high score of 9.925 in the open pyramid.
The Ducks had ground to make up coming out of the half and saw impactful performances leading to the third-highest toss score of the season for Oregon. Baylor continued to narrowly improve its advantage, making it 126.050-124.525 prior to the tumbling portion of the day.
The duo of Rickelle Henderson and Nowak continued to thrive in the tumbling event for Oregon. The tandem first combined for a 9.50 in the duo pass before each posting 9.850 in their individual passes. The Ducks trailed by a score of 183.625-180.675 heading in the last section of the night.
Oregon left everything on the mat during the team event, but some minor setbacks left the Ducks unable to overcome the deficit.
Quotable:
Junior Cami Wilson on the overall result
"One thing we did today was go in thinking one skill at a time, and that is exactly what we did. We weren't thinking about the team event. We were in the competition thinking about every single heat and I think our scores reflected exactly that. Unfortunately, we did come up short at the end but I think that is the best and worst part about this sport: you never know what kind of day you are going to have, you never know what kind of flukes are going to happen, and unfortunately, it fell on our side today. Baylor was great to compete against and I think we were able to hold up right there with them until the end."
Junior Kaylie Barrera on the impact of the overall championship run and going forward
"It was really fun. We are both juniors and we have not gone through a full nationals, three days in a row, so it was fun to experience every single day. I think we got better each week, and that is great. We now know what to expect. We've never made it this far and this is a team that is so great and has grown so much together. I'm happy and excited to carry the culture into next year. "
Up Next: Several members of the Ducks will look to earn NCATA Individual Event titles on Sunday, April 30, beginning at 8:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
Base/Top/Tumbler
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Top
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Top
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Top/Tumbler
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Base
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Base
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Base
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Top/Base/Tumbler
/ Acrobatics & Tumbling
Base
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