Ducks Kick Off NCATA National Championships
First-year head coach Chelsea Shaw and the Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team will attempt to win their fifth-straight NCATA National Championship this week when they head to Fairmont State in Fairmont, W.VA., for the NCATA National Championships. The Ducks (5-3) are the No. 3 seed and will face the No. 6 seed Alderson Broaddus (6-5) in the opening round on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. (PT) in the Joe Retton Arena.
The championships will first begin with the Individual Event Finals which will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. (PT). The Ducks will have several different athletes competing in 14 different heats throughout the course of the opening day.
Video Streaming
Live streaming of the championships will be available on www.FightingFalcons.com on a variety of pay-per-view packages.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at www.FightingFalcons.com. Tickets will be made for purchase at the Feaster Center throughout the event.
Adults | $10
12 & Younger | $5
Individual Event Finals
The individual event finals will feature the season’s top performers in each of the different heats – not including compulsory or team event – in one competition to determine individual national champions in each heat. The event finals must be the same skill that earned the qualifying score during the regular season.
The Ducks will have participants in 14 different individual event finals. Of those 14 different heats, UO will have two entries in the duo tumbling, quad tumbling, 6 element tumbling and open tumbling heats.
The All-Americans along with the other accolades (Most Outstanding Athlete, Freshman of the Year, Louise Goodrum Academic Achievement and Coach of the Year) will be announced in a ceremony later that evening.
Scouting the Battlers
The Ducks opponent in the first round, Alderson Broaddus, brings a 5-6 record into the meet. The Battlers’ five wins all came against teams that finished the season in seventh place or worse in the NCATA.
Their best score of the year came in the opening meet of the season when they defeated King 272.185 – 262.405. Ironically, this meeting will be the second year in a row that the Ducks and Battlers will square off against one another in the opening round of the NCATA National Championships. UO took down Alderson Broaddus 285.05 – 266.55 and left AB with a 4-9 overall record in their inaugural year of acrobatics and tumbling.
Last Time Out
The Ducks last competed over a week ago when they traveled to Baylor and fell 284.245 – 274.640 to the Bears. Oregon won the toss event, but BU was able to pick up victories in the other five to earn the victory.
UO only trailed by a little more than two points entering the team event (183.275 – 181.150), but the final event saw the hosts outscore the visitors 100.97 – 93.49 to complete a perfect 9-0 regular season.
Success on the East Coast
With already having made a trip to the East Coast this season (274.315 – 264.065 victory at Quinnipiac), the Ducks will be comfortable with the unfamiliar gyms and travel. Oregon is 9-0 in meets on the East Coast since 2011.
New Season
The eight-team bracket marks a new season for all competing schools, with each institution having just as good of a chance as the other to win the NCATA National Championship.
Here is how the field shakes out; Baylor – No. 1 seed, Hawai’i Pacific – No. 2 seed, Oregon – No. 3 seed, Azusa Pacific – No. 4 seed, Quinnipiac – No. 5 seed, Alderson Broaddus – No. 6 seed, Fairmont State – No. 7 seed and King – No. 8 seed.
Setting the Standard
The winners of the last four NCATA National Championships and 30 event titles over the past four years, the Ducks have a surplus of experience in the NCATA National Championships. Tara Lubert – the 2013 NCATA Most Outstanding Performer – and the Ducks’ 13 other seniors should provide a veteran presence this week as the Ducks pursue their fifth-straight national title.
