University of Oregon
King (Tennessee)
Ducks Outlast Tornado to Advance to Championship Semifinals
04/27/17 | Acrobatics & Tumbling
AZUSA, Calif. – The University of Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team defeated the King University Tornado 278.80 - 257.26 during Thursday's quarterfinal of the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) national championships hosted by Azusa Pacific at the Felix Event Center.
The Ducks move to 7-1 on the season, and will face the host Azusa Pacific Cougars in Friday's semifinals in hopes of advancing to the championship meet and earning the program's fifth national title. King ended the 2016-17 season with a record of 2-5.
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How it Happened: The Ducks came out in the Compulsory event with palpable energy and swept the event, scoring a 9.10 or better, to include a 9.90 in the toss heat.
In the Acro event, Oregon tied with King in the 6-Element heat with 9.75's. In the 5 and 7-Element heats, the Ducks earned a 9.75 and 9.70, respectively to claim the event 29.20 - 28.55.
During the third event, Pyramid, the synchronized heat earned a 9.80 as the highest score of the event. With a 9.70 and 9.75 in the inverted and open heats respectively, the Ducks notched a 29.25 to King's 28.90 to complete an event sweep heading into the half.
In the Toss event, Oregon's 9.80 in the open heat helped the Ducks to a 28.90 event score to King's 25.70.
The first three heats of the Tumbling event were rough, as both Oregon and King turned in lower than normal scores of 8.85, 8.95, and 8.90, and 8.00, 8.25, and 6.75. Junior Reagan Trussell turned things around with 9.825 in the aerial heat followed by a 9.775 by junior Taylor Galvin in her 6-element pass. Senior Krista Phillips capped the event with a 9.750 in the open pass for an event total of 56.05 to the Tornado's 49.95.
In the team event, Oregon turned in a 97.05, while King tallied a 89.21.
What it Means: With Thursday's semifinal win, Oregon will advance to the 2017 NCATA semifinals, where they will face Azusa Pacific in the semifinals at 7:00 p.m. at the Felix Center.
Oregon has beaten King twice this season with the first being on March 29 in Bristol, Tenn., 283.850 - 272.395.
Quotes: - Chelsea Shaw, Head Coach
"I'm really proud of the team. I think they did a good job and they kept their energy up, which is really fun. We don't take it for granted that we're even here at the tournament, and we definitely don't take any meet for granted. We just wanted to come out in case it was our last meet, leave our hearts on the mat, and I think we did that today."
Senior Hannah Lichtenthaler
On the performance in the toss heats today...
"We focused a lot on toss this year as is, and it's been an event we've gradually been progressing and trying to get better. We've fidgeted with some different tops in a few heats, and made some other changes. Today I think was one of our strongest toss events actually, and I'm really proud of everyone."
Senior Kaile Michaud
On the team's mission at the national championships and their mindset all year...
"From the beginning, we've always said that the national championship title was our end goal. Through every meet, it didn't matter if we won or lost, because we had a bigger goal in the end, and I think the weeks leading up to this, we've really been focusing on perfecting every heat so that we can beat ourselves ultimately. That's what we say before every meet - we don't care so much about what the other team does, we just want to continue to earn better scores each time."
Compulsory Scores
Acro – Oregon: 9.60, King: 8.50
Pyramid – Oregon: 9.75, King: 9.55
Toss – Oregon: 9.90, King: 9.50
Tumbling – Oregon: 9.10, King: 7.40
Event Winner: Oregon: 38.35, King: 34.95
Acro Scores
5-Element – Oregon: 9.75, King: 9.55
6-Element – Oregon: 9.75, King: 9.75
7-Element – Oregon: 9.70, King: 9.25
Event Winner: Oregon: 29.20, King: 28.55
Pyramid Scores
Inverted – Oregon: 9.70, King: 9.60
Synchronized – Oregon: 9.80, King: 9.55
Open – Oregon: 9.75, King: 9.75
Event Winner: Oregon: 29.25, King: 28.90
Toss Scores
460 Salto – Oregon: 9.70, King: 9.05
Synchronized – Oregon: 9.40, King: 7.75
Open – Oregon: 9.80, King: 8.90
Event Winner: Oregon: 28.90, King: 25.70
Tumbling Scores
Duo – Oregon: 8.85, King: 8.00
Trio – Oregon: 8.95, King: 8.25
Quad – Oregon: 8.90, King: 6.75
Aerial – Oregon: 9.825, King: 9.45
6-Element – Oregon: 9.775, King: 8.125
Open – Oregon: 9.75, King: 9.375
Event Winner: Oregon: 56.05, King: 49.95
Team Routine Scores
Oregon: 97.05
King: 89.21
Final Meet Score – 278.80 - 257.26, Oregon
Looking Ahead: The Ducks will face Azusa Pacific during Friday's semifinals beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Felix Center.
The individual event finals will be held Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m., followed by the championship meet at 7:00 p.m.
Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team action both on and off the mat. Make sure to follow @OregonAcroTumb on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Ducks Acrobatics and Tumbling and following @OregonAcroTumb on Instagram. Go further by adding @oregonacrotumbl on Snapchat for behind-the-scenes looks at practice, team events, and competitions.
#GoDucks
