University of Oregon
Azusa Pacific
Ducks Fight Past Cougars to Advance to National Championship Meet
04/28/17 | Acrobatics & Tumbling
AZUSA, Calif. - The University of Oregon Acrobatics and Tumbling team defeated the Azusa Pacific Cougars 277.625 - 271.335 at the Felix Center Friday night to advance to the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) national championship meet.
Oregon (8-1) will face the Baylor Bears (8-1) to battle for their fifth national title. The Bears have won the last two consecutive years.
Azusa Pacific ended their season with a record of 3-5.
Ticket price information can be found here - http://bit.ly/2oK8xcs
A live stream of the national championships can be found here - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/apu/
How it Happened: In the opening Compulsory event, the Ducks outscored the Cougars with scores of 9.45 and 9.50 in the acro and pyramid heats. Azusa Pacific showed that they were not going go out without a fight, and scored a 9.65 and 9.10 in the toss and tumbling heats. With an overall event score, Oregon edged past with a 37.50 - 37.20.
The Ducks took the 5 and 6-Element heat in the Acro event with marks of 9.65 and 9.75, respectively. Azusa Pacific notched a 9.75 in the 7-Element heat, and came in .20 less than the Ducks, 29.00 - 28.80.
Azusa Pacific turned up the heat before half and earned scores of 9.65, 9.85 and 9.75, respectively to claim the Pyramid event 29.25 - 29.15. Oregon tallied scores of 9.60, 9.80 and 9.75. The running score after three events was 95.65 - 95.25, Oregon.
Coming out after half, the Ducks gave their lead a cushion and turned in an event score of 28.90 - 27.70 in Toss.
With improvements in scores from the quarterfinals against King in Tumbling, Oregon earned a high score of 9.80 from junior Taylor Galvin. In total, the Ducks outscored the Cougars 56.525 - 54.825. Heading into the team event, the Ducks led APU 181.075 - 177.775.
In the Team event, Oregon notched a 96.55 to Azusa Pacific's 93.56.
Quotes: Head coach Chelsea Shaw -
On her overall thoughts from today's meet...
"I'm just really proud of this team. I love this team and they love each other. Their chemistry is phenomenal, and they want it. Today wasn't our best meet and they know that, but there are little things we know we can improve upon for tomorrow. That's the exciting thing though, that we do have a chance to make those corrections. We're going to celebrate that we reached the championship meet tonight, then go back and look at what we can fix and ultimately, tomorrow is when it counts. We're going to come out strong and I believe this team can do it."
Junior Alexis Cross
On how the team can use the momentum from today and apply the little fixes to the national championship meet...
"For us, we're working on fixing the tiny details which is a really awesome position to be in, because we know we're going to hit, and we know that we're going to go out there and do the job. Making those little changes that will take us to the next level is what we're focused on."
Senior Taylr Keating
On what it would mean to walk off the mat on Saturday as national champions...
"I think not only for the senior class but for everyone, that would be a dream come true. This is what we've been working on since day one."
Compulsory Scores
Acro – Oregon: 9.45, Azusa Pacific: 9.05
Pyramid – Oregon: 9.50, Azusa Pacific: 9.40
Toss – Azusa Pacific: 9.65, Oregon: 9.60
Tumbling – Oregon: Azusa Pacific: 9.10, Azusa Pacific: 8.95
Event Winner: Oregon: 37.50, Azusa Pacific: 37.20
Acro Scores
5-Element – Oregon: 9.65, Azusa Pacific: 9.60
6-Element – Oregon: 9.75, Azusa Pacific: 9.45
7-Element – Oregon: 9.60, Azusa Pacific: 9.75
Event Winner: Oregon: 29.00, Azusa Pacific: 28.80
Pyramid Scores
Inverted – Azusa Pacific: 9.65, Oregon: 9.60
Synchronized – Azusa Pacific: 9.85, Oregon: 9.80
Open – Oregon: 9.75, Azusa Pacific: 9.75
Event Winner: Azusa Pacific: 29.25, Oregon: 29.15
Toss Scores
460 Salto – Oregon: 9.80, Azusa Pacific: 9.30
Synchronized – Oregon: 9.40, Azusa Pacific: 8.95
Open – Oregon: 9.70, Azusa Pacific: 9.45
Event Winner: Oregon: 28.90, Azusa Pacific: 27.70
Tumbling Scores
Duo – Oregon: 9.15, Azusa Pacific: 8.75
Trio – Oregon: 9.15, Azusa Pacific: 8.45
Quad – Oregon: 9.05, Azusa Pacific: 8.65
Aerial – Oregon: 9.775, Azusa Pacific: 9.70
6-Element – Oregon: 9.80, Azusa Pacific: 9.575
Open – Oregon: 9.60, Azusa Pacific: 9.70
Event Winner: Oregon: 56.525, Azusa Pacific: 54.825
Team Routine Scores
Oregon: 96.55
Azusa Pacific: 93.56
Final Meet Score – 277.625 - 271.335, Oregon
Looking Ahead: The Ducks will face the Baylor Bears on Saturday 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
