Second Half Comeback Sends Ducks to National Championship

Friday, April 25

Sioux Falls, SD

2:30 p.m.

University of Oregon

270.455

263.595

Quinnipiac

Photo by: GoDucks.com

Second Half Comeback Sends Ducks to National Championship

04/25/25 | Acrobatics & Tumbling

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team shined in tumbling and team event, erasing a second-half deficit to beat No. 3 Quinnipiac in the NCATA National Championship semifinals, 270.455-263.595, at Elmen Center on Friday evening.

The Ducks (7-2) trailed going into the tumbling event after the Bobcats (8-2) won two of the first three events. UO rose to the challenge, however, outpointing the Bobcats to take the lead for the first time heading into team event and punched its ticket to the national championship meet for the first time since 2023 with a strong finish in the finale.

"I'm really, really happy with how our team performed today," head coach Taylor Susnara said. "Quinnipiac is a hard opponent and they kept us on our toes the entire time, but I think our energy today was top-notch."

Oregon put high scores up across the board in the first half, but the Ducks were not able to take control of the meet in the first half like they did in Thursday's quarterfinal. That changed in the tumbling event, where the Ducks won four of the six heats and outscored the Bobcats by 1.425 to claim the lead.

"Something about it, it just kind of clicks for our team," senior Alexis Giardina said on the Ducks gaining confidence during the tumbling event. "Obviously we've had little bumps in the roads here and there throughout the season with it, but ultimately after we saw each heat, we were just going to be fired up to close it."

The Ducks will face top-ranked and nine-time-defending champion Baylor in the championship meet.

"We have nothing to lose," Susnara said. "It's our last one tomorrow. It's going to be a fight to the finish, and I think its going to be the meet to watch."

How It Happened: The two sides were deadlocked after the compulsory event, each earning a 37.075. Compulsory toss led the way with a 9.800 while pyramid scored a 9.750.

After earning a 9.800 in the five-element heat in Thursday's quarterfinal, the duo of Cassidy Cu and Angelica Martin one-upped themselves with a season-high 9.925 to open the event. Bethany Glick and Bella Swarthout added a 9.625 in the seven-element heat, but Quinnipiac was able to take a 66.150-65.550 lead.

Oregon continued to thrive in the pyramid event, scoring no lower than a 9.750, but once again was narrowly edged out by the Bobcats. UO scored a 9.825 in both the inversion and open heats but trailed by 0.725 points at the half, 95.675-94.950.

The Ducks were able to chip away at the lead in toss, winning the event 28.525-28.275. The Ducks won the 450 salto and open heats, scoring a 9.625 and 9.525, respectively, and tied the Bobcats in the synchro heat.

Trailing 123.950-123.475, the Ducks needed to hit on their tumbling passes, and that's just what they did. Rachel Furlong and Morgan Willingham scored a 9.450 in their duo pass, Briya Alvarado earned a 9.775 for her aerial solo pass, Riley Watson posted the highest score of the event with a 9.825 in her six-element pass, and Willingham closed the event out with a 9.775 in the open pass.

Oregon had flipped the script, leading by nearly a point heading into team event, and outpointed Quinnipiac 90.530-84.620 in the finale.

Quotable: Alexis Giardina on the energy during the meet – "Overall I would just describe the vibe as fun. We honestly all on this team have the unique experience of being like best friends and sisters out there. This truly is a family, and I think today it really showed. No matter what kind of came down in that first half, we kept the vibes up, we kept the spirits up, and I think it really is what pushed us through to that win."

Ava Gowdy on the resiliency shown by the team – "Even if some of the scores got us down a little bit, everyone did such a good job of picking each other up. Really focused on being together and being a family out there, which made it so much fun."

Notable: This marks Oregon's tenth trip to the championship meet … The Ducks are seeking their first national title since 2014 … Oregon was the only team to defeat Quinnipiac this season, beating the Bobcats twice.

Up Next: The NCATA National Championship meet will begin at 3 p.m. PT (ESPN+).

Looking Ahead: A flock of Ducks qualified for Sunday's event finals based on scores from Thursday's quarterfinal round:

» Five-element acro: Cassidy Cu and Angelica Martin
» Seven-element acro: Bethany Glick and Bella Swarthout
» Inversion pyramid: Bethany Glick, Brylie Hoover, Bella Swarthout, Ashlyn Parlett, Emily Rezner, Ava Gowdy, Blessyn McMorris, Niya Hewitt
» Open pyramid: Brylie Hoover, Bella Swarthout, Emily Rezner, Blessyn McMorris, Selah Bell
» 450 salto toss: Emily Rezner, Ava Gowdy, Blessyn McMorris, Alexis Giardina, Angelica Martin, Selah Bell
» Synchro toss: Brylie Hoover, Bella Swarthout, Ashlyn Parlett, Rachel Furlong, Shea Barnes / Emily Rezner, Ava Gowdy, Blessyn McMorris, Selah Bell, Alexis Giardina
» Duo tumbling: Rachel Furlong and Morgan Willingham
» Trio tumbling: Briya Alvarado, Alexis Giardina and Haley Ellis
» Quad tumbling: Riley Watson, Shea Barnes, Rickelle Henderson and Carly Garcia
» Aerial tumbling: Briya Alvarado
» Six-element tumbling: Riley Watson
» Open tumbling: Morgan Willingham

Event finals begin Sunday at 8 a.m. PT (ESPN+).