The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team lost to Baylor on Apr. 6, posting its highest score of the season but falling short with a final tally of 277.680-286.810 in their regular season finale.
This matchup brought together the top two teams in the nation at Matthew Knight Arena, where family and friends gathered for an evening that also honored Oregon’s 11 seniors. The Ducks (5-2) managed a win over the Bears (9-0) only in the acro event, highlighting their efforts on a competitive night.
Head coach Taylor Susnara said, “As you can see from the girls when they’re being recognized, there’s a lot of love for this senior class. We talked about this being the last time in Matthew Knight Arena with this team and so we honed in on that from start to finish and I think that showed in their execution.” The Ducks began strong by outscoring Baylor in the compulsory acro heat with a season-high score of 9.700, contributing to their best compulsory total this year.
Oregon continued its performance by narrowly edging out Baylor in the acro event with a total score of 29.250 against Baylor’s 29.200, thanks to high marks from Cassidy Cu and Angelica Martin. Despite these efforts, Baylor regained control during the pyramid event and maintained its lead into halftime.
Freshmen Addison Brodie and Regan Grigsby made their debuts due to injuries among other athletes, stepping up when needed most. Susnara said, “Both freshmen, Reagan Grigsby and Addison Brodie, have been working really hard this whole year… We were able to call on them today, and they stepped up and did a really great job.” Ultimately Oregon trailed by one point entering the final team event but could not overcome Baylor’s advantage despite achieving their best team score of the season.
Looking ahead to championships hosted by Azusa Pacific later this month, Susnara said: “Going into the championships, we will just be drilling things and putting a lot of emphasis on our team event… That is something we need to work on mentally and rep it out.”
