The Ducks built an eight-point cushion with history: a best tumbling score since 2017. They doubled down, with a re-tooled team event that sealed the win. The comeback was complete.

Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (2-1) struggled in its first half after the bye week, but bounced back and cruised to victory, 276.565-263.465 with a second-half performance that was more than enough against No. 3 Gannon (2-4). Oregon, in need of a win, revamped its team event and boosted its tumbling score.

The Ducks entered Friday fully rested after their bye week followed their first loss of the year to No. 1 Baylor.

“I think we put the bye week to good use,” Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara said. “We made quite a bit of changes coming into this meet…overall, I think they executed really well.”

In search of a bounce-back victory, the Ducks were on home turf for the penultimate time this season. The next month is where it gets real: Oregon faces Nos. 5, 2, 8 and 1 in the preseason coaches’ poll, all on the road, to close its season. That’s what made Friday night a must-win for the Ducks.

Gannon struggled in its opener. Steps and missed landings in the compulsory heats were the initial signs of a team that hasn’t lived up to its third-overall ranking. 

Oregon, though, couldn’t take advantage in the event. The Ducks posted their lowest score in the event this season: 37.1, in part due to an omitted skill from freshman tumbler Morgan Willingham.

Willingham, one of the young stars of Oregon’s season, did not complete one of her skills in compulsory tumbling. The Ducks still scored 8.600, courtesy of a strong heat elsewhere.

“She just got confused with the counts and just forgot,” Susnara said.

An acro event unlike any other was the story of the first half. Oregon has posted as high as an 28.95 in the event, but struggled throughout — Ducks top Haley Ellis nearly fell in the six-element portion before senior top Bethany Glick and base Charlotte Lippa did fall on the final skill of their seven-element acro.

Gannon, though, had mighty difficulties. A fall in the six-element acro led to a 6.900 score, and additional deductions in the seven-element acro (where Gannon scored 7.600) saw them relinquish their slim, .100-point first-event lead.

The difference emerged in the first pyramid heat. Gannon completed its skill, but did not hold its inversion for the required three seconds — which resulted in a fall deduction. 

Minutes later, when Glick was struggling to push her skill into its inverted position during Oregon’s inversion pyramid, she found a second wind and pushed back into the handstand position and held their inversion for the required three seconds to avoid a fall deduction.

“[Bethany] has a lot of mental strength and a lot of body awareness,” Susnara said, “so when she’s in the air, if something’s going wrong, she’s able to feel it and fix it in real time, which is something really valuable.”

Despite a 9.900 in the open pyramid heat — where Oregon scored a perfect 10 against Baylor — the Ducks still scored a season-low 28.600 in the event — to complete a first half in which they scored season-lows in all three events. Gannon posted a 9.950 in a nearly-perfect open pyramid and won the event overall, but still trailed by 2.150 points after the half.

“I think we have a little bit more fun in the bye weeks,” Susnara said. “And so it’s not that the focus isn’t there, but it’s just a little bit of ‘We can breathe.’ Sometimes that can create a little bit of lax, even though they’re not meaning to.”

With a bounce-back necessary for both sides after difficult first halves, the Ducks answered the bell. Oregon scored a season-high 9.800 in the open toss to complete a 29.000-point toss event that was just .150 off its season high.

“We can’t change what happened in the first half,” Susnara said, “so at the end of the day, we say ‘Leave it there,’ and go zero-zero headed into the next heat, because it is what it is.”

The Knights’ tumbling event was notable for a reason off the mat: their start values. While Oregon was able to roll out 10.0 values across the board, Gannon — which lost significant tumblers to both graduation and the transfer portal in the offseason — started with 9.55, 8.75 and 8.00-point values in the first three heats.

It showed: despite a relatively solid showing in the event, Gannon scored just 53.175 while entering the event trailing by 3.050.

Oregon pushed the margin to nearly eight points ahead of the team event, with scores that combined for the program’s highest score (58.025) since 2017 despite a step off from senior Haley Ellis in the quad pass. Willingham scored 9.875 in the open pass, her best of the season.

“Morgan [Willingham], being a freshman, coming out in a solo event is a lot of pressure,” Susnara said. “After messing up in the beginning, it can create some nerves, and I think she did a really good job turning it around.”

The Knights fell multiple times in their team event, which scored 92.040, but it wouldn’t matter.

Oregon’s cushion was big enough already, but the Ducks kept pushing. Oregon made upgrades to its team event over the bye week, and had just one notable missed skill (in tumbling, from Rickelle Henderson) on its way to a 97.240 score.

“We worked really hard on it [in the bye week],” Susnara said. “All in all, I was happy with it, but I think we still have a lot of work to do.”

Oregon returns to Matthew Knight Arena for its final home meet of the regular season next Friday, against No. 5 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

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The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team has largely succeeded in its first two meets. It set a four-year high in points in its opener and looked to have integrated several new pieces before its marquee home meet of the season. But the Ducks have had one consistent problem in their quest for a first national title since 2014.

Really, it’s just one program.

Against No. 1 Baylor University on Feb. 22, that came to bear. Oregon hung with the nation’s best program for five events and even made a comeback to draw within two points before the team event. Those are all positives.

Last year, when the two faced each other at Matthew Knight Arena, the scenario was similar. Oregon lost every event except for tumbling, but still stayed close and trailed by just 1.25 points through five events. In the team event, though, the Ducks put up a subpar score (86.67) and lost by more than eight points.

It was the same story in 2025. A strong performance and a tumbling event win weren’t enough to overcome a team event that struggled with a fall in the acro portion for the second week in a row and a step off the mat in the tumbling portion.

It’s a frustrating spot for the Ducks, who have continually performed in the nation’s top echelon but can’t get over the hump. This was a missed opportunity, and a big one.

The season isn’t over, though.

The benefit of Oregon’s monster schedule is that it provides several more of these chances — and a bye week before the team to reboot. 

There was a lot to like from the Ducks’ performances through two weeks: a perfect 10.0 score against Baylor proved that the pyramid event is still going to be an anchor for head coach Taylor Susnara’s program, and freshmen who have already put up some of the team’s best scores will continue to gain collegiate competition experience.

Oregon faces No. 2 Quinnipiac University, No. 3 Gannon University, No. 5 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 8 Iona University in the next four meets. Each will be an ample test, one that will prepare them for another bout with the Baylor Bears on April 5.

Susnara talked about the nerves of the meet, which she said after the Baylor meet got to Oregon during the team event. She’s looked to install mental strength throughout her tenure in Eugene, and it’ll be a major boost if she can bring that philosophy to new athletes over the break.  

Some of that learning will have to be on the road, where Oregon hasn’t been yet this year. The Ducks open their season with their only four home meets of the year. Two (Gannon and UMHB) remain to be competed at Matthew Knight Arena, but Oregon heads to the East Coast afterward for meets with Iona and Quinnipiac. The program went 2-1 in true road meets (non-championship) last year, but didn’t win against a team ranked higher than sixth and lost its only top-five matchup to No. 1 Baylor.

Despite a disappointing result and persistent mistakes through the first two weeks, the door is still open for Oregon. The Ducks have done more than enough to prove they can compete with top teams — even if resulted in a loss against the Bears — and should take confidence into the gauntlet of meets that await. If they head into their April 5 date with Baylor with wins in their pocket, they’ll have another shot at the champs.

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In its second game of the day, No. 14 Oregon softball (18-1) showed no signs of wear as a strong lineup eviscerated Loyola Chicago (3-14) 8-0 in six innings in the first of two weekend matchups. Elyse Sokolsky (six strikeouts) led a defensive clinic for the Ducks from the circle, while Kedre Luschar (2-3, one RBI) continued her hot streak on the weekend.

“We have a great pitching staff,” Oregon associate head coach Sam Marder said. “We have dominant, dominant defense, and they really showed that, I think, throughout the weekend and tonight.”

After a routine 6-0 win over San Diego University earlier in the day was keyed by pitcher Lyndsey Grein, who hit 300 strikeouts against the Toreros, Sokolsky (4-0, 2.27 ERA) was handed the ball for Oregon on the verge of the same record. 

For the Ramblers, who lost handily to San Diego on Friday before splitting their two matchups with Portland State, what hope there was of an upset was quickly extinguished. Sokolsky drew a groundout and strikeout, but gave up a single to designated player Bella Crimaldi — who advanced to second on a wild pitch. 

Her imperious form soon returned, though, and Sokolsky struck out the next batter, Skyler Croker, to claim her 300th-career K with “Swing Batter Batter Swing” blasting.

“It’s really cool,” Sokolsky said. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t know it was coming up. It was just really cool being able to celebrate with the team.”

The gap between the two teams was evident from Oregon’s first inning, where the Ducks got their entire lineup to the plate and recorded four runs. 

Leadoff hitter Kai Luschar — who went 0-4 earlier in the day against San Diego despite swinging well — filled the count against Ramblers starter Andie Broniewicz (2-2) before turning a ground ball into an infield single with blazing speed and stealing a bag on the first pitch of the next at-bat.

Luschar would make it all the way around from second on a throwing error from Ramblers catcher Nat Lesnicki before Patmon tagged up at third on a Rylee McCoy flyout to slide home for the Ducks’ first and second runs of the night. Paige Sinicki piled on the third run of the inning when she scored from second on a Kedre Luschar single to right field. Luschar, too, would eventually score on a Katie Flannery RBI single.

The Ducks didn’t need many hits to get runners in scoring position. Oregon grabbed five bags in the first inning alone — Kai Luschar, Dezianna Patmon, Sinicki and Kedre Luschar all stole second early in the count after getting on base, and all four runners scored.

Asked about Oregon’s speed, Marder said, “I think it’s something offensively that we know is going to show up every single day. There are just times where, offensively, you’re just not swinging well…what’s so pivotal about our speed is that it can continue to get us into scoring position.”

After shutting out Loyola in the top of the second frame, Oregon cooled off in the bottom half as Luschar, Patmon and McCoy went down in order.

But there would be no joy for the Ramblers. Their batters went almost as easily and, despite a single from Sierra Sass, they still couldn’t put a run on the board.

“No runs, no hits, no errors” became the regular refrain as zeroes piled up on the right field scoreboard and Oregon’s nightcap became a formality. It was yet another strong outing from a Ducks group that has begun to prove its strength to Sokolsky.

“I feel like we’ve known from the start [that this team was elite],” Sokolsky said. “Before we had even started practicing, our entire team was out on the field, and I was like, ‘This is electric.’”

The Ducks wouldn’t add their fifth run until the third when Flannery lined a full-count pitch into right field to score Kedre Luschar.

Luschar was imperious in center field on a night highlighted by a fifth inning in which she grabbed three deep shots to blank the Ramblers. On the other side of the inning, Ma’ake was the one to crush a two-RBI bomb to left, extending the lead to seven as she rounded first base with her arms extended into the night air. 

“I think we’re still early in the season,” Sokolsky said, “so we’re working through stuff just like every person is. But to have an offense that takes the pressure off of me…it’s awesome.”

Remmington Hewitt and Patmon completed the run-rule win as the latter doubled into the left field gap to score the former. Oregon’s dugout emerged for the second time on Saturday to celebrate the win, and then retired to do it all again tomorrow.

“[We’re] maybe a third of the way through the season now,” Marder said, “and there’s been so many highlights. Preseason before conference play can be grueling…what this team is showing is that we could win being dominant offensively, [and] we can win with the one in the circle.”

Oregon will face Loyola again on Sunday at 1:00 PM to wrap up its first home tournament of the year.

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By the end on Saturday night, it just felt like what always happens: the championship team shows its pedigree, a talented but inexperienced team made a mistake and the meet was lost despite five strong events. No. 4 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (1-1) hung with No. 1 Baylor (3-0) for the vast majority of the night of its first real test of 2025, but left with a sour taste in its mouth and a laundry list to address in the bye week — even with the knowledge that the year isn’t close to over.

Here’s what we learned from the Ducks’ second meet of 2025:

Experience matters

The Ducks boast 11 talented freshmen — 22 total underclassmen — on their roster. They’ve been a major part of Oregon’s success through two weeks. Where Baylor separated from Oregon, though, was in crunch time.

The Bears have championship-level experience that comes with time, and these are moments that build that. Oregon didn’t have it on Saturday, and falls and step-offs in the team event showed that. 

“At the end of the day, we didn’t show up,” Oregon head coach Susnara said afterward. “We had a lot of things go wrong, and Baylor came out mentally stronger today and got the win.”

Mental strength is a philosophy that Susnara has been hammering throughout her time in the driver’s seat at Oregon, and it’ll be one that the Ducks must master when this meet rolls around again. Their talent kept them in this meet. Experience flashed when a win in the tumbling event brought them as close as 1.500 points from the leaders. 

“I think that we let a little bit of the nerves get to us, just at the end,” Susnara said. 

If those nerves can be settled, this team has all the tools it needs to knock off the champs.

The pyramid is still a strength

The open pyramid heat was the only one in which Oregon put up a 10.000 score last season. It took four meets to do it in 2024. In 2025, it only took two. The Ducks registered a perfect score in the heat against the Bears — part of a pre-halftime comeback effort.

It came courtesy of a tweak from Susnara and her staff, which rotated the construction of the skill a quarter-turn away from the judges. Teams can compete skills in any direction during a meet, but intentional changes like this one can both highlight the strong facets of the skill and hide potential deficiencies. 

Oregon’s strength in the event, though, is no fluke. The Ducks didn’t register a score below 9.500 in any of the three heats in 2024, and have just one score below 9.75 (9.30, in the synchronized pyramid against Baylor) so far this season. It’s in a crucial position — just before the half — and the Ducks will look to continue to energize their meet with wins in the event.

This season is not over

Losing a top-five matchup at home in any sport would deal a hammer blow to a team’s championship hopes. It’s a missed opportunity that surely would stay with a program throughout a season — especially in ones as short as A&T are.

Baylor head coach Felecia Mulkey’s pre-meet comments, though, brought up a surprising opinion: this meet isn’t as big as it’s made out to be. At least, not this early in the season.

“I think every meet is just a learning opportunity,” Mulkey said. “I think every coach probably sees it that way….quite honestly, this is early in the season for both of us. You know, two meets in for us, [and] one meet for [Oregon]. It’s just really early in the season.”

Yes, it’s an opportunity missed for the Ducks — and a big one. It was their best chance to beat the unbeatable at home, fully healthy and with a strong first meet already in their back pocket. It’ll arguably be more difficult to win against the Bears in Waco.

But it was close, and even though close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, it matters here for Oregon. It knows that it can compete, and that two and a half minutes were all that stood between itself and a win. 

The Ducks get a bye week to drill down on team event issues (particularly falls in the acro portion) that have stymied them through two weeks. Then, they get to re-enter the gauntlet with a schedule that will provide constant opportunities to maintain their position in the top four polling positions.

Then, they’ll get another chance to step onto the mat with the Bears.

No, this season isn’t even close to over. If anything, it’s just getting started.

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No. 19 Oregon (13-1) left the yard just once but still exploded offensively in its second win of the day, a 7-2 victory over No. 25 San Diego State University (8-3). Ducks freshman Dezianna Patmon homered in the sixth inning, but the game was long over by then; a five-run second inning built an unassailable lead, and Oregon pitcher Elise Sokolsky (4 hits, 2 earned runs, 6 strikeouts, win) dealt 5.1 strong innings to keep the Aztecs at bay. The Ducks advanced to 4-0 in California and calmed offensive concerns before heading back to Eugene.

Rylee McCoy was the first Duck on base with a leadoff double in the second inning after Oregon’s top three went down in order. McCoy was immediately advanced to third by Stefini Ma’ake and the Ducks did what they couldn’t in their first game of the day: take advantage of runners in scoring position as Kedre Luschar scored McCoy with a bunt.

An errant play by Aztecs catcher Cali Decker with Paige Sinicki at the dish next up scored two Ducks. Ma’ake eased home and Luschar came tearing around from first base to add Oregon’s third of the inning. The advantage was then four in what became an explosion when Kaylynn Jones’ groundout scored Sinicki. Kai Luschar then added a fifth courtesy of her speed around the diamond and a Patmon groundout to first, which ended the inning.

The offensive firepower is what Oregon was missing against Utah earlier in the day, when two solo home runs boosted the Ducks to a 2-0 win over the Utes despite eight runners left stranded in scoring position through seven innings. Oregon set program records for runs scored in its first two, three, four and five games — but had scored no more than five runs in each of its last five games. 

Oregon couldn’t do what it did on Friday morning on the other side of the scorecard, though. San Diego State second baseman Lala Macario singled to lead off the bottom of the second inning before a double from designated player Shannon Cunningham drove Macario home for the Aztecs’ first run of the tournament.

Sokolsky, though, limited the damage to just that run. Oregon’s junior pitcher owns a 2.47 ERA through nine games in 2025, and had allowed just ten earned runs through 28 innings before Friday.

McCoy and Ma’ake continued to serve as the engines of the Ducks’ offense in the top of the third. Both earned immediate singles off Cece Cellura and forced the sophomore out of the circle after just 2.1 innings. 

Offensive anemia returned to the Oregon dugout soon after. Kedre Luschar made it on base courtesy of a fielder’s choice, but the Ducks couldn’t take advantage. McCoy (out at home) and Sinicki (flyout) ended the half-inning with three runners on base. 

The Aztecs’ best shot at another run came with runners at first and third base in the bottom of the third, but Sokolsky drew a groundout to strand both and hold San Diego State without a run in the third inning before dealing back-to-back strikeouts to end the fourth.

The game was effectively ended when Kedre Luschar made the Ducks’ sixth run of the day with a single to center field which scored pinch runner Regan Legg. Uribe, in a jam with two on, eventually stranded two, but the Aztecs’ second error of the day brought Luschar to the plate and eventually delivered Legg home.

Patmon, the designated player, added the insurance with a solo home run to left field in the top of the sixth inning. The lead, extended to six, would be more than enough as Sokolsky and morning starter Lyndsey Grein closed out the final hitters with ease — save an error from catcher Emma Cox on a stolen base that resulted in a run charged to Sokolsky. 

Oregon will play its final game at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic tomorrow morning, against Missouri at 9:30 AM before heading back to Eugene.

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The second week of a season is early for the most important meet a team will compete in. For No. 4 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (1-0), it’s reality. The Ducks, who sped past the Morgan State Bears and put up a four-year high in points (281.205) in their opener, will face the No. 1 Baylor Bears (2-0) at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday night.

Senior base Blessyn McMorris was selected as the NCATA’s Athlete of the Week, and freshman base Angelica Martin was named an honorable mention for the association’s Freshman of the Week Award.

Baylor, meanwhile, has rattled off back-to-back victories over top-15 programs in the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Long Island University and looks every inch the national champion it has been for the past nine years (and counting). Freshman base Leavy McDonald was the most recent Freshman of the Week, and the team hasn’t yet scored less than 276 points through two weeks.

The Daily Emerald’s Owen Murray and the Baylor Lariat’s Aidan O’Connor traded questions ahead of this weekend’s matchup, focused on the coaches, their best athletes and what it’ll take from each team to win.

Owen’s three questions for Aidan

How has this team reloaded from last year? It lost a few superstars but seems to be right back on track.

Baylor has lost some big pieces in players like Bayley Humphrey and Riley Chimwala, but they’ve definitely reloaded from these departures. With 14 true freshmen, the Bears have brought in some new blood to bolster the roster while also having some key players returning — like Mariah Polk — who have taken key leadership roles within the team. Ultimately, it comes down to the coaching from coach Felecia Mulkey. No matter how many players they lose in a given year, the team will rebound because of the way in which she is able to elevate her squad like the greatest of those in their given sports like a Bill Belichick or a Nick Saban.

Do you think there’s an advantage to having two meets under your belt instead of just one headed into this weekend?

There’s definitely an advantage to having two meets under your belt, especially two ranked ones. Starting off the season with two ranked matches immediately puts the team under pressure and tests their ability to perform against some of the best in the nation. While there were some things Felecia Mulkey wanted to improve on from the No. 5 UMHB and No.14 LIU meets, Baylor has made a statement early on that it can take on higher level competition by having two dominant ranked wins to begin the season.

The Ducks put up scores last weekend unseen since the last time they beat Baylor, in 2021. Is that what it’s going to take to win on Saturday, or does this Bears team have flaws that earlier ones didn’t?

The Ducks need to repeat their performance they had against Morgan State because right now Baylor is in such a great position. They’ve started off the season hot by having two big wins against top-15 teams showing that they have fully reloaded from the loss of some key players from last year. Not to mention the momentum the Bears have from winning 40-straight home meets. These factors make the green and gold a formidable opponent for the Ducks. For Oregon to stop the roll Baylor has been on requires the best performance possible against a team that has been unbeatable since 2021.

Aidan’s three questions for Owen

How do Oregon fans feel about Mulkey? She of course started acro and tumbling at Oregon and won a few championships but ultimately left and has won every championship since at Baylor.

It’s an interesting concept, for sure. All that I’ve seen here is love — Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara told me that she’s obviously looking to win the title and take Baylor down along the way, but that Mulkey has done so much for the sport and that she’s a great resource. Everyone, truly, that I’ve talked to around the NCATA over the past couple of years has had great things to say about her as an advocate for the growth of the sport.

What do you think is different about this year’s Oregon team? Last year it had some struggles ending the regular season, (3-3), but this year it’s gotten off to a great start with a dominant win over Morgan State.

The hidden thing in that 3-3 record from last year is that Oregon was pretty good, but not great. I’d have picked them against pretty much any team except for Baylor. Two of the three losses came against the Bears last year, and the last one was to No. 3 Quinnipiac, which scored the second-most points against the Ducks of any team all year. It was a really solid team. This year, though, has some really talented freshmen who I think could push Oregon over the top with some abilities we haven’t seen before.

Going up against a team with Baylor’s pedigree can be daunting. How much do you think the experience and maturity this Oregon team has with seniors like Bethany Glick and Brylie Hoover can help the team manage the pressure and execute this Saturday?

It’s 100% a real thing. Oregon coaches like to talk a lot about mental fortitude and a “0-0 mindset” — this idea that you just flush every heat and event after you compete it, no matter whether it went well or not. This is Susnara’s fourth year as the head coach in Eugene, and every athlete here has had her as a coach. Her program is completely installed, and — even though they lost some seniors (All-American Makenna Carrion) from last year — a ton of athletes have NCATA Championship experience and know what it’s like to go up against a top program. That matters.

Oregon and Baylor face off at Matthew Knight Arena on Saturday. The meet is scheduled to start at 4:00 PM.

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An outstanding first performance has led to recognition for members of Oregon acrobatics and tumbling following its 281.205-256.095 win over Morgan State University last Saturday. 

Senior base Blessyn McMorris was named the NCATA Athlete of the Week after a performance that helped the Ducks to a four-year high in total score. Oregon scored at least a 9.60 in each of the eight heats in which McMorris participated, and her performance in two pyramid heats led to two 9.90 scores, according to a release from the NCATA.

Freshman base Angelica Martin was named an honorable mention for the NCATA’s Freshman of the Week award. Martin, whose five-element acro heat with fellow freshman Cassidy Cu, who has been tipped by Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara as one to watch in 2025, competed her first-ever meet on Saturday. The Ducks scored 9.65 or higher in all six of her heats, the NCATA said. The primary award was given to Baylor base Leavy McDonald.

No. 4 Oregon (1-0) will face No. 1 Baylor (2-0) at Matthew Knight Arena this Saturday. The meet is scheduled to start at 4:00 PM.

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Oregon acrobatics and tumbling got off to its fastest start in nearly a decade on Saturday. The Ducks put up a performance that hadn’t been matched in an Oregon home opener since 2015 courtesy of standout freshmen and a superb team event that pushed them over the top and readied them for a blockbuster matchup in late Feb. 

Here’s what we learned from Oregon’s first meet of 2025.

The kids are alright

Oregon debuted several freshmen in the meet, including base Angelica Martin and top Cassidy Cu. Ducks head coach Taylor Susnara sent them out in the five-element acro heat, where their competed skill — Cu, held in a hand to hand press above Martin, bends backwards in midair before Martin slides into a split — earned a 9.650 score from the judges.

Susnara cited a “little hiccup” with the heat in her post-meet press conference, but reaffirmed her total confidence in the two. It’s a new sport for the pair, but they’ve been competing similar skills for years as part of their acrobatic gymnastics background.

“Sure, acrobatics and tumbling is new to them,” Susnara said on Friday. “But competing is not.”

The Ducks also sent out two freshmen tumblers: Briya Alvarado and Morgan Willingham. The two looked like veterans as they helped Oregon to recover from early falls in the tumbling event; Alvarado executed in both the duo and aerial passes to secure 9.500 and 9.850 scores while Willingham put up a 9.850 to close the event.

The high scores posted by Oregon’s newcomers were part of the reason Susnara was “ecstatic” post-meet. The Ducks were able to separate from their opponents because of the variation in start value — Oregon would often compete skills with a 9.9 or 10.0 ceiling while the Morgan State Bears sat at 9.9 or below, but that won’t be the case as the Ducks head into a ranked slate of matchups that spans the rest of their season.

Early composure, especially from freshmen, is much-welcomed.

The team event is back

Composure is valuable across the board — but especially in the team event. Held at the end of the meet, teams compete skills from each of the five previous events all at once, simultaneously. It takes three judges to score, and is worth almost double any other event.

That’s why it was so impressive when Oregon posted its highest score in the event since 2021…in its first meet. 

Last year, the Ducks scored an 85.25 in their season opener against Hawaii Pacific University and largely improved on that mark through the first four weeks, where they eventually reached a season-high 94.14 mark against the Sharks in Honolulu. It was also a struggle, though, in the National Championship, where they stumbled and scored a season-worst 83.57 (quarterfinal) and 84.02 (semifinal).

Against the Bears on Saturday night, the Ducks posted a 99.180 — not only more than they scored in all of 2024, but the most they’ve managed since 2021. For the team event to run that smoothly, in their first real competition of the season, is not only a surprise but a boon for a program with national championship expectations.

Ready as can be

It’s difficult to compare teams in different games in most sports. In acrobatics and tumbling, it’s a little easier — teams aren’t influenced by the one they’re facing on that day, and they compete as they would against any other. It is important to note, however, that judges score differently, and that a 10.0 in one meet might be a 9.95 in another — and that could make all the difference.

That said, the Ducks scored 281.205 on Saturday in Eugene. Their next opponents, the No. 1 Baylor Bears, have put up marks of 276.240 and 278.540 in their first two meets of 2025. The records Oregon broke — the ones from that 2021 meet — are from the last time the Ducks beat the Bears.

In order to do so once again next weekend, it’ll more than likely take a repeat of what Oregon put on the mat on Saturday. That performance could best the champions, but it’s only happened once this year. Baylor has put up back-to-back 276-plus point meets. 

We’ve seen Oregon’s ceiling. We haven’t yet seen its floor. The Ducks are ready as can be for a matchup with the one of sports’ greatest dynasties, the nine-time reigning champions. It just matters whether they can throw down what they did this weekend seven days later.

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Oregon men’s tennis grabbed a confident 4-1 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday morning. The Ducks won the doubles point before dominating the singles matches. Victories from Vlad Breazu, Zian Vanderstappen and Lenn Luemkemann closed out the first of two matches the Ducks played on Sunday.

“I’m proud of the guys,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said afterwards. “We had the crud [sickness] going through the team, so we weren’t even sure who was going to play. We had to make some changes, and I don’t think the energy dropped.”

Oregon swept the doubles matches early in the day. Luemkemann and Matthew Burton fended off a comeback attempt from the Ragin’ Cajuns’ best to win, 6-3 and were looking on as Cooper Errey and Clement Lemire closed out a 6-3 victory in which they led throughout. Neither pair trailed in their game.

Breazu and Lachlan Robertson were the only Duck duo to trail in the doubles point, but returned from a 3-1 deficit to tie the match at 5-5 and led 40-0 before Errey and Lemire won the point in their match less than five minutes after Luemkemann and Burton won theirs.

“We just went all-in on the doubles,” Schyllander said, “just to try and grab that momentum…and because we also knew that they were going to doubt themselves. We’re hard to win four singles matches against, so that first point is so important.”

Luemkemann’s confidence was obvious in his singles match, too. The German watched a ball float towards the back line in the fifth point before pulling his racket just out of the way at turning with a roar. He trailed in the point, but pulled back from 15-40 to claim a 4-1 lead. He would eventually win the set, 6-2.

Breazu nearly shut out his opponent in the first set across from Leumkemann, but a back-and-forth sixth point in which Cajuns man Vasil Dimitrov returned from 15-40 down to claim a point saw that opportunity vanish. He dominated his opponent from that point on, though, winning 6-2, 6-2 to claim the Ducks’ second point of the day.

“I believe that staying in the present moment is the most important thing,” Breazu said. “Even if you lose a couple games, or win a couple games, always the next point is the most important one.”

The Cajuns’ man on the fourth court, Calin Postea, dispatched with the Ducks’ Matthew Burton 6-4, 6-2 to grab Louisiana’s only point of the day. Burton never led by more than a point in either of his sets, and dropped the match — the second of the singles games to finish.

Zian Vanderstappen closed out William Jade on Court 6, 6-4, 6-3, Vanderstappen never trailed in the first set, where he built a 3-1 advantage into an early win. An early 2-1 deficit never worried the sophomore, though, and he won the match to put Oregon on the brink of victory.

It was Luemkemann, then, who would eventually win the day for the Ducks. Oregon’s man on Court 1 fended off a comeback in his second set from Oriol Fillat Giminez to win the set, 6-4 after Gimenez nearly knotted it at 5-5 but saw his return sail wide of Oregon’s number one player.

The unfinished matches were captivating, even so. Clement Lemire lost his first set, 6-4, but returned from a 5-2 deficit to knot the set at 5-5 before Luemkemann won the day for Oregon. Cooper Errey struggled in his first set, too, where he lost 6-3 to Samuel Kyjaci, but dominated the Cajuns player in the second set, 6-1, and led 4-1 when the match ended.

Vital for the Ducks, too, was energy. The victory was the first of two they looked to claim on Sunday, and their confidence throughout was key.

“We grabbed it with a doubles point early, and I don’t think we let our foot off the gas,” Schyllander said. “It’s huge, and momentum changes really easily, so we did a good job of staying on it when we had it.”

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After No. 4 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling head coach Taylor Susnara told media on Friday that she’d “be lying” if she said that the program’s goal wasn’t a national championship, the expectations inside Matthew Knight Arena for the Ducks’ opener were sky-high.

Oregon paid it off in a historic way.

The Ducks put up a stunning 281.205 points to claim victory over the Morgan State Bears, who scored 256.095. Oregon’s total was the highest it has scored in a meet since a 2021 meet against Baylor, and the most it has put up in a season opener since 2015. A team event which exceeded any the Ducks offered up last season, plus the debuts of several freshmen, were a wave as Oregon never trailed and eased past its opponent to open the season with a win.

“I’m ecstatic,” Susnara said postmeet. “We haven’t had that high of a score in quite a few years, and so even with two falls [in the tumbling event], it shows we have a lot of room to improve.”

Compulsory:

Susnara picked out her program’s compulsory events — basic skills executed by both teams — as one of its strongest events. Morgan State showed that it belonged, though. The Bears set the bar with a confident offering through four heats.

The Ducks, though, presented absolute security. Barely a stray step in the first event found less than two total points of deductions from a possible 40, including a 9.8 mark in compulsory acro — more than any score they posted last year. 

Stoicism on the mat turned to instant jubilation as the athletes in yellow sprinted off the mats.

Score: Oregon 38.450 – 37.200 Morgan State

Acro:

Separation began to seep into the meet in the second event.

Oregon’s acro event is one to watch this year. Susnara sent out two freshmen — Angelica Martin and Cassidy Cu — in the Ducks’ five-element acro heat. She was confident in both in her preseason press conference on Friday, where she said, “They’re awesome. I trust them, 100 percent.”

Her faith was well-placed.

The two put up a strong score of the event with a stunning heat in which Cu, the top, arched into a midair backbend before Martin, the base, slid into a split. The judges awarded it a 9.650, but the skill is one to keep an eye on in 2025.

“Two freshmen, right out of the gates…acro event is a hard event to go out there, especially your first time ever competing at a collegiate meet,” Susnara said. “They did fantastic. We had a little hiccup — I don’t even know if most could tell — but they recovered super well and so I’m proud of them.”

Morgan State struggled with stability in its acro heats. Bears top Mia Taylor could barely stay in each position for the required three seconds, and they paid for it on the scoresheet: a 26.350 mark that was 2.600 points less than Oregon.

Neither team blinked with a fall, but the Ducks began to ease ahead into a 3.85 point lead.

Score: Oregon 67.400 – 63.550 Morgan State

Pyramid:

Another of the events which Susnara highlighted as an initial strength, the Ducks proved her right in the pyramid event. Mid-base Bella Swarthout and top Bethany Glick have obvious chemistry — they competed together throughout 2024, and their inversion pyramid earned a 9.900 for the Ducks.

The gap between the two programs became evident again in the synchronized pyramid, where the Bears struggled to successfully complete and match all of their skills — they needed two attempts to raise one of their tops. The Ducks, meanwhile, posted a 9.600 in the event — their lowest score of an event where they also scored 9.650 and 9.700s in the inversion and open pyramids, respectively.

Morgan State performed a first-of-its-kind inversion pyramid in the first heat, and earned a 9.900 in the open pyramid, but it wasn’t enough to earn it a win in the event or a halftime lead.

Score: Oregon 97.050 – 91.700 Morgan State

Toss:

The Ducks didn’t post a season-best score lower than 9.700 in the toss event last year, and that continued into 2025, where Oregon earned two 9.7s and a 9.75 to hold onto the lead. Two tops, Rachel Furlong and Haley Ellis, competed their first-ever tosses in the position and scored a 9.700 in the synchronized toss for the Ducks.

Morgan State, meanwhile, struggled to build on a strong pyramid event with an 26.100, and couldn’t claw closer to their opponents  — the gap grew from 5.350 to 8.400 points.

Score: Oregon 126.200 – 117.800 Morgan State

Tumbling:

The final of Susnara’s handpicked strengths, the tumbling events are where Oregon can shine and separate from opponents.

Notable was the debut of freshman Morgan Willingham, who competed alongside Furlong in the duo pass and earned a 9.500 and a big two-handed high five from Susnara at the end of the mat. Willingham also debuted her solo pass — a 9.850 which was Oregon’s highest since a 2024 meet at Hawaii Pacific University.

Oregon tumbler Haley Ellis didn’t complete her landing and underrotated a difficult 10.0 value trio pass, where the Ducks scored 8.550. Ellis, who missed the entire 2024 season with injury, competed throughout on Saturday. Another fall plagued the Ducks in the quad pass, where junior Shea Barnes couldn’t make her landing and scored just an 8.350.

“For Haley, she is coming back after an Achilles injury and she has been so consistent in practice,” Susnara said. “In that moment [after Ellis fell], it’s really just an ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Shake it off.’ It was an off rep…we’ve got to leave it there.”

The Ducks recovered some points in the solo passes, where freshman Briya Alvarado debuted a solo aerial pass which scored a 9.725. Ellis, too, recovered to score 9.725 in the six-element heat and preserve the Oregon lead.

“Briya and Morgan came in really, really good,” Susnara said. “Our goal, obviously, is to recruit really talented student-athletes, but to prepare them when they get here — it’s repetition, it’s how to manage your emotions under that pressure. Both of them are pretty low-key in general, so I think they really just did a good job today in turning it on when they needed to.”

Score: Oregon 182.025 – 170.825 Morgan State

Team:

Three major falls in the team event left Morgan State with an inability to climb the mountain they’d built with earlier deductions. The Bears, through a high-energy event, scored 85.320.

A new team event for Oregon scored a record-breaking 99.180 — the most a Ducks team has posted in the event since 2021. 

“We hit nearly everything [ event],” Susnara said. “We had a minor thing in our acro two — they came down a little bit early, but they were able to finish that skill through. Starting at a 108 and getting a 99 isn’t too bad for the first meet.”

Final Score: Oregon 281.205 – 256.095 Morgan State

That 2021 meet which still stands as a program record in the team and overall categories is a notable one for another reason, too.

It was the last time Oregon beat No. 1, reigning-national champion Baylor. The Bears come to Eugene next week. If the Ducks are to do what they haven’t been able to in nearly four years, it’ll take a performance on par with what they did back then.

On Saturday, they showed that they could.

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