Matthew Knight Arena played host to another first Saturday night as the Oregon acrobatics and tumbling squad made its 2011 home debut.
The No. 2 Ducks picked up their second win of the season, defeating Azusa Pacific 283.916-271.796 in front of a raucous home crowd of 1,049. Oregon head coach Felecia Mulkey has been at the forefront of the sport’s ascent, with hopes of meeting the NCAA standards in the near future.
According to Mulkey, Saturday night was another big step in the right direction.
“I’m all about spreading the sport nationwide,” Mulkey said. “I hope that the people in the stands understood what was going on a little bit more, and enjoyed themselves, and will come back.”
Oregon utilized everything the new building has to offer, particularly the large-screen television. Before each of the six events — compulsories, stunts, pyramid, basket toss, tumbling and team routine — a short clip appeared on screen with two athletes explaining the finer points of that competition, helping fans know what to look for and when to cheer.
It was a luxury the Ducks did not have at McArthur Court last season and one of the many changes that is rapidly improving the sport since its arrival on campus three years ago.
The scoring format has finally become universal, a process that Mulkey played a key role in. “We didn’t really change a skill set or change a sport,” she said. “We just started competing in a new format. It is deliberate and I hope it’s working.
“I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves.”
Oregon bounced between stunts and gymnastics meets and competitive cheer tournaments last year, but will be competing under the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association format for the remainder of the 2011 season.
“We needed a governing body that would structure our scoring and govern all schools,” Mulkey said, “so every time we go out we’re competing under that same scoring system, and just give us some standard across the board.”
On Saturday the new format ran smoothly.
Oregon opened with a strong showing in the compulsories, with a perfect 10.0 in the pyramid heat. Azusa Pacific came back to edge the Ducks in the following stunt event, which Mulkey said her team should never lose, but Oregon wasn’t seriously contested after that point.
The Ducks won the pyramid event to take a narrow lead into intermission, then took the basket toss and tumbling events with relative ease.
“Our strength is tumbling, obviously,” Mulkey said. “We pride ourselves at being the strongest team in the country.”
Senior Kelsey Rowell had a strong night in both the double and aerial heats, while teammate Natasha Katzaroff wowed the crowd, and her teammates, in the final open tumbling competition.
For her high-flying routine, Katzaroff tallied a 9.8 on the scoreboard, and her teammates were outwardly excited.
“For the first home meet, that was incredible,” Katzaroff said. “I think we definitely put on a show. I mean we have stuff to work on, but we did really well. I’m really proud of my team.”
Oregon had one minor fall in the ensuing team routine in what was otherwise considered a crisp performance to close out the night. The Ducks edged Auzsa Pacific 104.926-102.656 to conclude the night.
Katzaroff and senior Marly Campos both admitted the video production contributed to the crowd’s awareness and overall output.
“It was awesome,” Campos said. “Being in front of our home crowd — you can’t beat that. Being at Baylor, we’re kind of just with our team, but here it’s with the crowd, and there’s no other feeling than that.”
Oregon will travel to Azusa Pacific on Feb. 12, and then return home on March 7 to host Baylor. The Ducks have three meets on the East Coast during March in preparation for the NCATA National Championships held April 7-9 at Knight Arena.
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