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.
