Ghosts don’t often haunt teams’ home mats.

But for Oregon acrobatics and tumbling, Matthew Knight Arena has been home to more than five years of losses to its rival. When No. 1 Baylor University rolled into town on Monday night, it had been over five years since the Bears’ last loss — in Eugene, to the Ducks. If that streak was going to end, those ghosts would have to face eviction.

By the end of the night, Oregon (5-2) had exorcised some of them. Baylor (9-0), though, was happy to supply more ahead of the postseason throughout a dominant performance. The Ducks trailed by just 1.75 points before the team event after hanging with the Bears, but registered multiple falls and couldn’t overcome a start value disadvantage to snap their winless streak against their rival in the 286.810-277.680 loss.

Was Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara satisfied?

“Almost,” she said afterward. “Not quite, but almost.”

Even the second-best team in the nation has some problems to face. Six-element acro has been these Ducks’ most inconsistent heat; they’ve scored anywhere between 9.700 and 6.450 this season. On Monday, every stomp on the mat was mirrored by the athletes on the sideline. None of that noise was made by a fall, or an extra step. Oregon’s 9.500 score was its second-best of the season, and secured its first event win of the meet.

“We did it a lot of times,” Susnara said. “We did a lot of reps.
We adjusted personnel just a little bit. But we just repped it out, and we talked about mindset and what you need going into that heat, and they brought it today, so I was really proud of them.”

There’s two ways, it turns out, to confront those ghosts. 

One is to consult those who know them best. Base Blessyn McMorris is the most experienced athlete Oregon has. She claimed her third NCATA Athlete of the Week award last week, tying two other former Ducks (including her head coach) for most career wins.

McMorris is all over the Ducks’ meet. She bridges arguably Oregon’s best heat, the open pyramid in which she helped it win a national event title last season. On Saturday, that experience was on full display as the Ducks turned in a 9.900 in the heat.

Cassidy Cu and Angelica Martin are just wrapping up their second year of experience, but they’ve turned the Ducks acro event into a first-half powerhouse. The two were captains in the last home meet. Tonight, they posted a 9.800-point five-element and 9.850-point seven-element heat on Oregon’s way to a season-second-highest 29.250-point total in the event.

The other way is to turn to those who’ve never heard of the ghosts. Freshman Addison Brodie touched the mat in competition for the first time on Monday night, in the Ducks’ quad tumbling heat. The Ducks, facing significant injuries in the heat, inserted the first-time competitor, who turned in a strong, well-synchronized effort.

Also in that quad heat was Shea Barnes, a senior who returned from a midseason setback that saw her in a boot at the Ducks’ last meet to headline the quad group. Oregon totaled 27.70 points through 29.55 possible in group tumbling.

“We’ve been keeping those passes in our back pocket, and this past week, when we had a little bit of downtime to be able to train, they were looking really good, and so we decided to up the start value in that trio pass, and they all stepped up and did really well,” Susnara said.

For all the ghostbusting ability Oregon brought to the mat on Monday, though, there was a higher score on the other side. The Ducks won just one event, that acro set, despite zero non-team-event falls and never scoring less than 8.950.

The Bears’ lead only grew after that acro heat. Their standout pyramid event, in which they registered a fall in the last matchup between the two teams, scored 29.800 — including two 9.950 scores. Reigning All-Americans Washington and Emily Bott turned in matching 9.850-point solo passes, and a shuffled Oregon solo pass group including a 9.850-point six-element pass from Briya Alvarado couldn’t match it.

At least two Ducks fell in team event to complete the loss, on tumbling passes from Logan Davis and Nya Womack. More first-time experience appeared with strength, in freshman Reagan Grigsby, but it wasn’t enough. Baylor, typically, was spotless. 

“I think team event has given us our struggles throughout the season, and that’s something that I think we just need to work on mentally and just kind of rep it out. We’ll drill everything else, but I think team event will be a big focus for us.”

Susnara isn’t always a fan of what her team sometimes says about their attitude in these meets, against this team — but she brought it up anyway afterward.

“I kind of joke about it, but we have nothing to lose, so to speak,” she said. “But I think that we have all to gain.”

Tonight, though, they lost.

Oregon advances to the NCATA National Championships in Azusa, California. A new poll will be released on April 8, with final seeds to be announced April 13.