The Bobcats have won two straight events either side of the half, and it has them within striking distance of the Ducks. Oregon lost all three toss heats on its way to the event loss, but holds onto a 1.325-point lead headed into tumbling.

Scores:
450 Salto: Quinnipiac 9.7-9.425 Oregon

Synchronized: Quinnipiac 9.075-8.850 Oregon

Open: Quinnipiac 9.575-9.325 Oregon
Total: Quinnipiac 28.35-27.6 Oregon

The Ducks go 1-2 in first half events after a pyramid loss. The gap came mostly from a 9.900-point Quinnipiac open pyramid that outscored Oregon’s 9.775. Taylor Susnara put top Selah Bell back in the heat after swapping her out against Gannon yesterday, with the same score as that meet. Oregon lost the event by .050, but held onto the overall lead.

Scores:

Inversion: Oregon 9.575-9.425 Quinnipiac
Synchronized: Quinnipiac 9.575-9.500 Oregon

Open: Quinnipiac 9.900-9.775 Oregon
Total: Quinnipiac 28.9-28.85 Oregon

A mistake in six-element — from Quinnipiac — has the Ducks back in front. That’s a huge boon for Oregon, which compensates for lower scores in five and seven-element with a 2.30-point gap in what’s been its least consistent. The Bobcats were clean elsewhere, but will have to overcome a deficit if they’re going to upset the Ducks.

Scores:

Five-element: Oregon 9.7-9.675 Quinnipiac
Six-element: Oregon 8.95-6.65 Quinnipiac
Seven-element: Oregon 9.55-9.45 Quinnipiac

Total: 28.2-25.775

Both Oregon and Quinnipiac won compulsories in their quarterfinals yesterday, and it’s showing today. There’s very little between these two through one event; some wobbling in the Ducks’ compulsory acro was one of the only things I spotted outside of tumbling. Several sticks in both tumbling groups foreshadows the challenge that lies ahead for Oregon in the fifth event — it’s usually a dominant win, but Quinnipiac is one of the few teams that can match the Ducks.

The Ducks sit behind as the Bobcats lead after compulsory, 36.500-36.200

Scores:

Acro: Quinnipiac 9.375-9.300 Oregon
Pyramid: Quinnipiac 9.8-9,7 Oregon
Toss: Oregon 9.75-9.575 Quinnipiac
Tumbling: Quinnipiac 7.75-7.45 Oregon

I’m back at Felix Events Center for Oregon’s semifinal matchup with Quinnipiac. The Ducks rode past the Bobcats at Matthew Knight Arena in February on the back of a strong tumbling performance, but this won’t be a guaranteed win for Oregon. Quinnipiac took down a strong Iona team yesterday and looks every bit the No. 3 seed that it earned. There’s more recent history between these two, too. Oregon beat Quinnipiac in last year’s semifinal round before losing out to No. 1 Baylor in the final. That meet came down to the team event, too.

We’ve got tons coming from Azusa tonight. Stay tuned!

That’s it from Azusa for today’s meet. The Ducks advance to the NCATA Championship semifinal round. They’ll face No. 3 Quinnipiac University tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

We’ll have more coverage coming soon — stick around.

Toss went over well for the Ducks, who took advantage of a low Gannon synch toss score to extend their lead. They made no major mistakes, although both sides had a couple landings off to the side that’ll get flagged, especially in that second heat. Time to see how the last two events shake out.

Scores:

450 Salto: Oregon 9.600-9.175 Gannon
Synchronized: Oregon 9.000-7.575 Gannon
Open: Oregon 9.550-9.550 Gannon

Total: Oregon 28.15-26.3 Gannon

We’ve got those pyramid scores. Oregon is still in the lead, with a close event win that mostly came down to an open pyramid that didn’t live up to what the Ducks have put together so far this season. Oregon posted a 9.825 in the inversion pyramid, but Gannon closed that gap with a 9.850 open pyramid and was .15 from tying the heat.

Second half coming now.

Inversion: Oregon 9.825-9.550 Gannon

Synchronized: Gannon 9.650-9.600 Oregon

Open: Gannon 9.850-9.775 Oregon

Total: Oregon 29.2-29.05 Gannon

We’re still waiting on pyramid scores, but in the meantime, here’s what you need to know:

The biggest question mark from Oregon’s season — its six-element acro heat — turned out to be remarkably mundane. The Ducks rotated through two pairs of bases (first Maya Khauv and Selah Bell, then Mari Fukutomi and Briya Alvarado) on their way to a well-executed performance.

Angelica Martin and Cassidy Cu were no different. Their five and seven-element heats have been some of the Ducks’ strongest all season, and it’s their calm that stood out on their way to a pair of pretty solid scores. There was some instability in seven-element between their hands that was probably the reason for that lower score, but Oregon is rolling so far, especially off the back of Martin and Cu’s 9.900 in five-element

Gannon has turned in a ton of strong execution despite those lower scores, and the onus is on the Ducks to hold what’s becoming a relatively large lead.

Here’s the acro scores:

Five-element: Oregon 9.9-9.35 Gannon
Six-element: Gannon 9.00-8.975 Oregon
Seven-element: Oregon 9.725-8.975 Gannon

Total: Oregon 28.600-27.325 Gannon

That’s the first event of the weekend wrapped up! Oregon probably had an edge, if only in tumbling, where it snagged more sticks than the Golden Knights. Arguably the biggest event of the meet is coming up, though. The Ducks’ acro ceiling is incredibly high, but its floor has been one of the lowest — especially the last time these two met.

Here’s the compulsory scores:

Acro: Oregon 9.65-9.1 Gannon
Pyramid: Oregon 9.675-9.45 Gannon
Toss: Oregon 9.65-9.575 Gannon
Tumbling: Oregon 7.525-7.275 Gannon

Let’s break down what’s on the need-to-know list ahead of this meet in 20-ish minutes. On the to-do list: six-element acro, what happened last time between these two and how Gannon stacks up against the Ducks.

Welcome to Felix Events Center! We’re here live, and Oregon is about 40 minutes away from its meet. We now know (officially) that the winner of this meet will face No. 3 Quinnipiac, which took a 258.090-245.805 win over No. 6 Iona just before I got here.

I’ll have a short video soon breaking down need-to-knows ahead of the 1:30 p.m. meet, but for now, check out the gym!

If I was going to make a genuine dateline for this update, it would be SOMEWHERE ON A LOS ANGELES HIGHWAY —. But that’s beside the point. The first quarterfinal of the day, between No. 6 Iona and No. 3 Quinnipiac, started while I was in the air. We’re checking in on that meet now, though.

Neither team scored over 7.100 in compulsory tumbling, but the Gaels took advantage in acro and won the event by 0.175 points to cut the Bobcats’ comp advantage heading into pyramid. The winner of this meet will face the winner of Oregon-Gannon tomorrow, so I’ll keep checking in on it.

AZUSA, Calif. — The last time No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling took the mat, it was on April 6 in a loss to No. 1 Baylor University. Since then, the Ducks have been essentially locked into the second-overall seed without a meet left to compete, and were left waiting for the NCATA Championships at the end of the month.

Around the nation, key players whom the Ducks still may encounter were building out their resumes. Here’s what the rest of the NCATA has been up to:

No. 4 Fairmont State University (11-0)

Oregon would only face the Falcons, who won the Mountain East Conference title with victories over Kutztown University and Glenville State University, in the championship meet. Fairmont State finished its season undefeated, with ranked wins over No. 7 Gannon University, No. 8 Duquesne University, No. 15 Azusa Pacific University and two over No. 11 Glenville State, but faced none of the top-six teams.

No. 5 Augustana University (6-1)

The Falcons’ quarterfinal opponent finished 6-1, with its only loss coming at home against No. 6 Iona University. The Vikings have just one ranked win to their name, over No. 14 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, the eventual Division III tournament national champion. Iona University snapped its five-meet winning streak on March 18, and they didn’t have a ranked opponent left to face (just Missouri State University), so their first-round meet is their first ranked one in over a month.

No. 6 Iona University (3-3)

The Gaels hung around against the Ducks, who pulled out a 2.895-point win at Matthew Knight Arena on March 15. A stacked schedule worked in the Gaels’ favor, who earned a playoff berth despite finishing even with a lone ranked win over No. 5 Augustana. Iona hasn’t competed a home meet since a March 9 loss to No. 1 Baylor, and opens its postseason run with a rematch against No. 3 Quinnipiac University, which dealt it a third loss on March 28. Should the Ducks win on Thursday, they’ll face the winner of that Iona-Quinnipiac quarterfinal matchup.

No. 3 Quinnipiac University (5-1)

If there’s a real challenger to the Oregon-Baylor dominance of the 2026 season, it’s Quinnipiac, which gave the Ducks their best non-Bears test of the regular season on Feb. 21. That meet came down to the final two events, in which Oregon freshman Nya Womack’s quadruple-which shone and the Ducks made up an early six-element mistake with that late push. The Bobcats finished the regular season without another loss and ranked wins over Gannon and Iona, but didn’t face Baylor and weren’t seriously tested again.

No. 8 Duquesne University (3-3)

The Dukes have been around for just two seasons, but they’re in the national postseason. Their reward: No. 1 Baylor, which they faced in their final away meet of the season before heading home and turning in a season-high score to reach .500 against La Salle University. The odds aren’t in Duquesne’s favor here, but if they pulled off the upset over the Bears and a semifinal opponent, they’d face the Ducks in the final.

No. 1 Baylor University (9-0)

Oregon is uber-familiar with the Bears, who dealt it a pair of losses this season. They’d only face each other in the final meet, but that’s been the matchup in two of the past three seasons; in the other, they played in the semifinal round. If the Ducks are to legitimately challenge for the title, they’ll have to find an answer to everything Baylor did this season to stifle what makes them succeed: more consistency, higher highs and zero mistakes. Sounds easy.

Oregon faces No. 7 Gannon, its quarterfinal opponent, on April 23 in Azusa, Calif. The meet is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

AZUSA, Calif. — Under head coach Taylor Susnara, Oregon’s acrobatics and tumbling program has been defined by her former event: tumbling. The Ducks have risen to regular top-two status on the back of a near-unmatched fifth event which develops and features solo tumblers year after year.

As No. 2 Oregon chases an NCATA national title in 2026, it’ll have to achieve a pair of lofty goals to get there: turn a top-two tumbling event into the top one, and do it while stabilizing the rest of its heats. There’s five athletes who’ll be key to those efforts, and The Daily Emerald breaks down why:

Blessyn McMorris (22), graduate student base

McMorris, a multi-time NCATA Athlete of the Week, multi-time 2026 NCATA Specialist of the Week, 2022 Freshman of the Year, 2025 All-American and 2025 open pyramid event national champion, has the credentials to back up whatever she’s going to do. For Oregon, that’s usually bridging its most important heats.

The fifth-year base is Oregon’s most experienced athlete, and it shows. She’s the base for the open pyramid heat that won a national title last season in South Dakota and has continued to impress in 2026. She’s scattered across the rest of Oregon’s events, and will continue to anchor the Ducks’ pyramids.

Morgan Willingham (30), sophomore top/tumbler

Willingham, a national event finals qualifier in both the duo and six-element passes last season, has emerged as a star for the Ducks in 2026. Alongside fellow sophomores Briya Alvarado and Carly Garcia for much of the season, Willingham scored a season-high 9.925 in her six-element pass in the Ducks’ March 6 meet against its opponent on Thursday, Gannon University. She’s unshakeable, near-perfect and one of the strongest parts of Oregon’s fifth event. If Oregon is to challenge for a national championship, it’ll need its tumblers to turn in near-perfect performances on short rest, and Willingham has led the pack in 2026.

Cassidy Cu (19), sophomore top; Angelica Martin (59), sophomore base

These two, of course, come as a package deal. Despite Oregon’s struggles in six-element acro this season, there’s been little instability in the two heats that sandwich the synchronized outing. Cu and Martin, who debuted as freshmen in the five-element heat a year ago and brought it to the national stage in South Dakota, have been rock-solid with a modified version of that heat while taking their slide-to-split into the seven-element slot with aplomb.

Both have taken home recognition from the NCATA already this season — Martin for Specialist of the Week on March 18 and Cu for an honorable mention in the same category on Feb. 25 and — and are the strongest part of the Ducks’ first two events. When Oregon needs to set the tone early, this is who they turn to.

Maya Khauv (40), sophomore top

Khauv, a second-year athlete who didn’t compete in 2025, was who the Ducks turned to when they needed a shakeup after the heat scored sub-8.000 in both its first two outings. Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara put Khauv into the heat ahead of the Ducks’ first matchup with No. 1 Baylor University and was rewarded with a 9.000. 

It hasn’t all been perfect, as the heat has wavered since then, but Susnara was pleased with Khauv’s work — and it’ll be crucial that she steps up if the Ducks are to go a meet without having to overcome a second-event struggle. Oregon has expanded its available tops this year, adding sophomore Briya Alvarado as an option and widening Cu’s range, but Khauv, alongside Mari Fukutomi, Selah Bell, Kamryn Horiuchi, Avery Dodd and Logan Davis, should play a major role.

Oregon faces No. 7 Gannon, its quarterfinal opponent, on April 23 in Azusa, Calif. The meet is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.