AZUSA, Calif. — Shea Barnes called it “challenging.” Addison Brodie said it’s been “hectic.” That didn’t stop them from showing up.

Before Oregon’s regular-season ending meet against Baylor on April 6, Barnes was in a boot recovering from injury for the second time in her senior year. Brodie had never tumbled in a meet before. But Oregon’ acrobatics and tumbling team needed a quad heat, and they were ready to step up. Those challenging and hectic four weeks paid off with the Ducks’ win over No. 7 Gannon University at the NCATA Championships on Thursday.

Brodie came to acrobatics and tumbling by way of gymnastics. The freshman from Westminster, Colo. has the accolades to back up her skill — a team MVP and regional and state all-around titles — but found something different in her new sport. She put words to it after the win.

“When I was in gymnastics, all I really had to do was think about myself,” Brodie said on Thursday. “But now that I’m on this big team, I get to do it with people. We’re on the floor together. We have little chants and things we get to say. We’re doing this together, and I really — I feel like a unit, not an individual.”

In a meet where Oregon heaped praise on a team event that finally felt good, the success story may have been tucked in the middle of its tumbling event. Its solo passes are the stars of the heat, but the most difficult pass to synchronize, the quad, is where Barnes and Brodie are making their impact. Amongst that change, the Ducks scored 8.575 in the heat in the quarterfinal round: more than enough to help advance them to the semifinal on Friday.

Barnes, who’s been on the mat since her sophomore year, is one of Oregon’s most experienced athletes. She stepped into the quad last year, when it averaged 8.860 and scored a season-high 9.600 against Baylor.

“Nobody wants to get hurt in their senior year,” Barnes said. “I think for me, obviously being hurt was a major setback but it was more motivation for me to get back into these events and to be able to help the team out in the way that I know I’m capable of doing.”

The quad heat, in Barnes’ eyes, has been “adaptable.” Even with those changes, the Ducks’ score in the heat has never fallen below the 8.575 mark that they set in Azusa with extra judges watching. It’s resilience, she says, that showed out.

Brodie is on the other end of her journey. The Baylor meet where Barnes returned was her first-ever time in competition on the mat. Her journey, too, has been “hectic.”

“This is totally new for me coming from gymnastics and just kind of like, ‘Oh I just have to do good,’” Brodie said. “But this is a whole team effort. It’s the girls in the quad, we’re all doing it together, trying to punch at the same time. It’s definitely taught me stuff, and I definitely love being in quad.”

Oregon averaged 9.025 in quad through six meets in 2026. Its season high score came on March 6, in a home meet — against Gannon. But Barnes and Brodie were competing for the same spot in the heat when another injury, plus upgrades to duo and trio, meant the Ducks needed both ahead of that second Baylor meet. Since then, they’ve been in the heat alongside Avery Dodd and Ashlyn Parlett. 

“I won’t say that it’s been perfect leading up, but it’s been fairly consistent, and today I think they did a really good job of checking in at the same time and doing it together,” Susnara said.

Against Gannon, it wasn’t perfect, either. There’s more eyes on a heat that’s already difficult to synchronize. Susnara knew the mental impact, too.

“I’m just really proud of them, because mentally, when you’re going through an injury and when you’re going through imperfections, it can be really challenging to overcome that and it can be a mind game,” she said. “I think everybody showed up today for each other and they were able to be on their feet and be successful.”

Oregon faces No. 3 Quinnipiac University in the NCATA Championships semifinal at 4:30 p.m.