When it comes to collegiate acrobatics & tumbling, there is no bigger rivalry than the Oregon Ducks and the Baylor Bears.
For the past four seasons, the Bears have repeatedly crushed the Ducks in the postseason, bringing heartbreak after heartbreak to the once nationally dominant Ducks. During that same time in the regular season, Baylor has won seven out of eight meets against the Ducks.
This Sunday, the Ducks will have a chance to change the narrative.
The No. 2 Oregon Ducks are looking for their first win in two years against their longtime rivals, the No. 1 Baylor Bears, for the Ducks’ third home meet of the season.
Both programs are undefeated at 3-0, and Sunday’s meet will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season (Oregon will visit Baylor on April 7).
For the fourth straight season, the Ducks were ranked below the Bears in the NCATA Preseason Top 10 at No. 2. Baylor remains the only active team in the National Collegiate Acrobatics &Tumbling Association to have beaten the Ducks more than once, owning 11 of Oregon’s 16 losses in program history.
Oregon last beat Baylor on Feb. 25, 2017. The loss remains the Bears’ only losing meet in the past five years under head coach Felecia Mulkey, who was the first head coach of the Oregon program in 2009, coaching the Ducks for five seasons.
While Oregon is looking to end the Bears’ 22-meet winning streak, a win for Baylor — the four-time reigning NCATA National Champions — will tie the series record between the two teams, as Oregon holds a 12-11 all-time record over the Bears.
The last time the two met, Baylor beat Oregon in the semifinals of the 2018 NCATA National Championship, 281.410 to 277.725. The loss stripped away the Ducks’ chance of competing in the NCATA National Championship, marking the first time in Oregon program history the Ducks did not reach the finals.
Prior to that, Baylor spent the previous three seasons beating the Ducks in the championship. The last time Oregon won the championship was in 2014, which capped a four-year streak of the Ducks’ earning the title.
Oregon and Baylor will compete Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena at 4 p.m.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter: @maggie_vanoni