To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. It’s a simple rule.
In one of college athletics’ newest sports, the Ducks have dominated everyone, except for one team: the eight-time defending champion Baylor Bears. To win a first national championship since 2014, they’ll have to take that step.
What the Bears do better than any other program in the sport is execute well enough at a difficulty no one else can reach. They’re always within a chance of a win: The last time the program lost a meet by more than two points was a 2017 matchup with the Ducks. Their start values generally exceed those of the other program’s — because no other program has been able to do what Baylor head coach Felecia Mulkey’s has.
Last season, Oregon head coach Taylor Susnara raised her group’s start values gradually throughout the season. A February matchup with Baylor, then, required near-perfection for a shot at victory. The Ducks managed 271.585 points, but still fell to Baylor’s 278.935. The difference was the Bears’ two-point advantage in available points and a five-point differential in points scored.
Oregon’s first matchup with its rival comes knocking early once again in 2025. The two are scheduled to face off at Matthew Knight Arena on February 22 after a single warm-up meet against Morgan State University. Susnara will have a choice to make: risk execution errors with a high start value or trust in her group’s strength to absorb the disadvantage.
A packed 2025 slate includes four total 2024 National Championship finalists, each scheduled in succession after the February matchup with Baylor. Odds for the Ducks to qualify for the 2025 edition of the tournament are high, but the regular season will determine seeding — an all-important factor. Teams compete three back-to-back meets in a single four-day period over the course of the Championships, and facing a tired Baylor with renewed technique could be the key to victory.
Susnara preaches mental fortitude: it’s what carried her group through multiple rebound victories in a four-win, national semifinal season last year. This year, it’ll be belief they pursue: Trust in ability, faith in execution and confidence in one more shot at one of the most dominant teams in sports.
