No. 2 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (4-1) is in the midst of its first double-meet week of the season. The Ducks grabbed their highest-ranked win of the season on March 23 over then-No. 2 (now No. 3) Quinnipiac University, and stay on the road to face the No. 6 Iona Gaels on March 28.
The Gaels (3-2) have only lost to Quinnipiac and No. 1 Baylor this season, and have tallied wins over Long Island University, No. 12 Duquesne University and No. 7 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Here’s what to know before the Ducks and Gaels face off on Friday:
High-powered meet
Both programs would make the NCATA Championships if the season ended today. This is a matchup between two strong teams that can mostly match each other’s start values.
It’s also nothing new; both have already faced Baylor and Quinnipiac this season (the top two schools in the preseason coaches’ poll) and have multiple ranked wins. They shouldn’t be rattled and this stage won’t be a surprise.
What a win offers both teams is security: the Ducks finish the season with a tough matchup against Baylor, while the Gaels don’t have another meet after Friday. A third ranked win for either could secure their slot in the Championships with opportunities few and far between.
Freshman recognition
Oregon and Iona combined to sweep the NCATA’s weekly awards for freshman following last week’s meets: Gaels back-base/tumbler Emerson Johnson shone across meets against Baylor and Mary Hardin-Baylor, where she competed in 20 total heats and shone in pyramid while Ducks base Angelica Martin earned her fourth national recognition of the season following a standout performance against Quinnipiac.
The Ducks, in particular, rely on freshmen in key spots. Two of their three solo passes have been held by first-year athletes this year, and Martin and freshman top Cassidy Cu debuted a new five-element skill earlier this season that has been one of Oregon’s most consistent heats.
On Friday, keep an eye out for Johnson, Martin and their first-year teammates. They’ll be in positions to decide this meet.
Event to watch
In top-eight matchups like these, it’s all-too-often down to the team event. If it doesn’t come down to the last event of the day, it’ll be a surprise; if it does, execution will be key. Oregon’s team event (as of last week) held a 5.61-point advantage in start value, but it’s small enough that any falls or missed skills will still matter.
Around the NCATA
The NCATA released its first set of Championship Rankings on March 26, which shook up the postseason field and provided an idea of what programs still have to do to qualify before the Championships start in April. All rankings and records are accurate as of March 27.
No. 1 Baylor (7-0) beat No. 6 Iona in Waco, TX, where sophomore top Payton Washington won Athlete of the Week and redshirt-freshman base Leavy McDonald won Freshman of the Week.
No. 3 Quinnipiac (5-1) lost to No. 2 Oregon at home in the Bobcats’ first loss of the season. Quinnipiac senior base Hallie Fowler was named Athlete of the Week honorable mention.
No. 4 Augustana University (4-0) was on bye following its most recent win over Hawaii Pacific University on March 13. The Vikings have two more meets, but no ranked contests left.
No. 5 Fairmont State University (6-1) lost to Azusa Pacific University on March 19. Like the Vikings, the Falcons have two meets (none ranked) remaining in their regular season.
No. 7 Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-3) lost to Iona at home on March 19. The Cru, who have no currently-ranked wins (Hawaii Pacific and Azusa Pacific were Nos. 7 and 12, respectively, in the preseason poll), face just one more school: DIII Texas Lutheran University on April 4.
No. 8 Limestone University (8-1) benefited well from the rankings release; earlier wins over then-unranked Glenville State (now No. 13) and Coker University (No. 14) are now even better on their record. The Saints have only lost to Quinnipiac this season, and will also likely compete in the Conference Carolinas tournament in early April.
