On a night filled with emotion and excitement, the No. 4 Oregon acrobatics and tumbling (3-1) team took to the mat for one last time at home in a senior night showdown win over No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-2). With the home crowd energy lifting them high, the Ducks made it a night to remember beating the Crusaders 275.180 to 256.005.

“It was an awesome atmosphere tonight,” senior Bethany Glick said. “Great energy all around and I feel like that really showed with our skills on the mat.”

Despite a season-low 37.15 in the compulsory event last Friday against Gannon University, Oregon soared to success and outscored the crusaders in all four heats.

“I feel like we were able to hone in on those small details,” Glick said. “Thinking about cleanliness and the really little things. That's kinda what we focused on this meet and we felt a lot more confident with that.”

Glick carried her team in the acro event with changes made by head coach Taylor Susnara to rework the entire seven-element sequence after scoring a season-low 8.45 in the event last Friday. 

Even with the senior spotlight, freshmen Angelica Martin, who was named NCATA Freshman of the Week after Oregon’s win over Gannon, and Cassidy Cu, continued their success in the five-element acro heat, matching their season-high of 9.85.

The strategy worked and Oregon posted a season high score of 29.00, making it the Ducks’ best since the 2022 season.  

“Bella [Swarthout] and Glick have been working that simultaneously and they've been doing that really well,” Susnara said. “[Before] it just really wasn't consistent and where we needed it to be, but we’re still working it…And that’s why we made that adjustment going into this meet.”

The Ducks stayed on top in the pyramid event, either outscoring or matching the Crusaders in all three heats.

Oregon entered the toss event with higher start values across the board and despite not scoring higher than a 9.60, the Ducks won the event by a 3.35 margin.

“It matters a lot, especially when you have teams like University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with a really strong first half,” Susnara said. “It was pretty close going into the second half, (and) so start values definitely help. Executing them makes it even better.”

Oregon kicked off the tumbling event, maximizing all 60 available points and landing a respectable 56.750 score, extending their lead to 9.050 over Mary Hardin-Baylor heading into the team event.

“We focused very hard on all of (the) team event, just kinda drilling every sequence really making sure that we were dialed in to technique, energy, and just making sure that we were on our game and I think they really showed up today,” Susnara said.

And Oregon’s hard work paid off with one final home performance ending with a solid team event score of 94.530.

“They are my babies,” Susnara said of the seniors. “I've had my first full class as a head coach and their leadership is phenomenal, their talent is amazing…I’m just really gonna miss their presence out on the mat.”

The Ducks will now go on the road for three consecutive away meets, first off facing No. 2 Quinnipiac University on Mar. 23 at 10 a.m. PT.