No. 3 A&T Closes Out Regular Season with Victory Over No. 2 Oregon

Saturday, April 10

Waco, Texas

7 p.m.

Baylor

287.430

283.885

Oregon

No. 3 A&T Closes Out Regular Season with Victory Over No. 2 Oregon

4/10/2021 10:21:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling

Results

The Bears defeated the Ducks 287.430-283.885 inside the Ferrell Center

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Producing season highs in five of six events, third-ranked Baylor acrobatics & tumbling (4-1) avenged its first loss in four years and defeated second-ranked Oregon, 287.430-283.885, Saturday night in the regular-season finale at the Ferrell Center.
            Other than a bobble in the final toss event, the Bears put together a near-perfect meet and handed visiting Oregon (2-2) its second-straight loss after the Ducks squeaked out a win by less than a point in the previous meeting on March 6 in Eugene.
            "We've got a lot we can still clean up," said Baylor coach Felecia Mulkey, who improved to 16-2 against her former team and 63-2 overall in seven years at Baylor, "but we're where we need to be mindset-wise, and I think that's usually more than half the battle. We feel pretty good going into the championship."
            Baylor will carry the momentum of easily its best meet of the season into the NCATA National Championships on April 22-23 at the Ferrell Center. The Bears won five-straight national titles before last year's meet was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
            "They're taking (Sunday) off, whether they want to or not," Mulkey said, "but they're ready to get back in and get going. We're on the right trajectory, right where we need to be going into these next two weeks. We have a lot of work to do, but I think it's in places that we can pinpoint and really work to improve. I'm excited to see what they're going to do in this championship."
            Winning each of the first seven heats, Baylor took the compulsory event (39.15-38.60) to open the meet and then scored perfect 10s in the 5-Element and 7-Element Acro heats with Emily Tobin as the top. The Bears took a full 1.00-point lead through the first two events, 69.00-68.00.
            "That is the second meet in a row that those two heats got perfect 10s," Mulkey said. "It's the combo of (Tobin) and Riley Chimwala. That's just the dynamic duo."
            After extending the lead with a slight win in the Pyramid event (29.75-29.60), Baylor had its first slip-up catching Tobin in the open-heat toss. That left the door open for Oregon, pulling within .85 going into the final two events.
            "We gambled a little with that toss," Mulkey said. "We really wanted to get it out in front before the championship. Emily Tobin is just a little beast, and she had worked on it and hit it all week. We just decided, let's gamble, let's throw it out there. That will never happen again."
            Posting season-high scores in three of the six heats, including a 9.925 by freshman Kristen McCain in the 6-Element, the Bears dominated tumbling (58.100-56.675) and then had another season-high score in the team event (101.73) to pull away for a 3.545 win.
            "I was proud of the team and the way they just rebounded," Mulkey said, "because the momentum was our way pretty much all evening. That's easy. So, when it's your way, you really have to think about it when the momentum swings. I was proud of how they came back and attacked in tumbling."
            With this year's NCATA National Championships reduced to a four-team meet, the pairings will be based on the updated rankings. Going into this weekend, it was Azusa Pacific, followed by Oregon, Baylor and Hawaii Pacific.

WACO, Texas — The No. 3-ranked Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team took a 287.430-283.885 victory over rival the No. 2 Oregon on Saturday night in the Ferrell Center. The Bears (4-1) earned their highest overall score of the season and avenged their earlier loss to the Ducks (2-2) in March.

Baylor ended the compulsory round leading 39.15-38.60 and ran with the lead throughout the rest of the meet.

The Bears scored two perfect 10.0 scores in the acro event as sophomore Emily Tobin was the top in both heats. Baylor took the event, 29.85-29.40.

BU continued its momentum by winning the pyramid event 29.75-29.60, while earning two 9.95 scores in the inversion and open heats.

Oregon came out on top in the toss event 28.85-29.15. Baylor earned scores of 9.70 in salto and synchronized heats, and 9.45 in the open heat.

The Bears took their biggest lead in the tumbling event, outscoring the Ducks 58.100-56.675.

In the team event, Baylor finished the night taking the 101.73-100.46 victory. This gave Baylor the overall victory 287.430-283.885.

QUOTE FROM COACH MULKEY
"Amazing, they're ready to get back to practice. They're taking tomorrow off, whether they want to or not. But they're ready to get back in and get going. For me, we're on the right trajectory, right where we need to be going into these next two weeks. So, we feel pretty good. We have a lot of work to do, but I think it's in places that we can pinpoint and really work to improve. So, I'm excited to see what they're going to do in the championship."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears are hosting the NCATA tournament from April 22- April 23 at the Ferrell Center and will find out their opponent on Monday, April 12.