Thursday, April 22
Waco, Texas
7 p.m.
Baylor
281.865
vs
276.810
Oregon
No. 2 A&T Advances to Sixth-Straight National Title Meet with Victory Over No. 3 Oregon
4/22/2021 10:22:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
The Bears defeated the Ducks 281.865-276.810 inside the Ferrell Center
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Considering that second-seeded Baylor acrobatics & tumbling's lead on No. 3 Oregon was whittled to less than a quarter of a point after the first four events, maybe it's a good thing the Bears don't pay that much attention to the scoreboard.
Overcoming a slip-up in the toss event, Baylor (5-1) created separation in six heats of tumbling and then dominated the team event to pull away for a victory over the visiting Ducks (2-3) in Thursday's NCATA Championship semifinal at the Ferrell Center.
The final point differential– 281.865-276.810 – was not indicative of just how close it was.
"As much as you don't want it to be close, it's fun when it's close," said Baylor coach Felecia Mulkey, whose team advances to the final for the sixth-straight time, facing top-seeded Azusa Pacific (4-0) in Friday's 7 p.m. championship final.
"I am beyond proud of my team. This was not our best day, this was not our best performance. They stepped up when they needed to step up and pulled it together. We had some mishaps in toss and didn't even have the best tumbling event. Just really proud of what they did in the team event, keeping a cool, calm head and going out there and working together. But, we still have room for improvement, even going into the championship."
Baylor, which split the two regular-season meetings with Oregon, left the door open with a sloppy catch in the open toss. That was enough for the Ducks to win the toss event, 29.125-28.675, and close the gap to .225 going into the last two events.
Calling the team together at that point, Mulkey reminded them of the team's "next play" approach.
"You don't take what happened in that event to the next event," she said. "We just talked about what the scores would probably look like and to not let the momentum swing away from our side of the bench, and to stay focused as we went into tumbling. We just kind of pulled together, took a deep breath and talked about then. And then, we just shook it off."
Riley Chimwala, an All-American and the NCATA Freshman of the Year, said the Bears "don't feel the pressure, we apply the pressure."
Competing in just her sixth collegiate meet and first national championship, Chimwala said she treated it like just another meet.
"I knew it was Natty, but I didn't tell myself it was Natty," she said, "just because I don't want to put too much pressure on the situation."
The wire-to-wire leader, Baylor edged Oregon in the compulsory (38.825-38.625) and acro events (29.650-29.175) and then matched the Ducks in pyramid with identical scores of 29.575. At the halfway mark, the Bears had a lead of just over half a point.
Oregon, which ends the season on a three-meet losing streak, botched a toss and had a few other significant slip-ups in the team event to swing the momentum back to Baylor.
"I try to go into every event like I'm losing," Chimwala said. "It lights a fire under me. We just had a talk as a team and were like, 'Let's go! We have nothing to lose, really, leave it all on the floor. I think that's what we did, we left it all out there."
The five-time defending national champion, Baylor faces Azusa Pacific in Friday's 7 p.m. final. APU used a strong team event to defeat fourth-seeded Hawaii Pacific, 273.165-260.400, in the earlier semifinal.
"We haven't had an opportunity to see Azusa head-to-head," Mulkey said. "I have the utmost respect for their coaching staff and those student-athletes. They compete with a lot of joy. We talk about how much fun it is to compete against Azusa. What we're going to do to prepare is rest and fuel and eat and relax. And when it's time to flip the switch, we'll flip the switch. But, we're not going to worry about it right now."
WACO, Texas — The No. 2 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team advances to the 2021 NCATA Championship Final after a 281.865-276.810 victory over rival, No. 3 Oregon in the semifinal on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center. The Bears will face No. 1 Azusa Pacific tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. This is the Bears (5-1) sixth consecutive NCATA Championship Final appearance.
After a close battle in the compulsory event, the Bears pulled through to take the event 38.825-38.625. Baylor scored a 9.900 in both the pyramid and the acro heats.
BU also took the acro event 68.475-67.800 after earning a 9.950 in the first heat, a 9.825 in the second heat, and a 9.875 in the third heat.
Both the Bears and the Ducks earned a total score of 29.575 in the pyramid heat, putting Baylor in the lead going into halftime.
After the half, Oregon outscored the Bears in the toss event 29.125-28.675.
Baylor came back and took the tumbling event 58.150-57.350. Freshman Kristin McCain earned a 9.850 in her aerial pass, while junior Mercy Seay put up a 9.875 in her 6-element pass and sophomore Tori Harris came through with a 9.925 in her open pass.
Baylor took its biggest lead of the night in the team event after outscoring Oregon, 96.990-92.960. This gave the Bears the 281.865-276.810 victory over the Ducks.
QUOTE FROM COACH MULKEY
"I am beyond proud of my team. This was not our best day and I think they would agree with me, but we stepped up when we needed to step up. We had some mishaps in toss and didn't even have the best tumbling that we usually have but I'm just really proud of them keeping calm and cool, while going out there and working together. I'm so proud of this group and there's still room from improvement going into the championship."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will take on No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific in the 2021 NCATA National Championship Final on Friday night at 7 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center.
For updates on the program, follow @BaylorAcroTumb on Twitter and Instagram and @BaylorAcrobaticsandTumbling on Facebook.
Baylor Bear Insider
Considering that second-seeded Baylor acrobatics & tumbling's lead on No. 3 Oregon was whittled to less than a quarter of a point after the first four events, maybe it's a good thing the Bears don't pay that much attention to the scoreboard.
Overcoming a slip-up in the toss event, Baylor (5-1) created separation in six heats of tumbling and then dominated the team event to pull away for a victory over the visiting Ducks (2-3) in Thursday's NCATA Championship semifinal at the Ferrell Center.
The final point differential– 281.865-276.810 – was not indicative of just how close it was.
"As much as you don't want it to be close, it's fun when it's close," said Baylor coach Felecia Mulkey, whose team advances to the final for the sixth-straight time, facing top-seeded Azusa Pacific (4-0) in Friday's 7 p.m. championship final.
"I am beyond proud of my team. This was not our best day, this was not our best performance. They stepped up when they needed to step up and pulled it together. We had some mishaps in toss and didn't even have the best tumbling event. Just really proud of what they did in the team event, keeping a cool, calm head and going out there and working together. But, we still have room for improvement, even going into the championship."
Baylor, which split the two regular-season meetings with Oregon, left the door open with a sloppy catch in the open toss. That was enough for the Ducks to win the toss event, 29.125-28.675, and close the gap to .225 going into the last two events.
Calling the team together at that point, Mulkey reminded them of the team's "next play" approach.
"You don't take what happened in that event to the next event," she said. "We just talked about what the scores would probably look like and to not let the momentum swing away from our side of the bench, and to stay focused as we went into tumbling. We just kind of pulled together, took a deep breath and talked about then. And then, we just shook it off."
Riley Chimwala, an All-American and the NCATA Freshman of the Year, said the Bears "don't feel the pressure, we apply the pressure."
Competing in just her sixth collegiate meet and first national championship, Chimwala said she treated it like just another meet.
"I knew it was Natty, but I didn't tell myself it was Natty," she said, "just because I don't want to put too much pressure on the situation."
The wire-to-wire leader, Baylor edged Oregon in the compulsory (38.825-38.625) and acro events (29.650-29.175) and then matched the Ducks in pyramid with identical scores of 29.575. At the halfway mark, the Bears had a lead of just over half a point.
Oregon, which ends the season on a three-meet losing streak, botched a toss and had a few other significant slip-ups in the team event to swing the momentum back to Baylor.
"I try to go into every event like I'm losing," Chimwala said. "It lights a fire under me. We just had a talk as a team and were like, 'Let's go! We have nothing to lose, really, leave it all on the floor. I think that's what we did, we left it all out there."
The five-time defending national champion, Baylor faces Azusa Pacific in Friday's 7 p.m. final. APU used a strong team event to defeat fourth-seeded Hawaii Pacific, 273.165-260.400, in the earlier semifinal.
"We haven't had an opportunity to see Azusa head-to-head," Mulkey said. "I have the utmost respect for their coaching staff and those student-athletes. They compete with a lot of joy. We talk about how much fun it is to compete against Azusa. What we're going to do to prepare is rest and fuel and eat and relax. And when it's time to flip the switch, we'll flip the switch. But, we're not going to worry about it right now."
WACO, Texas — The No. 2 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team advances to the 2021 NCATA Championship Final after a 281.865-276.810 victory over rival, No. 3 Oregon in the semifinal on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center. The Bears will face No. 1 Azusa Pacific tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. This is the Bears (5-1) sixth consecutive NCATA Championship Final appearance.
After a close battle in the compulsory event, the Bears pulled through to take the event 38.825-38.625. Baylor scored a 9.900 in both the pyramid and the acro heats.
BU also took the acro event 68.475-67.800 after earning a 9.950 in the first heat, a 9.825 in the second heat, and a 9.875 in the third heat.
Both the Bears and the Ducks earned a total score of 29.575 in the pyramid heat, putting Baylor in the lead going into halftime.
After the half, Oregon outscored the Bears in the toss event 29.125-28.675.
Baylor came back and took the tumbling event 58.150-57.350. Freshman Kristin McCain earned a 9.850 in her aerial pass, while junior Mercy Seay put up a 9.875 in her 6-element pass and sophomore Tori Harris came through with a 9.925 in her open pass.
Baylor took its biggest lead of the night in the team event after outscoring Oregon, 96.990-92.960. This gave the Bears the 281.865-276.810 victory over the Ducks.
QUOTE FROM COACH MULKEY
"I am beyond proud of my team. This was not our best day and I think they would agree with me, but we stepped up when we needed to step up. We had some mishaps in toss and didn't even have the best tumbling that we usually have but I'm just really proud of them keeping calm and cool, while going out there and working together. I'm so proud of this group and there's still room from improvement going into the championship."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will take on No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific in the 2021 NCATA National Championship Final on Friday night at 7 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center.
For updates on the program, follow @BaylorAcroTumb on Twitter and Instagram and @BaylorAcrobaticsandTumbling on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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