UO will attempt for four-straight titles as the top seed

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team will attempt for a fourth straight National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association National Championship as the meet’s top seed. The nine-team bracket for the NCATA championship was announced Thursday, with Oregon and Azusa Pacific claiming the top two seeds.

The 2014 NCATA National Championships will be held in Azusa, Calif., from April 24-26 at the Felix Event Center. Access to an online live stream will be available for $7.95 per meet and $19.95 for a full tournament pass.

The event will get underway Thursday, April 24, with a 1 p.m. (PT) first-round meeting between eighth-seeded Alderson-Broaddus and ninth-seeded King University. The national individual event finals, featuring competitors from all teams, will begin at 5 p.m. following Thursday’s lone dual.

Quarterfinal action will begin Friday, April 25, as fourth-seeded Baylor takes on fifth-seeded Fairmont State at 12:45 p.m. The Ducks will take the mat next, meeting the winner of Thursday’s Alderson-Broaddus and King dual.

On the bottom side of the bracket, third-seeded Quinnipiac will take on sixth-seeded Hawai’i Pacific while second-seeded Azusa Pacific will meet seventh-seeded Gannon.

Semifinal action will begin Saturday, April 26, with duals at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The national championship will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Head coach Felicia Mulkey and the Ducks are three-time defending national champions. The Ducks are 41-3 in all-time NCATA competitions, and closed the 2014 regular season with a 9-1 record. UO’s win streak improved to 31, spanning over four seasons, before Azusa Pacific dealt Oregon its first loss since 2011 in the regular season finale.

Last season, top-seeded Oregon defeated second-seeded Quinnipiac by four points to win its third straight championship in Hamden, Conn. The Ducks also won the 2012 and 2011 national titles by defeating Maryland.