FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Ducks brought the fight to Baylor at the NCATA Championships in the title meet, but the Bears pulled through and won their first NCATA National Championship 286.690 – 282.870. UO mounted a late comeback behind a strong tumbling event, but BU executed a clean team routine to win the title.

Meet Breakdown: Oregon matched their best compulsory score of the year with a 38.95 in the opening event behind a 9.90 in the pyramid heat and a 9.95 in the toss heat. Baylor was able to edge the Ducks in the opener by just .1 with a 39.05.

The Ducks committed one of their few slip-ups of the night with a 8.80 in the 5-element heat of acro, but responded with a 9.60 and a 9.85 to earn a 28.25 in the second event. Baylor remained solid, and they added on to their lead with a 29.50.

UO returned to their crisp execution in the pyramid event, and just barely lost 29.75 – 29.60. The Ducks were able to earn a pair of 9.90's in the first two heats to bolster a positive event.

At the half, the Ducks trailed by a point and a half (98.3 – 96.8).

The toss event saw the Ducks earn another solid score of 29.15, but Baylor kept pace and barely beat UO in the fifth event of the day after they earned a 29.20. After the four events, the Bears were able to build a 127.50 - 125.95 lead, but UO had their eye on tumbling event.

After a pair of 9.925's in the aerial and 6-element pass, a 9.85 in the open pass and a 9.75 in the duo, the Ducks earned a 57.950 for their highest tumbling score of the year. BU was able to get a 10 in the aerial pass, but in the end they only earned a 57.5, giving UO their first event victory of the night.

Oregon cut the deficit to just 185.00 - 183.90 before the team event, and the Ducks were first on the mat in the last event of the evening.  The Ducks looked sharp throughout the entire 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and was rewarded with a solid 98.97.

Unfortunately, the Bears did not falter enough to merit large point deductions (101.69), and held on for the 286.690 – 282.870.

Big Picture: The Ducks' bid for five-consecutive national championships didn't come through, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. UO did well to fight through a costly error in acro, and they continued to grow stronger as the meet wore on. Even with Baylor having a higher start value and a reputation as a very good tumbling team, the Ducks were able to steal an event from the Bears in arguably their strongest event.

Through it all, however, Baylor earned the victory and with it, a perfect 12-0 season – a feat that was last accomplished in 2013 when Oregon wrapped up their season 8-0. The Bears snapped the Ducks' streak, but the NCATA and acrobatics and tumbling as a whole will benefit from another strong program to go with two rising programs in Azusa Pacific and Hawai'i Pacific.

Quotable: Head Coach Chelsea Shaw
On looking back at the whole year…
“I am so proud of this team. It has been a challenging year with the coaching change, to the sudden passing of Lauren. We've had a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but this team has really learned a lot and fought to the finish. I am really proud of their performance, this week in particular.”

On dedicating the season to Lauren…
“I think it put things into perspective for our kids. It really made them come together as a family. With some of our athletes it was the first time they lost someone close to them. But again, they rallied together as a family and I think that's what has helped them get to this point.”

Kisa Chapman – Senior
On their legacy…
“It was an all-around amazing experience, being on this team for four years and making life-long friends. It's been an amazing ride.”

Tara Lubert – Senior
“It's been a great opportunity, I couldn't have asked for a better four years. If anyone wants to do acro, I would 100-percent recommend it. It's such a great opportunity, and it's continuing to build opportunities for women.”

Sydnee Walton – Junior
“Coming to this meet and leaving everything out on the floor, executing the best we could; it's the best feeling because we did it for a lot of people that are back home, and we did it for each other, too.”