AZUSA, Calif. – With the memory of their long-time mentor literally written on their uniform, Azusa Pacific's acrobatics and tumbling team sprung a memorable upset over four-time national champion Oregon, defeating the Ducks 280.37-276.98 Thursday evening in the Felix Event Center.

Oregon (2-1) came in ranked second and having already competed twice this season, including a win over defending champion Baylor.  Their experience this season showed early, as they won all four compulsory heats en route to a lead of 1.2 points after the first event.  The Cougars would notch their first heat wins of the evening with scores of 9.90 and 9.95 in the first two acro heats to narrow the gap as the Cougars won the event by a tenth of a point.  Oregon came firing back with three pyramid heats of 9.85 or better, including a perfect 10.0 in the synchronized pyramid heat, to open up a lead of over three points at the end of the first half.

In the toss heat, the Cougars again narrowly won the first two heats, including a 9.90 in the 450 salto toss, keeping the margin basically even heading into the fifth event.  In the tumbling event, Azusa Pacific started chipping away at the gap, with a 9.55 in the duo tumbling pass courtesy of Beth Magee and Jacie Van de Zilver.  Magee would return in the aerial tumbling pass and earn the Cougars' best score of the evening with a 9.925.  Gabby Spencer earned a 9.9 on the open tumbling pass, which allowed the Cougars to close their deficit to about two and a half points going into the team event.  When Oregon left the door open a crack in the team event, the Cougars charged through with a clean performance and a team event score of 100.22, coming from behind for a three-point win.

Coach Kara Willard shared her thoughts on the win:  "I'm speechless, but I'm not surprised.  These girls have faced so much adversity, and they've continued to overcome everything that's been thrown their way.  We have a bigger purpose that we're playing for this season, for Coach Colleen (Kausrud), and they showed a lot of heart tonight."

This was the first time the Cougars have competed since Kausrud, who had coached the program since 2005 (before the sport even existed), passed away this summer, and the team honored their longtime leader and mentor by wearing her initials on their uniforms this evening.  "She laid the foundation of this program from the ground up," Willard added.  "I just feel thankful that I got to honor her through coaching and continuing doing something that she loved and where her heart was."

The win was the first for Azusa Pacific against Oregon since April 7, 2014, a season which saw the Cougars eventually reach the national championship final.  The fourth-ranked Cougars (1-0) will be back in action next Thursday when they visit Arizona Christian (2-2) for a meet that will start at 5:00 Pacific.