Acrobatics & Tumbling | 2/17/2018 3:25:00 PM

    ADRIAN, Mich. – The West Liberty University acrobatics and tumbling team won four straight events here Saturday but couldn't hang on at the end as Adrian College came from behind to pull out the win in NCATA dual meet action at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center.
    The host Bulldogs got off to a fast start, winning three of the four heats in the opening Compulsory event to grab an early 29.7-27.1 lead.
    Coach Treasure Fields' Hilltoppers (0-2) rebounded with a win in the Acro event, taking two of the three heats, and followed that up with a win in the Pyramid event.
    The teams split the first two heats in the Pyramid event but West Liberty threw up an impressive 8.80 in the Open heat – WLU's highest heat score of the day – to take the event by a 24.0-23.6 count.
    That cut Adrian's overall lead to 76.55-75.70 at the half but the Hilltoppers were just starting to pick up steam.
    The Bulldogs won the 450 Salto heat in the Toss event when action resumed but the teams deadlocked at 6.8 in the Synchronized Toss and West Liberty notched a strong 8.3-7.7 nod in the Open Toss heat to chart a 23.0-22.8 advantage in the Toss event, closing the gap even more.
    After battling to a 7.7-7.7 draw in the Duo Pass heat of the Tumbling event, the Hilltoppers reeled off wins in the Triple Pass, Quad Pass and 6-Element Pass to score a whopping 41.7-38.6 win in the Tumbling event – the fourth consecutive event win for the Black and Gold.
    That put West Liberty in the lead after five events, 140.40-137.95, but the short-handed Hilltoppers were unable to compete in the final Team event, allowing Adrian to pull out the win by the final score of 218.83-140.40.
    West Liberty will return to action on March 9 when the Hilltoppers host a triangular with Davis & Elkins and Hawaii Pacific.