Acrobatics & Tumbling | 3/9/2018 10:18:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics and tumbling team made history Friday night by picking up the first win in school history in a triangular against Hawaii Pacific and Davis & Elkins at the ASRC.
    Coach Treasure Fields' Hilltoppers put a season-high 223.915 points on the board to easily outdistance Davis & Elkins, another first-year program that finished with 131.075 points. The veteran Sharks scored 263.25 points to earn a pair of wins on the night.
    "The girls have been working really hard over the past three weeks and I'm thrilled to see their efforts rewarded," Fields said. "I'm so happy to see them get their first win and to have it come here in front of our home fans makes it even more special."
    While Hawaii Pacific was able to open up a quick early lead, West Liberty and the Senators went back and forth during the early going before the Hilltoppers started to open things up.
    After taking a slim 76.95-73.05 lead over Davis & Elkins into halftime, West Liberty used a solid performance in the Toss event to create a little space, 101.15-96.50, before breaking things open in the Tumbling event.
    The Hilltoppers racked up nearly a 10-point spread against D&E in Tumbling - 43.675-34.575 - to all but clinch the first win in program history. West Liberty then sealed the deal with a 79.09 score in the Team event to wrap up the meet.
    The highlight of the match for Fields came during the third heat of the pyramid event when they posted a sparkling 9.25 – a school-record score for any event.
    "That's an example of the improvement we've been seeing from this group," Fields said. "We're going to try to build on that momentum when we head up to Gannon for our next meet."
    The Hilltoppers return to action in a dual meet against Gannon on March 17 in Erie, Pa.