Acrobatics & Tumbling | 2/17/2019 6:01:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University Acrobatics & Tumbling team jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in sweeping Concordia (Wis.) and Davis & Elkins in a Sunday afternoon tri-meet before a large crowd at the ASRC.
    Coach Treasure Fields' Hilltoppers (2-2, 1-1) racked up 230.795 points to easily outdistance the visiting Falcons (1-3), who finished at 216.620, and fellow Mountain East Conference member D&E (0-2, 0-2), which was charted with 208.59 points.
    Bouncing back impressively after opening with back-to-back losses to nationally-ranked powerhouses Baylor and Fairmont State, West Liberty dominated the opening Compulsory Event and never looked back.
    "Compulsory is one of our strongest events," Fields said, "and we knew that gave us a chance to get a jump on the competition. The girls came through with a great performance to start the match and we continued to build on that momentum the rest of the way."
    The Hilltoppers came out smoking with a 33.55 in the Compulsory Event – highlighted by a 9.70 in the Pyramid heat and a 9.55 in the Toss heat – while Concordia checked in at 29.40 and the Senators settled for a 27.65 after both squads struggled in the final Tumbling heat.
    West Liberty followed up with a 27.30 in the Acro event with a 9.15 (9.60 start value) in the 5-Element heat and a 9.30 (9.75 start value) in the 6-Element heat to lengthen its lead before Concordia closed the gap slightly with narrow wins in the Pyramid and Toss events.
    The Hilltoppers created a little more breathing room by winning the Tumbling Event and finished on a high note by running away with the Team Event. The judges gave WLU a score of 78.07 in the finale compared to 72.14 for Davis & Elkins and 69.82 for Concordia.
    "It's always exciting to pick up your first victory of the season," Fields said, "but it's doubly exciting and a credit to our young ladies when you can pick up two in the same day. I'm very proud of the effort they put into preparing for this meet and thrilled to see that hard work pay off for them."
    Sunday's meet wrapped up a three-weekend homestand for the Black and Gold. The West Liberty Acrobatics & Tumbling team returns to the mat on March 2 when they head to Glenville State for an MEC tri-match with Urbana and the host Pioneers.
 
Meet Results