Acrobatics & Tumbling | 2/3/2019 4:40:00 PM

Meet Results
 
    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Four-time defending national champion Baylor flexed its No. 1-ranked muscles here Sunday as the visiting Bears handed the West Liberty University Acrobatics and Tumbling team a 275.805-227.695 loss in a mutual season opener before a good crowd at the ASRC.
    Hilltopper head coach Treasure Fields was pleased with the way the athletes in her second-year program didn't back down from the challenge of facing the No. 1-ranked Bears in the fast-growing sport.
    "It was definitely a positive experience for us," Fields said. "Our goal was to go out on the mat and have fun while competing to the best of our ability and I believe we accomplished that.
    "We scored well in the events where we expected to have some success and while we didn't come out on top on the scoreboard, we benefitted by getting an up-close look at where we want to take our program in the future."
    Baylor's deep and talented squad featured nine returning seniors including the 2018 NCATA Most Outstanding Athlete and 2018 NCATA Specialist of the Year and the visitors wasted little time making a positive first impression.
    Fueled by a perfect 10.0 score in the Toss Heat of the opening Compulsory Event, the Bears bolted out to a 38.75-31.65 lead and never looked back.
    Baylor carried a 97.40-84.85 lead into halftime and followed that up with a strong second half capped by an impressive Team event finale.
    Fields said she saw improvement in her squad as she embarked on her second season with the Black and Gold.
    "We were able to do everything to full capacity in the compulsories and all of our start values are higher because we're doing more challenging skills," Fields said. "I thought we executed very well in the Pyramid event, which was good to see because that was an area where we had been struggling."
    Scoring better than 9.0 in two of the three heats actually made the Pyramid the Hilltoppers' strongest event on the afternoon. West Liberty opened with a 9.25 off a start value of 10 in the Inversion heat, posted an 8.4 score off a 9.5 start value in the Synchronized heat and delivered an impressive 9.45 off a 9.8 start value in the Open heat.
    West Liberty also charted a 9.05 off a 10 start value in the Compulsory's Pyramid heat and added a 9.0 off a 9.9 start value in the Acro event's 5-element heat.
    "The best thing about the weekend was the camaraderie that developed between the two programs," Fields said. "We got the two teams together for about a half-hour (Saturday) night and I think our players really drew some inspiration from that."
    The Hilltoppers face another tough task in their next meet when they return to the ASRC mat on Saturday for a 2 p.m. dual against No. 6-ranked Fairmont State.