Acrobatics & Tumbling | 3/24/2021 10:48:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University Acrobatics and Tumbling team put up a good fight but No. 5-ranked Gannon rode a strong second-half performance to a 268.540-248.035 victory here Wednesday night in a non-conference match on the ASRC mats.
    Despite suffering her first setback of the season, head coach Kelsey Kyle was encouraged by what she saw from her youthful squad.
    "I know we had some of our lowest scores of the year tonight but I still think this was the best overall performance my team has had to date," Kyle said. "I was especially happy with our Team Event. It was the first time we 'hit' everything in Team all season."
    Kyle's Hilltoppers (3-1) battled the nationally-ranked Golden Knights (2-0) on even terms throughout the first half. West Liberty posted scores of 9.35 or better in nine of the 10 heats but Gannon hit 9.80 or better in half of the 10 heats to eke out a 94.20-93.10 halftime lead.
    The Black and Gold set heat records of 9.60 in the Compulsory Event acro heat and 9.75 in the Acro Event's 5-element heat and notched a 28.65-28.40 win in the Pyramid Event to take some momentum into halftime.
    Unfortunately for the hosts, the Golden Knights wasted little time turning the momentum around when action resumed. After scoring 9.10 or better in all three heats of the Toss Event to claim a 28.00-25.00 win, Gannon followed that up with a 51.90-48.125 nod in the Tumbling Event to take an all-but-insurmountable 174.100-166.225 advantage into the Team Event and the Hilltoppers couldn't claw their way back.
    It's a short turnaround for the Black and Gold, who close out the regular season at home on Sunday against No. 7-ranked defending MEC champion Fairmont State, and it seems that's what Kyle had in mind when she stepped out of conference play on Wednesday to take on a perennial Acrobatics and Tumbling power.
    "Going up against Gannon tonight was great competition for our team," Kyle said. "It was exactly what we needed to help us prepare for Fairmont on Sunday night."
    Sunday's match is set for a 7 p.m. start inside the ASRC.