FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics and tumbling team battled nationally-ranked Fairmont State to the wire here Saturday before dropping a hard-fought 262.725-257.035 decision in a thrilling Mountain East Conference Tournament championship match.
    It's the second MEC title in as many seasons for the unbeaten and No. 8-ranked Falcons. Coach Kelsey Kyle's Hilltoppers rose to the challenge, setting a pair of school records during the match, but couldn't quite pull off the upset.
    "Although the ending wasn't what we wanted, I couldn't be prouder of how hard our girls have worked this weekend and really for the entire season," said Kyle, who was a key member of Fairmont's initial MEC championship team just two short years ago.
    "This was a great match-up between two really good teams and I think it's what people want to see when they're watching a championship. The match was close the whole time. We were right there ... we just couldn't come out with the win."
    The Falcons took a slim 37.225-36.125 lead after the Compulsory Event but that narrow margin only foreshadowed what was in store for the rest of the match as both teams rose to the moment.
    That was never more apparent than in the Acro Event when both teams posted scores of 9.575 or higher in all three heats. Fairmont State won the event by less than three one-hundredths of a point - 29.025-29.000 - to carry a slender 66.250-65.125 advantage into the Pyramid Event.
    Once again the teams found themselves pushing the envelope, scoring 9.60 or higher in each of the three heats, and once again the hosts came away with the slimmest of victories. The Falcons checked in at 29.200 for the Pyramid Event to 29.175 for the Black and Gold - another event win by .025 of a point.
    The highly-entertaining first half ended with Fairmont clinging to a 95.450-94.300 lead, leaving West Liberty well within striking distance.
    The second half got under way with the Toss Event. The Hilltoppers had the highest heat score of the event, posting a 9.100 in the Open heat, but Fairmont eked out another narrow victory – 26.800-26.375 – to push its overall lead out to 122.250-120.675.
    With six heats, the Tumbling Event is the longest and most challenging of the six events. West Liberty more than answered the bell in Tumbling – setting school records in two of the six heats – but the Falcons were still able to create a bit of separation with a 52.625-50.400 advantage in the event.
    The Hilltoppers opened the Tumbling Event with a school-record 8.800 in the Duo Pass, featuring Mareena Scalia and Theresa Evangelista. The record they broke was only a couple hours old, having posted a school-best 8.750 in Saturday morning's Event Finals. Scalia returned to break her own school record in the fourth Tumbling heat, the Aerial Pass, with a score of 9.550.
    The Black and Gold finished the Tumbling event with a 9.175 in the Open heat but Fairmont also finished strong with an impressive 9.825 in the Open heat, expanding West Liberty's deficit to 174.875-171.075 heading into the final Team Event. In the end, it was a deficit which proved too much to overcome.
    Despite her disappointment at being unable to bring home a team championship trophy, Kyle was already looking forward to next season.
    "Considering the progress we've made over the past two seasons, I'm convinced this team has a great future ahead of it," Kyle said. "These girls are amazing and not only do we have nearly everybody coming back, we have some great recruits coming in who can help us be even more competitive.
    "We'd love to be able to put ourselves in position to get back here next year and take another shot at Fairmont in the championship match. I can't wait to get started."