FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team posted its highest Team Event score of the year here Friday but No. 7-ranked Fairmont State held on for a 254.53-249.62 victory in an MEC Tournament semifinal at Joe Retton Arena.
     The nationally-ranked Falcons (8-1) advance to take on Frostburg State (6-4) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the MEC championship match. The Maryland squad pulled away down the stretch to defeat West Virginia Wesleyan, 255.125-243.485, in Friday's first semifinal.
    Coach Kelsey Kyle's Hilltoppers trailed by less than 1.5 points after the first two events but a major deduction in the inversion heat of the Pyramid Event – normally one of WLU's strongest heats – resulted in a disappointing 6.625 points out of a possible 10.
    That allowed Fairmont State to create some separation with a 91.400-86.925 halftime lead and put the Black and Gold on the comeback trail for the rest of the evening.
    West Liberty couldn't make up any ground in the Toss Event as FSU eked out a narrow 25.900-25.475 decision and the Falcons took control with a strong showing in the Tumbling Event.
    Mareena Scalia set a Hilltopper school record with a clutch 9.600 score in the Aerial Pass heat but the hosts scored 9.15 or better in three of the six Tumbling heats to take what proved to be an insurmountable 170.15-160.45 lead into the Team Event.
    West Liberty posted a convincing victory in the Team Event, racking up a WLU season-high 89.17 points to just 84.38 for the Falcons but it was too little, too late as Fairmont advanced to its third straight MEC Tournament championship match.
    The West Liberty acrobatics and tumbling team will be back in Joe Retton Arena at 11 a.m. Saturday to compete in the MEC Individual Event Finals. The Hilltoppers have qualified in 12 of the 15 events.