WACO, Texas - The No. 15 ranked West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team battled No. 1 ranked and seven-time national champion Baylor Sunday evening in a mutual season opener inside the Ferrell Center. The top ranked Bears outscored the Hilltoppers in every event rolling to a 267.050 - 238.510  victory.

West Liberty fell behind 38.25-32.95 after the opening compulsory events. The Hilltoppers posted a solid 9.35 out of 10 in the pyramid heat, which ended up being the highest individual event score of the night.

The Black and Gold tripped up in the tumbling heat with a 6.40, while Baylor posted 9.75-plus in three of the opening four events to gain the early lead.

The Hilltoppers narrowed the margins just before halftime dropping the acro event by 3.65 and the pyramid event by 2.1, the closest difference of the night. West Liberty posted 9's in each of the last three events before half, with a 9.10 in the seven element acro, 9.25 pyramid inversion, 9.20 synchronized pyramid, and 9.15 open pyramid.

Out of the break WLU scored 24 team points in the toss event and 47.2 in tumbling leading up to the fan favorite team event.

The Black and Gold ended the season opener with an energized team routine earning 81.46 points out of 101. Baylor scored an 87.45 out of 108.10 in the finale, closing out with 30.75 points deducted, while the Hilltoppers had 43.94 points deducted in the event.

West Liberty kicks off a three-meet homestand on February 14 hosting No. 2 ranked Gannon at 6 pm inside the ASRC.

Follow the Hilltoppers all season online at HilltopperSports.com, as well as on Twitter (@WLU_AcroTumb, @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_acrotumb, @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.