FROSTBURG, Md. – The West Liberty University acrobatics and tumbling team saw its season come to an end here Friday night as defending champion and No. 7-ranked Fairmont State defeated the Hilltoppers, 261.910-249.925, in a Mountain East Conference Tournament semifinal at Bobcat Arena on the campus of Frostburg State University.

    Friday's semifinal was a rematch of the last regular season match between the two squads and played out in a similar fashion.

    The teams battled on virtually even terms throughout the first half only to see the Falcons claim narrow wins in all three events to take a slim 93.850-91.800 lead into intermission.

    When action resumed, Fairmont State picked up a 28.000-25.425 victory in the Toss Event to push its advantage to 121.85-117.225 heading into the Tumbling Event.

    The Hilltoppers came out on the short end of a 52.90-49.40 tally in the Tumbling Event, leaving them with a virtually-insurmountable 174.750-166.625 deficit going to the Team Event.

    The Black and Gold came up with a strong effort in the Team Event but Fairmont prevailed by an 87.16-83.30 margin to seal the win and advance to Saturday's MEC championship match.

    Several members of the West Liberty team will be back in Bobcat Arena on Saturday morning to compete in the MEC Individual Event Finals. The Hilltoppers will be competing for individual conference championships in eight of the 15 events.

    The Individual Event Finals are set to start at 11 a.m. with the 2023 MEC Tournament championship match scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.