West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team opened their 2024 home schedule with a pair of wins on Friday night as they downed Notre Dame and West Virginia State in a tri-match with a score of 253.585, while NDC and WVSU posted scores of 231.895 and 153.575. The Hilltoppers won five of the six events on the evening and scored a 9.000 or better in nine heats.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 253.585, Notre Dame 231.895, West Virginia State 153.575
Team Records: West Liberty 2-1 (2-1 MEC), Notre Dame 1-2 (1-2 MEC), West Virginia State 0-2 (0-2 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Liberty won their first of five events on the night by totaling a score of 36.400 in compulsory. In the event they notched three scores of 9.000 or higher with marks of 9.400 in the acro heat, 9.750 in the pyramid heat, 9.550 in the toss heat, and finished with a 7.700 in the tumbling heat. Helping the Hilltoppers post the highest heat score of the event in the pyramid heat, Avery Ray and Kayla Gandy were tops while Katelyn Emborsky and Abbey Swinderman were mids.
• The Hilltoppers stretched their lead in the meet after securing a win in the acro event with a total score of 27.100. Another pair of 9.000+ scores led the way as the WLU 5-element routine scored a 9.450, the 6-element scored 9.000, and the 7-element rounded out the event with a score of 8.650. Helping West Liberty post the highest score of the event in the 5-element heat was Swinderman and Paige Lawrence as bases for Isabella Paternoster on top.
• With a score of 28.350 in the pyramid event, West Liberty pushed their halftime advantage to 91.850-77.650 over Notre Dame and 91.850-54.900 over West Virginia State. The Hilltoppers posted heat scores of better than 9.000 in all three routines, notching marks of 9.150 in the inversion heat, 9.450 in the synchronized heat, and 9.750 in the open heat. Helping WLU post the highest heat score of the event in the open heat was Gandy once again on top while Abbey Horvath was a mid.
• The first event loss on the night for West Liberty occurred in the toss event as Notre Dame's 25.000 edged the Hilltoppers' 24.950. WLU's heat scores were 8.550 in the 450 salto, 7.950 in the synchronized, and 8.450 in the open. Helping the Black & Gold score an event-high in the 450 salto were Gandy as the top and Olivia Kniola and Swinderman as the bases while Horvath was positioned in the back and Abigail Salzman in the front.
• The Hilltoppers won their first event of the second half as they scored 49.825 in the tumbling event compared to 46.175 for the Falcons. West Liberty compiled heat scores of 8.000 in the duo pass, 7.500 in the trio pass, 8.000 in the quad pass, 9.350 in the aerial pass, 8.950 in the 6-element pass, and 8.025 in the open pass. Gandy posted the top score for WLU in the event as she scored the ninth 9.000 or better on the night for the Hilltoppers with her score in the aerial pass.
• West Liberty won the final event of the evening with an 86.960 in the team event while Notre Dame posted an 83.070.

UP NEXT
West Liberty will next be in action on Sunday, February 25, when they travel to No. 7 Fairmont State. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are set for a 2 p.m. start time inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, West Virginia.