Fairmont, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team held a lead at the halftime break over No. 7 Fairmont State, however their upset bid fell short as they lost a 262.715-251.260 contest on Sunday afternoon in Joe Retton Arena. The Hilltoppers earned one event win during the match-up and posted five season-high scores.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 251.260, Fairmont State 262.715
Team Records: West Liberty 2-2 (2-2 MEC), Fairmont State 2-0 (2-0 MEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With a trio of heat scores higher than 9.25, West Liberty remained within 1.10 of Fairmont State after the compulsory events. The Hilltoppers used heat scores of 9.25 in acro, 9.70 in pyramid, 9.40 in toss, and 7.35 in tumbling for an event score of 35.70. The highest score of the event in the pyramid featured Avery Ray and Kayla Gandy as tops while Katelyn Emborsky and Abbey Swinderman were mids.
• The Hilltoppers continued to keep things close with a pair of 9.0+ scores as the Falcons only won the acro event by a margin of 1.05. WLU posted scores of 9.05 in 5-element, 8.10 in 6-element, and 9.40 in 7-element for an acro total of 26.55. The highest score in the event for WLU featured Gandy as the top while the bases were Abbey Horvath, Chloe Palmer and Swinderman and the counter was Peyton Fry.
• WLU earned a 28.50-26.00 event win over FSU to give themselves a 90.75-90.40 lead at the halftime break with a season-high pyramid event score. West Liberty tallied a trio of scores over 9.25 with a 9.25 in the inversion heat, a 9.45 in the synchronized heat, and a 9.80 in the open heat. Both the inversion and open heats were season best scores for the Hilltoppers and they each featured Gandy as the top and Horvath as the mid of the pyramid formation.
• The Falcons regained the lead in the meet with a 28.00-25.10 win the toss. The Hilltoppers posted scores of 8.75 in the 450 salto heat, 8.50 in the synchronized heat, and 7.85 in the open heat. With the highest score of the event occurring in the 450 salto for WLU it featured 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.
• Fairmont State extended their lead as they won the tumbling event 52.625-49.150. WLU posted a pair of 9.0+ scores in the event with an 8.250 in the duo pass, a 7.850 in the trio pass, a 5.700 in the quad pass, a 9.325 in the aerial pass, a 9.150 in the 6-element pass, and a 8.875 in the open pass. West Liberty recorded a pair of season-high scores with the trio and open pass. The event's high score featured Gandy in the aerial pass.
• FSU ended the afternoon with a 91.69-86.26 win in the team event.

UP NEXT
West Liberty will return to the hilltop next weekend on Sunday, March 3, as they host Hawaii Pacific. The Hilltoppers and Sharks are set for a 4 p.m. start time inside the ASRC.