West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team will return to the road as they face their fourth consecutive Mountain East Conference opponent to open the season, as they compete against No. 7 Fairmont State on Sunday, February 25. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are slated for a 2 p.m. start time inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, West Virginia, as the Black & Gold search for their first-ever win against FSU.

MEET DETAILS

• Location: Fairmont, W.Va. (Joe Retton Arena)
• Start Time: 2 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday's meet with a 2-1 (2-1 MEC) record following a pair of wins in their home opening tri-match against Notre Dame (253.585-231.895) and West Virginia State (253.585-153.576).
• Through the first two meets of the year the Hilltoppers are averaging event scores of 36.975 in compulsory, 27.550 in acro, 28.350 in pyramid, 25.975 in toss, 50.613 in tumbling, 89.700 in the team event, and a total score of259.163.
• WLU has totaled seven event wins in 12 opportunities in the first two meets. Additionally, the Black & Gold have scored a 9.0 or higher in 19 heats.
• In their season-opener at Glenville State, the Hilltoppers broke school records in heat 1 of the toss, the 450 Salto, with a score of 9.250, and tied the heat 2 program record in the synchronized toss with a score of 8.800. With a score of 92.440 the Black & Gold also rewrote the record books in the team event.
• Kayla Gandy played a key role in the Hilltoppers' early success as she was a top for both of the school record toss heats and in the team event she tops one acro, one pyramid, two tosses, does one standing pass, and two running passes. Kallie Moses was the other athlete on top for WLU in the heat two synchronized toss that broke the record.
• On Monday, Gandy was named the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Athlete of the Week.
• The Hilltoppers were tied for third with Glenville State in the MEC Preseason Acrobatics & Tumbling Coaches' Poll, accumulating 15 points in the vote.
• The Black & Gold return a trio of First Team All-MEC selections in Gandy, Gillian Hartz, and Abbey Swinderman, while also returning Second Team All-MEC selection Abbey Horvath.
• Kelsey Kyle enters her fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 16-17 during her time with the Hilltoppers.

FAIRMONT STATE STORYLINES

• Fairmont State enters Sunday's meet with a 1-0 (1-0 MEC) record following a season-opening win at home over Glenville State (269.145-259-390) on Sunday, February 11.

• In the first meet of the year FSU posted event scores of 37.300 in compulsory, 28.050 in acro, 28.550 in pyramid, 27.650 in toss, 54.125 in tumbling, 93.470 in the team event, and posted a 269.145 overall meet score.
• A year ago the Falcons posted a 9-3 (4-1 MEC) record where they finished as runners-up in the regular season standings and conference tournament prior to falling in the quarterfinals of the NCATA National Championships to No. 1 Baylor (278-930-258-165).
• The Falcons were picked second in the MEC Preseason Acrobatics & Tumbling Coaches' Poll, accumulating 22 points with a pair of first place votes in the poll.
• Key returners for FSU include First Team All-MEC selection, Katey Koehl, and All-MEC Second Team selections, Izaria McWhorter-Martin and Taylor Openlander.
• Danielle Cutri is in her fourth season as the head coach at Fairmont State with a career record of 26-5 during her time with the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty is 0-9 all-time against Fairmont State.
• The Hilltoppers and Falcons last competed against each other in the MEC Tournament Semifinals on April 14, 2023, as FSU earned a 261.910-249.925 win inside Bobcat Arena in Frostburg, Maryland.
• In the last meeting Fairmont State won all six events in the match-up.