West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team will face their fourth consecutive ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon as they visit No. 7 Limestone to conclude their trip to Palmetto State. The Hilltoppers, who are coming in with momentum after their first-ever ranked win, are set for a 1 p.m. start time with the Saints inside the Timken Center in Gaffney, South Carolina.

MEET DETAILS

• Location: Gaffney, S.C. (Timken Center)
• Start Time: 1 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Saturday's meet with a 3-3 (2-2 MEC) record following a 261.815-257.120 win at No. 14 Converse on Thursday evening, marking the first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent for the Hilltoppers.
• Through five meets this year the Hilltoppers are averaging event scores of 36.550 in compulsory, 27.400 in acro, 28.180 in pyramid, 25.540 in toss, 50.590 in tumbling, 87.680 in the team event, and a total score of 255.940.
• WLU has totaled 12 event wins in 30 opportunities through five meets. Additionally, the Black & Gold has scored a 9.0 or higher in 47 of 95 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.
• Against Hawaii Pacific, the Hilltoppers broke the school record in the quad pass of the tumbling event, as Kayla Gandy, Gillian Hartz, Audrey Prater, and Avery Ray scored an 8.400.
• Against Converse, the Hilltoppers broke the school record in the 7-element heat of acro with a score of 9.900, and they broke the team event record for the second time this season with a score of 92.740. Helping West Liberty break the school record in the 7-element heat was Gandy as the top while the bases were Abbey Horvath, Chloe Palmer, and Abbey Swinderman, and the counter was Peyton Fry.
• Gandy has played a key role in the Hilltoppers' early success as she was a top for both of the school record toss heats, and the quad pass, while also 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, February 19, Gandy was named the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Athlete of the Week.
• Another athlete to watch is Horvath who is a base and back spot. She bases all of compulsory acro, is a tosser for compulsory pyramid, and back for compulsory pyramid. She is the main base in acro heat 3 completing a 1-1 180 ground to extension. In the pyramid event she is a mid in heat 1 (1-1 extended handstand) and 3 (1-1 extended press) and a tosser in heat 2 (270 up straddle flip to cradle). She is a back in the toss event (back full toss). In the team event she bases two acros, one pyramid, and two tosses.
• The Hilltoppers were tied for third with Glenville State in the MEC Preseason Acrobatics & Tumbling Coaches' Poll, accumulating 15 points in the vote. WLU is currently alone in third place in the league standings.
• The Black & Gold return a trio of First Team All-MEC selections from 2023 in Gandy, Hartz, and Swinderman, while also returning Horvath who was a Second Team All-MEC selection.
• Kelsey Kyle enters her fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 17-19 during her time with the Hilltoppers.

#7 LIMESTONE STORYLINES

• Limestone enters Saturday's meet with a 5-0 (4-0 Conference Carolinas) record following a pair of 268.680-202.330 and 268.680-242.155 victories in a tri match at Francis Marion and against King to bring their regular season win streak to 24.

• Through four meets the Saints are averaging event scores of 37.675 in compulsory, 27.788 in acro, 28.850 in pyramid, 26.900 in toss, 53.281 in tumbling, 92.220 in the team event, and a 266.714 overall score.
• A year ago, LU posted a 12-1 (7-0 Conference Carolinas) record as they won the regular season and conference tournament championship before falling in the national semifinals of the NCATA National Championships to No. 2 Oregon (268.705-262.265). In the individual event finals, the Saints qualified for the 6-element acro heat, open pyramid heat, trio pass tumbling heat, open tumbling heat, and synchronized pyramid heat at the NCATA Individual Event Finals.
• Limestone enters the season tied for No. 7 in the NCATA Preseason Coaches' Poll with Fairmont State.
• The Saints were picked to win their third straight title in the 2024 Conference Carolinas Preseason Acrobatics & Tumbling Coaches' Poll and are currently tied for first in the league standings with No. 12 Coker.
• LU returns NCATA All-American, Cameron King, and Conference Carolina Athlete of the Year, Kacie Kier. King and Kier were also First Team All-Conference Carolinas selections as well as Genesis Carson who also returns to the lineup. Morgan Bramble returns after being named Second Team All-Conference Carolinas in 2023.
• This season Bramble was named the Conference Carolinas Specialist of the Week on March 5, 2024, while Carson earned the honor on February 27, 2024. King earned Conference Carolinas Player of the Week on February 27, 2024.
• Sierra Bombard is in her first season as the head coach at Limestone with a career record of 5-0 during her time with the Saints.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will be the first-ever match-up between West Liberty and Limestone.