West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling will hit the mats for the first time in nearly three weeks since their regular season came to a close and will make their fifth MEC Tournament appearance in program history as they face No. 7 Fairmont State. The Hilltoppers and Falcons will be the second semifinal match-up on Friday night and will start at 7:30 p.m. in Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, West Virginia. Additionally, the Black & Gold will compete in five heats of the MEC Event Finals that will take place on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. on the final day of the conference championships.

TOURNAMENT DETAILS

• Location: Fairmont, W.Va. (Joe Retton Arena)
• Semifinals (Friday): 7:30 P.M.
• Event Finals (Saturday): 11 A.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Friday's meet with a 4-5 (2-3 MEC) record following a 259.450-237.070 win at home against East Stroudsburg nearly three weeks ago on Saturday, March 23.
• The Hilltoppers finished the regular season in fourth place in league standings, clinching the final spot in the MEC Tournament. This will be WLU's fifth appearance in the conference tournament, qualifying every season it has been held since its inception in 2019 (no tournament held in 2020). The Black & Gold hold a 1-4 all-time record in the tournament, with their lone win occurring in a 249.885-247.840 victory over Glenville State in the semifinals on April 9, 2021, in Fairmont, West Virginia.
• West Liberty also qualified in five heats of the MEC Event Finals as they are set to compete in Seven-Element Acro, Synchronized Pyramid, Quad Tumbling, Aerial Tumbling, and Six-Element Tumbling.
• Through eight meets this year the Hilltoppers are averaging event scores of 36.356 in compulsory, 27.538 in acro, 28.269 in pyramid, 25.669 in toss, 50.997 in tumbling, 88.513 in the team event, and a total score of 257.341.
• WLU has totaled 19 event wins in 48 opportunities through eight meets. Additionally, the Black & Gold have scored a 9.0 or higher in 76 of 152 heats.
• With nine program-best marks on the year, West Liberty has broken school records in Compulsory Acro (9.650), Compulsory Pyramid (9.950), Six-Element Acro (9.300), Seven-Element Acro (9.900), 450 Salto Toss (9.250), Synchronized Toss (9.050), Quad Tumbling (8.600), Aerial Pass (9.625), and Team Event (94.340).
• Kayla Gandy was named the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Athlete of the Week on Monday, February 19, after WLU posted a pair of wins over Notre Dame and West Virginia State in their home opener.
• For the second consecutive year Gandy and Gillian Hartz were named All-MEC First Team selections as announced by the league on Thursday afternoon, following their first all-conference honors a year ago in 2023. Abbey Horvath, Avery Ray, and Abbey Swinderman brought the total to five all-conference selections this year for WLU as they were recognized as All-MEC Second Team picks. For Horvath and Swinderman it is their third and fourth career All-MEC selections, while it is Ray's first time being recognized by the league.
• Kelsey Kyle is in her fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 18-21 during her time with the Hilltoppers.

#7 FAIRMONT STATE STORYLINES

• Fairmont State enters Friday's meet with a 6-1 (5-0 MEC) record following a 270.865-245.510 victory in their regular season finale over Notre Dame.
• The Falcons won their fourth regular season MEC title in the sport of acrobatics & tumbling. This will be FSU's fifth appearance in the conference tournament, qualifying every season it has been held since its inception in 2019 (no tournament held in 2020). Fairmont State holds a 7-1 all-time record and has won the tournament on three occasions (2020, 2021 and 2022).
• Fairmont State also qualified in 13 heats of the MEC Event Finals as they are set to compete in Five-Element Acro, Six-Element Acro, Inversion Pyramid, Synchronized Pyramid, Open Pyramid, 450 Salto Toss, Synchronized Toss, Open Toss, Duo Tumbling, Trio Tumbling, Quad Tumbling, Six-Element Tumbling, and Open Tumbling.

• In the third release of the NCATA Championship rankings the Falcons hold steady at No. 7 for the second consecutive week and have been ranked inside the top-10 the entirety of the season.
• Through six meets the Falcons are averaging event scores of 37.283 in compulsory, 27.917 in acro, 28.425 in pyramid, 27.725 in toss, 53.088 in tumbling, 91.913 in the team event, and a 266.351 overall score.
• FSU has totaled 25 event wins in 36 opportunities through six meets. Additionally, they scored a 9.0 or higher in 83 of 114 heats.
• With the announcement of the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Postseason Awards, Katey Koehl was named the MEC Athlete of the Year and Alexis Wilkinson was named the MEC Freshman of the Year.
• Koehl, along with Izaria McWhorter-Martin and Chloe Smith were selected as All-MEC First Team members. Reghan Mollohan and Rylee Vinson brought the total of 2024 all-conference selections to five as they earned All-MEC Second Team honors.
• Danielle Cutri is in her fourth season as the head coach at Fairmont State with a career record of 31-6 during her time with the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty is 0-10 all-time against Fairmont State.
• The Hilltoppers and Falcons last competed against each other on February 25, 2024, as the No. 7 Falcons earned a 262.715-251.260 win inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, West Virginia.