West Liberty, W.Va. — The West Liberty University acrobatics & tumbling team returns to the road Friday evening when the Hilltoppers travel to Florida to face No. 11 Saint Leo. The meet is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Marion Bowman Activities Center in Saint Leo, Florida.

West Liberty enters the matchup with a 2-5 overall record and 2-3 mark in Mountain East Conference competition, while Saint Leo comes in 3-1 overall and riding a three-meet winning streak.

West Liberty is coming off a tightly contested home meet against Canisius on March 4, where the Hilltoppers battled throughout before falling 238.465–235.865.

The Hilltoppers trailed early but showed strong performances in the second half of the meet. West Liberty posted a 150.715 second-half score, highlighted by solid routines in the toss and tumbling events.

West Liberty totaled 25.400 points in the Toss event and added 47.125 points in Tumbling, including strong scores in the Aerial Pass (8.875) and Open Pass (9.075). The Hilltoppers also turned in a clean Compulsory round, matching Canisius with a 34.600 total to open the meet.

Despite the narrow defeat, the performance marked one of West Liberty's strongest overall scores of the season.

The Hilltoppers opened the season at a tri-meet hosted by Fairmont State, falling to the host Falcons 260.475–222.290 but defeating West Virginia State in the same event.

West Liberty later picked up a conference victory over Wheeling, posting a 226.355–198.085 win in the team's home opener at the ASRC.

Saint Leo enters Friday's matchup ranked No. 11 nationally and has won three straight meets.

Most recently, the Lions defeated No. 14 Lander at home, 252.435–247.440. Saint Leo built its advantage with strong performances across multiple events, including:

• 36.45 in Compulsory
   

• 28.60 in Acro
   

• 29.30 in Pyramid
   

• 53.525 in Tumbling
   

The Lions sealed the victory with a 77.61 score in the Team event.

Saint Leo has also recorded wins this season against Montevallo and Presbyterian after opening the year against No. 1 Baylor.

West Liberty University blends a small-town environment with a comprehensive college experience, fostering students' aspirations through hands-on learning, personalized support, and unique academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Learn more at westliberty.edu.