Wheeling, W. Va. - After bringing Acrobatics & Tumbling to Wheeling, the Wheeling University Acrobatics and Tumbling team looks to build on that first meet success. They return to the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Sunday, looking to build on that success when they host #6 Fairmont State at 2 PM. With one meet under their belt, the Cardinals have the experience they need to build on their skills and continue scoring higher on the mat.

They hosted West Liberty University for their first-ever meet two week ago in front of a capacity crowd inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Cardinals showed off their skills, through compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, and team events. Their closest margin of the night would come in the Pyramid event, where they were outscored by just four points. They had two events where they scored 8.0 or higher and headed into the team event looking to finish strong. Out of 115 possible points, the Cardinals were able to put up a score of 65.620 to round out a strong event. The Cardinals would finish with 184.170 for the event, setting a high bar for the team to build on in the future. Aside from the score, Head Coach Alexis Kelly was proud of her girls for going out there and taking on the task of bringing a brand new sport to Wheeling.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Gianna Bjorn, who participated in almost ever event for the Cardinals on the night. Her biggest run would come in the six-element heat of the Tumbling event, where she competed in her lone individual event of the night. She would put up a score of 8.0, to post one of two scores over the 8.0 mark on the day. She was also a part of the team's highest scoring event on the day, the Compulsory Toss event. She was one of two Cardinals to go up in the air and she performed a perfect flip into her base's arms below. The event scored an 8.2 on the night, marking the highest total score for the Cardinals on the day. Bjorn looks to continue being a big part of the Cardinal's success moving forward as they continue through their inaugural season.

Keala McCurry and Gabrielle Jantz were the other two Cardinal tops leading the way, competing in all six heats on the night. Like Bjorn, McCurry would also compete in an individual event during the Toss, taking on the five-element event. She was the first Cardinal to take on an individual event and finished with a score of 6.2 in the five-element. Like Bjorn she was a top who competed in almost every event for the Cardinals, and rounded out the day with a strong showing in the five-element. The final individual event was the seven-element tumbling event where Jantz would compete. She rounded out the day with another 6.5  score as the Cardinals finished our the day strong. The Cardinals will look to their tops to once again lead the way this second time out.

As they continue through their inaugural season, the Cardinals are back home for the second straight event. After putting up a strong 184 in their first event, the Cardinals are looking to add to their team score as they continue through their second event of the season. The Cardinals will hit the road for the next three events and won't be home until their regular season finale at the end of March. The Cardinals are looking to take advantage of their time at home early in the season and continue to build on their first event success. The Cardinals will continue to build on their skills from the first event of the season as they look for their first win in program history.

The Opponent

The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the first time in program history on Sunday. The Cardinals will be facing their first ranked opponent of the season with Fairmont State sitting as the #6 team in the country. Fairmont State has picked up wins over both West Liberty and Glenville State during their first two events of the season, scoring 264 points each time. They finished the 2024 season as the runners-up in the MEC and look to get back to that championship event.

The Details

First events for Sunday's game is scheduled for Sunday, February 16^th at 2 PM. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.