FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Fairmont State successfully defended its 2019 Acrobatics & Tumbling Championship on Saturday evening by picking up a 262.725-257.035 victory over second-seeded West Liberty in a thriller inside Joe Retton Arena to sweep the league's regular season and tournament championships in 2021.
 
"I'm so proud of this team for showing up every single day and practicing hard and competing, despite not knowing if the season was even going to happen back in the fall," said first-year head coach and the MEC's Acrobatics & Tumbling Coach of the Year Danielle Cutri. "Week after week we faced adversity, but these student-athletes believed in themselves. I couldn't ask for more.
 
"My seniors were amazing leaders and they invested so much into this program to get us where we are today. We will miss them on and off the mat next season."
 
The 2020 Acrobatics & Tumbling season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and the conference tournament was canceled last April.
 
The win helped Fairmont State wrap up a 7-0 season in 2021. This marks the first unbeaten season in program history, and also the second-most wins in a season behind the team's eight wins in 2019. WLU's season came to an end with a 4-3 record.
 
Fairmont State swept the six events on Saturday, but each by a small margin.
 
"We knew going into the championship that this had to be out best meet – we had to leave it all out on the mat during each heat and each event," Cutri said. "We peaked at the right time.
 
"As a first-year head coach during a pandemic, this season and championship will always hold a special place in my heart. It's been an unforgettable year," Cutri added.
 
Fairmont State won the compulsory event by just over a point (37.225-36.125) to open up a lead in the meet. The event was highlighted by a 9.725 in the compulsory pyramid and a 9.650 in the compulsory toss.
 
The next two events were decided by the slimmest of margins as Fairmont State took a 95.450-94.300 lead into halftime. The Falcons outscored the Hilltoppers 29.025-29.000 in the acro event and 29.200-29.175 in the pyramid event. Fairmont State scored a 9.575 or highest in each of the six heats during the two events, including a meet-high 9.95 in the open pyramid and a 9.85 in the five-element acro.
 
In the second half, Fairmont State started right where they left off by topping West Liberty in the toss event, 26.800-26.375. Fairmont State scored a near-perfect 8.925 out of 9.00 in the synchronized toss to highlight the event.
 
In tumbling, Fairmont State added just over two points to its lead with a solid performance in each of the six heats. Senior Alexis Smith, the 2021 MEC Athlete of the Year, wrapped up the event with a 9.825 out of 9.95 in the open tumbling pass. A pair of freshmen also came up huge in pressure situations during the other two individual tumbling passes. Kathryn Koehl, the 2021 MEC Freshman of the Year, scored a 9.125 (out of 9.40) in the aerial tumbling pass, and Avery Keller put up an 8.775 out of 8.90 in the six-element pass.

Fairmont State finished the competition with scores of 9.6 or better in eight heats on the night.
 
The Falcons also outscored West Liberty by nearly two points in team event to wrap up the victory by a final margin of 262.725-257.035. Fairmont State started with a lower start-value in team event, but limited its dedications to come away with a win in the event.
 
In addition to winning the team championship, Fairmont State also outperformed the competition during Saturday morning's MEC Individual Event Finals by winning seven of the 15 individual event championships. Frostburg State took five of the individual event crowns, while West Liberty won the remaining three.
 
During event finals, Fairmont State was victorious in the five-element acro (9.750 / 10.0), six-element acro (9.650 / 9.90), synchronized pyramid (9.525 / 9.90), open pyramid (9.925 / 10.0 in a tiebreak), 450 salto toss (8.925 / 9.45 in a tiebreak), duo tumbling (8.800 / 9.40 in a tiebreak), and open tumbling (9.675 / 10.0). (Alexis) Smith defended her individual event championship in the open tumbling pass from 2019 by also winning the event in 2021. (Click here for complete results from MEC Event Finals)

2021 MEC Individual Event Finals Winners
Acro
Heat 1 – Fairmont State (9.750)
Heat 2 – Fairmont State (9.650)
Heat 3 – West Liberty (9.825)

Pyramid
Heat 1 – West Liberty (9.700)
Heat 2 – Fairmont State (9.525)
Heat 3 – Fairmont State (9.925)
 
Toss
 Heat 1 – Fairmont State (8.925)
 Heat 2 – Frostburg State (8.625)
 Heat 3 – Frostburg State (9.050)
 
Tumbling
Heat 1 – Fairmont State (8.800)
Heat 2 – Frostburg State (8.650)
Heat 3 – Frostburg State (8.650)
Heat 4 – West Liberty (9.200)
Heat 5 – Frostburg State (9.575)
Heat 6 – Fairmont State (9.675)