HARTSVILLE, SC – Francis Marion University's Acrobatics & Tumbling Team fell to Coker University and Belmont Abbey College in their first tri-meet of the inaugural season on Friday (Feb. 16) afternoon with scores of 256.210 (Coker), 256.010 (BAC), and 177.490 (Francis Marion).
Francis Marion (0-3) will host its first home meet on Thursday against Wingate University at 6 p.m. in the Smith University Center. Admission is free.
Starting with Compulsory (acro, pyramid, toss, and tumbling) freshman bases
Olivia Blanda and
Alyssa-Naomi Pippins, junior
Mikayla Brown, and sophomore top
Alexandria Mitchell were the first to compete, scoring a 4.50 out of 10.00.
Mitchell, freshman top
Kaylee Rowell, freshman bases
Priscilla Vega and
Jaliyah Douglas, junior base AJ Lunn, and senior
Arianna Williams all performed in the pyramid heat of the Compulsory Event. FMU demonstrated a straddle pyramid, earning a 7.05 out of 10.00.
The Patriots finalized the Compulsory Event with a total score of 21.85, while Coker recorded a 37.30 and Belmont Abbey tallied a 36.65.
Brown, Douglas, and Blanda all took part in heat one (5 element) of the Acro Event, registering a 7.55. Ending acro event with a total of 18.25, FMU trailed Coker and Belmont Abbey.
Francis Marion earned their highest score of the night in heat three (open pyramid) of the Pyramid event as they recorded an 8.90 out of 9.20. FMU moved to a cumulative total of 64.25 before going into halftime.
Following halftime, Mitchell, Blanda, Rowell, Williams and freshman tumbler
Hailey Gaither completed a back tuck for a 7.45 in heat one (450 Salto) of the Toss event. In the synchronized toss, FMU listed a 6.75 as Coker added on an extra 8.65 while Belmont Abbey chipped in another 8.65 points.
Blanda, Vega, and Gaither took part in the trio pass, scoring an even 7.000. In the aerial pass of the tumbling event, Gaither scored the highest out of the Francis Marion tumblers with a 7.900. The Patriots ended the Tumbling event with a total score of 39.000.
After finishing the six events of the tumbling event, Francis Marion totaled 39.000 points and entered team event with a running total score of 124.55
Francis Marion earned a total of 52.94 out of 73.59, scoring 20 points more than the previous meet.
