FLORENCE, S.C. — The Belmont Abbey acrobatics & tumbling team earned its third win of the season thanks to a 237.085-224.370 victory over Francis Marion Friday night at the Smith University Center.

It was the first time that the Crusaders have competed at FMU after facing them last season in a tri-meet at Coker.

With Friday's result, Belmont Abbey improves to 3-1 overall and 3-1 in Conference Carolinas competition. Francis Marion is 0-3 both overall and in the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Event 1 — Compulsory
The two teams were in a close battle early with the Patriots taking an early 33.85-33.80 lead over the Crusaders. Belmont Abbey's two best scores came in the Pyramid and Toss heats with scores of 9.55 and 9.45, respectively.

Event 2 — Acro
Belmont Abbey took the lead after the event thanks to a score of 26.85 from a 29.6 start value. The Crusaders bookended the event with a 9.45/10 in 5 Element (Heat 1) and a 9.7/10 in 7 Element (Heat 3).

Competing in 5 Element was Molly Froman, Gracie Grady, Valentina Ordonez, Gabrielle Cox and Mackenzie Linegar. Grady and Linegar competed in 7 Element along with Erena Chaples and Katilyn Blakeney.

Event 3 — Pyramid
The Crusaders extended the lead thanks to a 24.55-23.55 advantage after scoring a 9.25/9.70 in the Inversion Pyramid (Heat 1) and a 9.3/10 in Open Pyramid (Heat 3). Chaples, Cox and Grady also competed in the Inversion Pyramid with Deanna Woolard, Kylie Brophy, Sarah Brady, Roy Gannon and Ashley Poillucci. In Heat 3, Froman and Grady competed along with Resse Johnson, Anna Audet, Audra Kaiser and Payton Lanier.

Belmont Abbey held an 85.20-79.75 halftime lead.

Event 4 — Toss
The Abbey had its best scores in relation to start value, scoring a 26.25 out of a possible 28.2 points. All three scores were an 8.25 or better with the highlight coming in the Open Toss with a 9.2/9.6.

Competing in the event was Froman, Cox, Audet, Johnson and Blakeney along with Alyssa Westbrook. Belmont Abbey finished with an 8.8/9.3 in the 450 Salto Toss and an 8.25/9.3 in the Synchronized Toss.

Event 5 — Tumbling
In the team passes, Belmont Abbey started off with a pair of 7.65's in the Duo and Trio Pass and a 7.5/8.0 in the Quad Pass. Chaples and Deanna Woolard started off the 7.65/8.6 in the Duo Pass with Meagan Henry, Tia Fluellen and Trinity Martinez competing in Trio. In the Quad Pass, Brady, Kaiser, Lanier and Madison Quinlan competed for the Abbey.

In the individual passes, Woolard finished with a 9.075/9.55 in the 6 Element Pass while Quinlan scored an 8.3/8.6 in the Aerial Pass. Additionally, Martinez scored an 8.85/9.55 in the Open Pass.

Event 6 — Team Event
Belmont Abbey closed the meet with a 76.61/97.11 in the team event compared to a 75.12/92.52 for Francis Marion.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey returns to the mat to face Lander in the second home meet of the season next Friday.
• The meet is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Wheeler Center.