HONOLULU, HI (March 12, 2014) – The Hawai'i Pacific Acrobatics and Tumbling Team (0-2) did not earn its first win on Wednesday night, but the strides the team has made were obvious. Visiting Quinnipiac (3-2) earned a 270.96 to 266.54 win as HPU honored its seniors in the final home meet of the season.

As they did in the first meet, HPU was strong out of the gate winning the first two heats of the compulsory event. Seniors Malyssa Barbasa and Jax Jeffries were instrumental in getting HPU off to a good start.

"I cannot begin to express how proud I am of this team. As a first-year team in this sport we are truly representing Hawai'i Pacific University well," said Head Coach Keenyn Won.

Jeffries, Sara Gruden, Nancy Miceli, and Melanie Hew were outstanding in the first heat of acro, earning the win for HPU.

HPU made up some ground by winning heat three of the pyramid event, only trailing 92.62-91.70 at the intermission.       

Hew, Barbasa, and Miceli excelled in tumbling, all winning their heats. The highlight of the night was Barbasa scoring a 9.9 in the 6 element pass. That performance could put her in the Event Finals at the national championships where she could compete for a solo tumbling national championship.  

The Sea Warriors made the biggest improvement in the team routine, posting a 91.84. However, the experienced Quinnipiac proved to be too much in the end.

"We did not execute everything that we could have which means there is still room for improvement. The team has definitely cleaned up our skills and we are excited to compete on the road," said Won. 

HPU will compete in Eugene, OR on Sunday in a tri-meet against Oregon and Alderson Broaddus. 

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