HONOLULU — No. 4 Hawai'i Pacific University built a lead with an outstanding first half, then held on to defeat No. 5 Azusa Pacific 282.175-281.560 in Acrobatics and Tumbling on Friday night at the McKinley High School Gym.
 
The Sharks (2-1) picked up their second win of the season over the Cougars (0-2).
 
"We had an phenomenal first half," said HPU Acrobatics and Tumbling Coach Keenyn Won. "We did well enough in the second half to overcome adversity and get the win."
 
The Sharks won the first three events, in strong fashion. HPU took the opening Compulsory 39.20 to 38.80 and followed it with win in the Acro 29.80 to 29.30.
 
But it was in the third event, the Pyramid, where the Sharks made a big jump. Collecting perfect 10s in two of the three heats the Sharks outscored the Cougars 29.80 to 27.95 to claim a huge 2.75 point lead at the half 98.80 to 96.05.
 
The Cougars made a comeback in the Toss, scoring a 29.05 to the Sharks 28.65.
 
But it was in the fifth event, the Tumbling runs, that nearly cost the Sharks. Azusa posted combined runs of 55.950, while the Sharks suffered an injury during the run to tally a 54.675.
 
The injury forced the Sharks into a substitution for the all-important Team event. The Cougars posted a 100.51 in the final event, meaning anything less than a 99.435 would mean defeat. The Sharks posted a 100.05 to win the match by 0.615.
 
"I'm so proud of the way we stayed together," said Won.
 
The Sharks will be in action again when they travel to Adrian, Mich., for a tri-match with Alderson Broaddus and host Adrian.
   
Scorecard
Compulsories: HPU 39.2, APU 38.8
Acro: HPU 29.8, APU 29.3
Pyramid: HPU 29.80, APU 27.95 (HPU with two 10s)
Toss: APU 29.05, HPU 28.65
Tumbling: APU 55.950, HPU 54.675
Team: APU 100.51, HPU 100.05
FINAL: HPU 282.175, APU 281.560