HONOLULU — No. 7 Hawai'i Pacific University fell to Fairmont State University by a mere 0.23 decision on Senior Night for the HPU Acrobatics and Tumbling program.
 
The Sharks (0-3) dominated the first half of the meet against the Falcons (3-1), but late mishaps in the Tumbling event and Team event gave FSU the 274.245 – 274.015 victory.
 
HPU came out on fire out-scoring Fairmont in every heat of the Compulsory event. They put up a near perfect 9.95 out of 10 on the Toss heat and a 9.90 on the Pyramid for an early lead of 38.70-37.95.
 
The Sharks carried that momentum over to the Acro event again topping FSU in every single heat including a 9.90 by seniors Kiana Roosevelt of Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep, Ashley Thomas of Springfield, Ore./Thurston, and Joely Smith of Wilmington, N.C./Ashley in the 5-element heat.
 
In the Pyramid event, HPU only dropped the Open heat to the Falcons, but posted yet another 9.95 in the Synchronized heat. Roosevelt, Smith, and senior Amara Poquette of Spokane, Wash./Mount Spokane, juniors Elise Strysniewicz of Maryville, Tenn./Maryville, Hannah Riker of Rapid City, S.D./Stevenes, sophomore Arianna Balogh of Windsor, Calif./Maria Carrillo, and freshmen Riley Chewning of Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro and Ashley Mercer of Kitty Hawk, N.C./First Flight all participated in the near perfect score.
 
Going into halftime, the Sharks were on top 97.85 - 96.40, a 1.45 point advantage.
 
The Sharks beat the Falcons in the Toss event putting up 28.35 compared to FSU's 27.50 and again topped them in all but one heat.
 
The downfall of the close loss came in the Tumbling event when HPU was beat in all but one heat. That heat, the Aerial pass, belonged to junior All-American Mikayla Garland of Lathrop, Calif./Lathrop who posted a 9.775 over the Falcon's 9.65. After the Tumbling event, the Sharks lead had narrowed to just 0.25, 179.025-178.775.
 
The Team event was the deciding factor, as teams had very similar start values of 104.02 (FSU) and 104.49 (HPU). The judges' decisions left the Falcons at 95.47 while the Sharks tallied 94.99, just enough to give FSU the win.
 
When overlooking all the events, the Sharks saw 15.48 point deducted throughout the meet compared to the Falcon's 15.28.
 
The remainder of the HPU schedule will take place on the mainland, with the next action for the Sharks in Azusa, Calif., to face No. 4 Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, March 26. The meet at the Felix Event Center is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. HST (6:30 PDT).