Baltimore, MD – The La Salle Acrobatics and Tumbling team won its first meet in program history Tuesday night, defeating Morgan State, 236.750-220.990.
La Salle was clinging to a narrow lead, 160.5-159.4, heading to the final event of the meet, the team event. The Explorers delivered a decisive win in the team, 76.25-61.59, to ultimately pull away.
The win is also Head Coach Brianna D'Angelo's first at La Salle. The Explorers, voted on at No. 15 in the country in the NCATA Preseason Coaches' Poll – the highest of any first-year program in the nation – defeated a third-year program in Morgan State.
"Words can't fully capture how proud I am of this team," D'Angelo said. "There were some nerves at the start which is expected in a first meet but they settled and came together."
Morgan State held a 35.65-32.25 advantage after the first event of the night in the compulsory, but La Salle took the lead with a strong second event in the acro to jump ahead, 59.75-55.65.
The Explorers would never look back, but competed neck-and-neck with Morgan State down the stretch, with the Bears taking each of the next three events (pyramid, toss, and tumbling) by a combined margin of just 2.05 points.
"To see the growth from day one to tonight is incredible," D'Angelo said. "This group has put in the work, and trusted the process. That's what made this win so special."
La Salle returns to Philadelphia to prepare for its next meet on Friday, February 20, which will be the program's first-ever home meet, set for 7:00 pm at John E. Glaser Arena.
