CLINTON, S.C. (March 22,2024)--The Morgan State Acrobatics and Tumbling team competed against the Presbyterian Blue Hose. The Lady Bears' second away meet of the season.
 
In this meet, the Lady Bears were defeated by the host Blue Hose (248.110-235.600). This is the team's first loss on the road. On March 9th, they defeated Stevenson University (225.025-195.855) on the road in their previous meeting.
 
Tensions were high throughout the meet, with the Lady Bears behind the Blue Hose by a few points after each heat. Morgan State was anticipated to lead Presbyterian by 4.68 points based on the meet-start values. However, this contest was marked by reciprocal competitiveness, with the Blue Hose demonstrating attributes similar to Morgan State.
 
The first event of the meet established the tone for how the rest of the meet would proceed. Despite being on the mat at different times, their skills and precision were nearly identical to their opponents.
 
The final scores in the compulsory event were Presbyterian 33.900 and Morgan 33.050, setting the tone for the competition, which saw both teams compete at the same level as their opponents. This was an entertaining match-up, with each event appearing to cut close enough that if you looked away for a second, you could have been seeing the same team. Nonetheless, the Lady Bears made a strong effort to win the event, displaying new skills.
 
Once the Acro event began, it became clear that the difference between the two teams was in how they completed each skill. Even though each group demonstrated varied skills, the timing of how long they held their acts was identical.
 
The Lady Bears performed particularly well in the acro event, scoring 26.70 out of a possible 30.00. Morgan State has been showing off its new skills at each meeting. The Lady Bears benefited from this by having a bigger initial value advantage.
 
Tensions flared halfway through the meet, with the scores suggesting a simple tiebreaker to come if the scores continued to be so close in number.
 
The clear solid proof for Presbyterian leaders is their synchronization of small aspects like moving steps or even locking their muscles, which can influence anoint deduction. Especially for the toss event, Presbyterian landings were more precise.
 
Despite the fact that Presbyterian won each event, there was always hope that the Lady Bears may make a comeback in the team event. With only one event remaining with team event start values of 100.36 for Presbyterian and 102.64 for Morgan State, the ladies had to put their best foot forward to win.
 
With only two meets remaining in the season, the Lady Bears are one step closer to wrapping up their maiden season.
 
"We want to make it to nationals, we work really hard," said freshman Ga'Moni Gaskins, who was selected player of the meet. "The outcomes are not ideal, but we're improving in our own way."
 
"We're introducing new abilities this time to give the girls confidence, but we still lack that 100 percent cleanliness," stated Morgan State head coach Regina Smith. "We outscored them by five points going into this meet, so we need to pick up in our tosses and tumbling to attain the win."
 
The Lady Bears return home to host Bluefield State on Saturday, April 6 at 4 p.m. at Hill Field House for its home finale.