MEQUON, Wis. -- The Trine University acrobatics and tumbling team turned in a strong first performance despite coming up short of their hosts from Concordia University Wisconsin by the score of 232.795 to 223.160. The team's tally was a program's best, outpacing any total from last season by just over 30 points.
"This is a great step forward for us as a young program," said head coach Kati Horstmann, "We posted solid scores throughout the day and I'm very excited for the rest of the season."
Trine started strong outscoring the opposition in the first heat of the Compulsory event 7 to 6.5 and continued to post solid scores despite falling behind of the Falcons. When all four heats were done, the team trailed by just over two points, 31.15-28.95.
The Thunder went on to outscore the opposition in the first and third heats of the Acro event. Concordia Wisconsin did enough in the second heat to still take a win in the event, but only by the smallest of margins at 23.4 to 23.05.
For the third time Trine garnered more points in the opening heat of the Pyramid event, this time 9.35 to 9.20. The second two heats went firmly in favor of the home team and the Falcons extended their lead on the day with a 28.15 to 25.95 score.
That lead continued to grow in the Toss event where the young Thunder program entered with a distinct disadvantage as their start value was over a point lower than the opposition. They still turned in solid performances but the deficit once again grew following a 25.20 to 23.45 score in favor of Concordia Wisconsin.
The team once again turned in solid scores during the Tumbling event, but fell further behind in the overal score after the home team outscored them 43.975 to 42.450.
The day ended with another solid posting from the Thunder as they turned in a 79.31 in the Team event, just barely behind the opposition's 80.92, despite a six-point difference in start values.
The team will look to continue their growth when they return home for their second event of the year hosting Adrian College on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.