NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Trine University men's wrestling team fell in their opening dual match of the season with their hosts from Manchester University winning 33-17.

The Spartans pulled away early in the dual, winning four of the first five matches, all with bonus points and putting the Thunder deep in the hole at 22-5. Trine won three of the final matches but failed to score enough bonuses to complete a comeback.

Tommy Miller won the first points of the day for the team, winning at 141 with a tech fall. He scored a final takedown in the fifth minute of the match to complete the 16-0 victory.

Philip Burney turned in the best win of the day for the Thunder, pinning his opponent at 165. The decisive moment came 2:53 into the match.

Nayl Sbay and Kyler Bills each picked up decisions to round out the scoring for Trine. Sbay won at 174 in a high scoring contest. The final score was 18-17. In the opposite style of match, Bills won 2-1 in the 285 pound match.

Trine will return to tournament competition when they next hit the mats. They are scheduled to compete at the BW Invite in Berea, Ohio on Saturday, November 23. Matches are set to begin at 9 a.m.