ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University acrobatics and tumbling team opened the home portion of the season with their second best showing of the year, posting a score of 218.780 in the match. Despite the effort they came up short of visiting West Liberty University who scored 241.275 for the day.

The Thunder struggled again in the first heat of the day, scoring a 3.70 in the acro heat of the Compulsory event. Just like last weekend they bounced back quickly, breaking nine in both the pyramid heat (9.35) and toss heat (9.40) before finishing out with a 5.8 in the tumbling heat. The score in the toss was tied for tenth best in program history. The Hilltoppers took the lead in the event scoring 35.5 points to the home team's 28.25.

Trine had a more solid showing in the Acro Event, finishing with 23.25 points. Their best performances came in the first heat with an 8.45 and the third heat with an 8.35. West Liberty added to their lead with 27.15 in the event.

The Pyramid Event was again a highlight of the evening for the Thunder, they finished with 28.45 points, tied for sixth best in program history. Along the way they had the best showing in the open heat ever with a 9.90 and tied the fourth best in synchronized with a 9.55. The rounded out the event with all nines, scoring a 9.0 in the first heat. It was also the closest event in the match with West Liberty winning by just .75 of a point.

Out of halftime, the Toss Event was another strong performance for the team, including the first heat victory in the match. Trine won the third heat scoring 8.05 to West Liberty's 8. The Thunder also posted an 8.35 in the first heat. Overall, they scored 24.25, just .45 behind the Hilltoppers.

The Tumbling Passes were also solid for the team, with their best scores coming with an 8.50 in the open pass, good enough to beat the visiting team by .1 of a point, and in the aerial pass with an 8.40, another win over the opposition by .175 of a point. They also won the quad pass by posting a score of 7.45. They finished the event with a 43.40.

Trine took a step back from last week in the Team Event, but still finished with a competitive 71.18 score.

The Thunder fall to 1-3 overall after the loss to the Division II competition. They will continue their season when they host Concordia University Wisconsin on Sunday, March 16. That match is set to start at 1 p.m.