ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University acrobatics and tumbling stumbled early but overcame the setback to send their seniors off in style with a come from behind 228.055 to 227.130 victory against Concordia University Wisconsin.
The difficulties for the Thunder came in the first two heats of the match, where they surrendered over four points to the Falcons. After the slow start, head coach Mikayla Sutherland huddled her team on the sidelines. Trine responded by winning the final two heats of the Compulsory Event, with the highlight of a 9.55 in the toss heat headlining. The score was 32.65 to 29.55 in favor of the visitors.
The Acro Event was a virtual tie with Concordia Wisconsin winning just 25.20 to 24.95. The best score for Trine came in the first heat where they recorded a 9.10.
The Thunder then cut into the deficit in a big way during the Pyramid Event, posting three scores that were solidly in the nines. They had a 9.40 in the first heat, a 9.55 in the second and a 9.70 in the third. Overall they took the event 28.65 to 26.25, sending the match to halftime with a 84.10 to 83.15 score in favor of the Falcons.
Another near tie came out of the break, with Concordia Wisconsin winning the Toss Event 24.80 to 24.35. The best score for Trine came in the first heat where they scored an 8.30.
Tumbling was a back-and-forth affair, but the big scores from the quad pass group, Emma Wilke in the aerial pass and Mia Giurini in the open pass gave the Thunder their first lead of the night. They took the event 42.675 to 41, taking a 150.175 to 149.900 lead. The quad team scored a 7.55, while Wilke posted an 8.225 score in the aerial and Giurini finished the event with an 8.325 in the open.
With just .275 of a point separating the team, the match was still very in doubt heading into the Team Event. The Thunder posted a 77.88, the second-best score this season, to secure the final victory.
Trine improves to 2-3 following the victory, which is the first loss of the season for Concordia Wisconsin. The team will next compete when they head to Adrian, Mich. on Saturday, March 22 for a tri-match which will feature Adrian College and Calvin University. That match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
