ATHERTON, Calif. -- The first dual in Vanguard women's wrestling history took place Friday night, as the Lions took on the Menlo College Oaks. The Oaks, who last won an NAIA title in 2019, showed their veteran form by winning all but one matchup. That one bout went the way of Lily El-Masri (FR/Novato, CA), who picked up the first individual win in a dual in program history at 170 pounds. Menlo took the dual with a final score of 41-5.
What Happened? Viviana Davalos (FR/Santa Ana, CA) went at Tianna Fernandez at 101 pounds but Fernandez set the pace of the matchup, making it 4-0 within 30 seconds. Davalos tried to rebound but she was pinned shortly after that.
The Lions were open at 109 pounds and so Marissa Ritchie (FR/Riverside, CA) was next up for the Lions in the 116-pound fight. She struggled against Ajayzee Zaballos for the first two minutes but Ritchie slowly grew into the match. She was able to make a reversal to get some points but was sent to the mat towards the end of the first period to lose via a technical fall 14-4. Following her was River Todd (FR/Huntington Beach, CA) at 123 pounds, as she faced Haley Narahara. Todd played good defense but then got twisted up in the middle part of the first. She was taken to the mat and turned over repeatedly, resulting in a rapid 10-0 technical fall win for Narahara.
Nevaeh Chambers (FR/Anaheim, CA) took on Sara Vela at 130 pounds and after an early wobble, Chambers picked up Vela and took her to the floor. But things turned sour for Chambers in the dying moments of the first period, as Vela racked up eight unanswered points to take a 9-2 lead into the second. The first VU wrestler to reach the second period on the night, Chambers was thrown down quickly into the period and soon lost via pin. Tehya Ledesma (FR/Riverside, CA) faced Louisa Schwab at 136 pounds and Schwab was in full control for the first period, resulting in another quick 10-0 technical fall win to put Menlo up 26-2.
Mariz Soliman (FR/Lake Elsinore, CA) took on Desiree Jones at 143 pounds and the two spent a lot of time upright in the first period, but Jones scooped up Soliman towards the end of the first and pinned her to give the Oaks a 32-2 lead. Reyna Montenegro (FR/San Jacinto, CA) faced Shannon Workinger at 155 pounds and Workinger would accumulate points until she won on a 10-0 technical fall victory.
El-Masri next faced Nikita Dhaliwal at 170-pounds and El-Masri would claim the first points with an excellent takedown. The two engaged in some hand fighting as the first period moved along and Dhaliwal snuck in a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the first frame. Ahead 4-2 to open the next frame, El-Masri threw in a big takedown with a minute to go in the second, which would be just enough to win. The clock would run out and El-Masri would take the bout 8-2 for the first victory in a dual in program history. The Lions were open at 191 pounds, resulting in a 41-5 dual victory for the Oaks.
What was Said? "We got to see one of the best teams in the nation," said Head Coach Joe Evano. "Every match is a learning opportunity and we are going to take full advantage of this, to learn and continue to grow as a team."
