COSTA MESA -- Vanguard women's wrestling completed its first home event in program history on Saturday as the Lions hosted the Menlo College Oaks in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. The Oaks had plenty of ranked wrestlers in its lineup, but the Lions battled with grit and valor to take two weight classes, though the team eventually fell 33-12. VU goes to 0-1 in duals and Menlo goes to 1-0.
What Happened? Vanguard would be open at two weight classes (109 & 191), which would set them back by 10 points in the dual.
Abbeygael Cabuag started the day by putting on a good showing against MC's Tianna Fernandez (#4 in the NAIA) at 101 pounds. The two could barely find an opening against the other but Fernandez was able to make a four-point move towards the end of the first frame. Cabuag got a point for a pushout but trailed 4-1 at the start of the second period. Cabuag continued to keep the Oak at bay and got a takedown with under a minute to go, but Fernandez stayed planted on the deck and let the clock run out to survive with a 4-3 decision win.
Angie Dill made her debut for the Lions at 116 pounds against Menlo's Alejandra Corral and it was a similar story to Cabuag. Corral got the first two points of the affair but Dill snagged a takedown late in the first to tie the matchup at 2-2. But Corral got a takedown midway through the second frame and despite Dill throwing everything at her, Corral would hold on to win 4-2.
Loretta Lopez battled Alana Vivas (#7 in the NAIA) at 123 pounds, but Vivas was in control early. Despite the attempts of Lopez to escape, Vivas made a pin late in the first period to win.
Lily Avalos tussled with Louisa Schwab (#9 in the NAIA) at 130 pounds and Avalos made a good takedown in the first, but she got wrapped up by Schwab the rest of the way to, unfortunately, lose 12-2.
River Todd (#3 in the NAIA) grabbed one of the individual wins on the day as she topped Stephanie Chavez (#6). Chaves scored the first two points on a takedown but Todd put her on the floor to tie things up at 2-2 at the end of one period. Todd then made the first takedown of the second frame but Chavez struck back for a takedown of her own with about a minute to go. But Todd got under the guard of Chavez with five seconds to go and finished the takedown to score a 6-4 decision win in dramatic fashion.
Desiree Jones (#7 in the NAIA) then faced
Piper Hall (#7) in the 143-pound dual and Hall pushed Jones down for the first takedown of the meeting. But Jones was able to fend off Hall and though she put out her maximum effort, Hall could not get any more points, with Jones winning 12-4.
Mariz Soliman also did her best against Shannon Workinger but the #4 wrestler in the NAIA at 155 pounds was able to upend Soliman with a 10-0 tech fall victory. Kalia Shrive entered the day as the #4 wrestler at 170 pounds but Vanguard's
Abena Adu did not care about her ranking. Adu needed only a minute to get past her guard and pin her to the mat to pick up all five points.
What was Said? "What a great day of wrestling," said Head Coach
Joe Evano. "We competed, learned, and most importantly, had a blast. This sport is supposed to be fun and that's what we had today. I can't wait to get back to work next week."
What is Next? The Lions will compete in the West Coast Tournament of Champions on December 15-16.
