ASHLAND, Ore. -- Vanguard women's wrestling played in three duals on Sunday against Southern Oregon and Simon Fraser (B.C.).  The Lions achieved a program-first by claiming a dual victory over Simon Fraser 24-23, and while the squad gave SOU a run for its money, the Raiders would take both duals against VU.  The Lions go to 1-3 on the season in duals, SOU goes to 8-3, and SFU drops to 8-3 as well.
 
What Happened?  Originally scheduled to be a tri-match, Menlo had to pull out of the event, meaning the Lions faced Simon Fraser once and SOU split its team between its starters and reserves.

VU 24 SFU 23  The highlight of the day was the dual against the Canadians, even though it was the final event of the afternoon.  VU struck first because the Red Leafs were open at 101 pounds and Angie Dill put the Lions up 10-0 because she pinned Ivy Threatful in the 109-pound meeting in 11 seconds.  Maddie Mackenzie made the dual score 10-4 with a 10-0 decision over Julie Garcia at 116 pounds and the Red Leafs made it 10-8 after Victoria Seal won by the same score over Leilani Lazaro in the 123-pound tilt.
 
Lily Avalos responded to the SFU run by rolling up Laura Alcantor Soto at 130 pounds with a 12-2 victory to increase the VU lead to 14-9.  However, Jade Trolland would beat Piper Hall 10-0 in the 136-pound tussle to close the score to 14-13.  The two sides then exchanged wins by forfeit, as Charlize Jewell got VU five points at 143 pounds and Paige Maher did the same for SFU at 155 pounds.  The deciding moment came in the 170-pound matchup, as Abena Adu pinned Mikaela Trolland of SFU late in the first period to put the Lions up 24-18.  It was just in time too, as VU was open in the 191-pound class, meaning Vanguard won 24-23 to take its first dual victory.
 
VU 23 SOU B 25
The Lions had almost achieved the feat a little earlier in the afternoon, as VU lost to the SOU "B" squad 25-23.  Abbeygael Cabuag put up a good fight in the 101-pound clash but lost 10-3 to Lia Ferreira.  Dill got a pin of Liv Villanueva in the first period at 109 pounds, but SOU's Kaylee Annis did the same to Garcia to put the Raiders ahead 8-6.  Lazaro then pinned Myia Weiler in the second period at 123 pounds and Avalos did the same to Kyara Tagami in the opening frame of the 130-pound fight, putting the Blue and Gold up 16-8.  River Todd made it three weight-class wins in a row, as she defeated Sophie Keefer at 136-pounds 12-6, pushing the VU lead to 19-9.
 
Candice Corralejo then pinned Jewell and VU was open against at both the 155 and 191 classes.  Lily El-Masri picked up a 12-2 win over Desi Matheny in the 170-pound bout in between those two forfeits, but that would leave the Lions tantalizingly close, as the squad fell 25-23.
 
 
VU 4 SOU A 42
The opening match of the day did not go as scripted for VU, as the Lions did not win a single weight class against the SOU starters.  Cabuag, Dill, Loretta Lopez, and Hall all scored in their bouts and were not pinned, which gives your team a point in freestyle wrestling.  Cabuag was in the thick of it against Karly Scott but just could not get a point late in the 101-pound meeting, falling 4-3 at the buzzer.  Hall had the closest matchup score-wise in the first dual of Sunday, as she went the distance against Desinee Lopez at 136 pounds.  But tied at 5-5, Lopez got the bonus point through the tiebreaker criteria to deny Hall a major upset victory.
 
 
What's Next?  The team has one more dual this year, as the Lions will travel to Atherton for a tilt against Menlo on Friday, January 26, at 6:00 p.m.