ST. CHARLES, Mo -- The first-ever NCAA Regional weekend for Vanguard women's wrestling, and the entire NCAA landscape, saw plenty of strong wrestling with some of the best across the region duke it out for coveted spots in Iowa. Hosted by Lindenwood, top foes included National Wrestling Coaches Association #2 McKendree, #8 Colorado Mesa, #12 Fort Hays State, and #15 Simon Fraser. With plenty of NWCA top-ranked individuals, the Lions picked up some solid victories and had two sixth-place finishers, though those two were just outside the bubble to advance to the final site.
103 Pounds Alexis Garza faced Jaldyn Alvarado of Fort Hays State in her first encounter, and Garza had two quick takedowns to lead 4-0 in the first. Unfortunately, Alvarado responded with two of her own as the period moved along, and with 26 seconds to go, got a pin to put Garza at 0-1 on the day. In the consolation bracket, Garza faced Sienna Caruso of Lindenwood and Garza registered the first trio of points. However, Caruso then got two takedowns to lead 4-3 at the break. Garza tried to force her way past the guard of Caruso, but she could not, as Caruso scored the next three points. Garza got a late push to cut the gap to 7-4, but could not get any closer before the buzzer.
117 Pounds Loretta Lopez fought Morgan Pinzon of Schreiner University to start her day, and she rolled her way to a win, producing 10 points in the first three minutes. It was tighter against Sophia Cornish of Colorado Mesa, as Cornish grabbed the first two points. But Lopez responded with a pushout and two takedowns to lead 5-2 after one frame. The second frame was up-and-down for both wrestlers, as each had a penalty. However, Lopez got an extra point late to snag the bout 8-6 to advance again. That put Lopez against Alexandra Waltsman of William Jewell College, and though she started off strong, Waltsman made two takedowns and then a pin on Sunday. Moving to the consolation side, Lopez faced Adam's State's Flavia Nagatani, and after getting a pushout in the first, Lopez trailed 4-1. She attempted to rally in the second, picking up a four-point move in the process, but Nagatani held on for a 10-5 victory. However, something did not feel right for Lopez, as she had to pull out of her next encounter.
124 Pounds Elena Ramirez faced Morgan Maschmann of Fort Hays State in her opening bout, and while she did her best to score, Maschmann ended with a 10-0 win. Ramirez returned with a win against Amelia Sullens of Pacific University, making a pin within a minute of game time. That placed her against Alyssa Jones of Minot State in the net consolation match and Ramirez fell behind 4-0 in the first minute. Despite that, Ramirez threw down the next seven points over the first and second period, and while Jones had a takedown with 18 seconds to go, Ramirez did not get turned over again to preserve a 7-6 decision. Ramirez pocketed the first takedown against Jada Hernandez of WJC, but Hernandez then had a 10-2 streak to take the bout 10-4.
131 Pounds Lily Avalos started with a win, as she bested Talia Lee of Lindenwood via a pin 1:34 after the first whistle. She then suffered a setback, as Jania Dunigan of Schreiner won 12-2, pushing Avalos to the consolation bracket. Against Deijah Diego of Pacific, Avalos rolled with a 12-2 victory to stay alive before dominating Shely Kemp of WJC 12-0 to advance again. Against Chadron's Piper Cadden, Avalos got a takedown to begin the match, but that was her best shot during on Cadden. Cadden got the next 13 points to win, sending Avalos to a meeting with Jania Dunigan of Schreiner. Avalos started well again, with two takedowns, but Dunigan countered with three points. Avalos picked up the tempo to rattle off the next eight points, surging ahead 10-3, but Dunigan had a better second half. She got eight unanswered points, and though Avalos gave her all for a late winner, Dunigan survived for an 11-10 decision.
145 Pounds Piper Hall squared off with Gretchen Donally of CMU, and while Hall got a four-point move in the first, she could not rebound in time, as Donally won 15-4. That sent her to a match against Meredith Nash of Chadron, and after Nash got the first three points, Hall nailed a four-point takedown. But despite putting her best on the mat, that was all that Hall could rack up, as Nash took the rest of the points to win 15-4
160 Pounds Charlize Jewell went up against Lene McCrackin of Simon Fraser University in her first bout, and though she got a pushout, she could not counter anything else, as McCrackin won 12-1. Jewell dropped Paige Barber of WJ in her next encounter, as Jewell boasted an 11-1 victory in the first period. That sent her to an engagement against Poorna Babu of Texas Woman's, and Jewell slid in the first takedown. Though she led for the next two minutes, Babu had the better of the final minute, as she put up 12-straight points for a technical fall win.
What was Said? "What a fantastic result for our team," said Head Coach
Joe Evano. "I am so proud of our team for showing up and doing their best against the best in the country. We wanted to see how the NCAA field is, and we can leave with our heads high. So stoked for this team and what we can do next year."
