The Iowa women’s wrestling team will compete in the Missouri Valley Open on Nov 22 and 23. The two-day event consists of 30 teams and will be held at the Burns Athletic Center in Marshall, Missouri.
“This is the biggest women’s college tournament in the country,” Iowa women’s wrestling head coach said. “It is very well attended. You have top teams from NAIA and the NCAA.”
Schedule
The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Friday with wrestling weigh-ins. Round one will follow at noon and ¼ of the tournament will be completed by the end of the session.
The second session on Saturday will start at 7:00 a.m. with medical checks and weigh-ins, and the competition will begin at 9:00 a.m. The final round will take place at 1:00 pm. that afternoon.
Teams
The tournament will host five teams found in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association: No. 4 Grand Valley State, No. 5 McKendree, No. 7 Colorado Mesa, No. 8 Lindenwood, and No. 13 Emmanuel.
Grand Valley State is 1-0 this season, with its lone victory coming against Northern Michigan on Nov. 16. The Lakers last competed in the Albion Open on Nov. 17, logging four first place finishes.
McKendree enters the weekend with an 8-2 record, notching impressive victories over Lindenwood, Sacred Heart, and Northwest Liberty University. The Bearcats enter the tournament on a five-match winning streak, jumping from No. 12 to No. 7 in NWCA rankings in the process.
Colorado Mesa has posted a perfect 4-0 dual record this season and looks to sustain its momentum after topping No. 25 William Jewell in their last competition. The Mavericks’ lone open competition was in the Maverick Open with three wrestlers claiming first-place finishes.
Lindenwood and Iowa met earlier this season in the Luther Hill Open on Nov. 2, an event which saw the Hawkeyes post a 8-3 record against Lion opponents. Since the loss, Lindenwood has won five of its last six dual competitions.
Emmanuel has only competed in two competitions this season but has been successful in each. The Saints competed in the Eagle Madness Open, claiming five top-five finishes. Emmanuel followed the triumph up with a dominating 48-1 victory over Allen University.
“A lot of top ten teams from the NCAA side of our division will be there,” Chun said. “I’m very excited to test ourselves individually and as a team.”
Hawks back on top
Following a dominating 30-14 victory over No. 1 Life in the Iowa Duals last weekend, the Hawkeyes replaced the Eagles atop the NWCA poll on Nov. 15.
Six of the 10 weight classes feature Iowa grapplers at the top of the individual rankings: Rianne Murphy at 103 pounds, Ava Bayless at 110, Brianna Gonzalez at 117, Reese Larramendy at 145, Kylie Welker at 180, and Jaycee Foeller at 207.
Iowa also has nine individual wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes.
Flying high
Iowa made its home debut inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov 16 against Cornell College (IA) and No. 25 William Jewell as part of the annual Iowa Duals.
Feeding off the home energy, the Hawkeyes earned statement victories over the Rams and the Cardinals, winning 47-0 and 43-3, respectively.
“Sometimes when you are at home the energy is elevated from the crowd and the support,” Chun said. “Sometimes you can tend to want to overdo things because the energy is so high.”