The Iowa women’s wrestling team is set to compete in the Jewell Duals on Dec. 7 in Liberty, Missouri. The event will be hosted by William Jewell and will feature five teams vying for the title in a round-robin style tournament.
“Duals are just fun, and the atmosphere for our team to be able to compete one after another rather than an open tournament,” Iowa head coach Clarissa Chun said. “It is one team against another team, there is so much energy.”
Opponents
The other three teams in the field include: No. 7 Lindenwood, Fort Hays State, and Missouri Baptist.
Lindenwood comes into the weekend boasting a 5-1 overall record, with its lone loss coming to No. 5 McKendree by only three points. Iowa faced Lindenwood from Nov. 22-23 at the Missouri Valley Open in Marshall, Missouri, and the Lions went 3-1 against the Hawkeye grapplers while placing four of their own in the top five.
William Jewell remained inside the NCWA top-25 poll after a solid showing in the Missouri Valley Open. Shelby Kemp and Athena Willden earned sixth and eighth-place finishes respectively for the Cardinals, posting a combined record of 9-6 along the way.
Fort Hays State has put together an impressive resume so far. The Tigers have a 3-1 record with their lone blemish coming to then-No. 7 Colorado Mesa on Nov. 1. The squad further established itself as a dominant team after its performance in the Missouri Valley Open. Lexie Lopez placed fifth at 124 pounds for the Tigers while Nichole Moore earned a third-place finish at 138.
Missouri Baptist University has only competed in three dual competitions, but has gone 2-1 in that span with the sole loss coming against No. 5 McKendree.
Despite the hot start, the Spartans struggled in the Missouri Valley Open, with only one wrestler, Josette Partney, placing for the team. Partney finished in seventh-place at 160 pounds.
Hawkeyes look to keep rolling
Iowa continued its strong start to the season in the Missouri Valley Open. While the Hawkeyes earned only one first-place fish, a plethora of athletes placed in the top-10.
Second-year Brianna Gonzalez won all six matches convincingly, taking four via technical faults and one via fall. The lone decision victory was a 7-1 triumph over No. 4 ranked Karissa Turnwall of Emmanuel University.
Gonzalez has competed in duals, compiling a 4-1 record, but this event marked her first time competing in a tournament this season. Her one loss came at the hands of Life’s Anna Krejsa at 124 pounds, a higher weight class than Gonzalez usually competes in.
Three Hawkeyes earned second-place finishes: Rianne Murphy at 117 pounds, second-year Ava Bayless at 110, and first-year Naomi Simon at 180. Seven other Iowa also wrestlers notched top-eight finishes
“I think the Missouri Valley Open at the beginning of the season is a great test for our program and team,” Chun said. “A lot of great performances and challenges that we came across and faced. It’s really just information moving forward for the rest of the season.”