In women’s wrestling, each athlete carries different styles and techniques throughout their career that they consistently use. These wrestling styles are constant as athletes tweak and change different aspects of their approach to evolve their game further.
When asked to describe her wrestling style in a couple of words, second-year Brianna Gonzalez kept it simple.
“Aggressive,” Gonzalez said. “I love to attack, attack, attack.”
The birthplace of this attitude stems from her days competing at Arroyo High School in El Monte, California. But before Gonzalez even stepped foot in Iowa City, she already had ties to the Hawkeye wrestling program.
Gonzalez said her coaching staff installed this style of play after heavy inspiration from the Iowa men’s wrestling team, and that she herself used those similar tactics and strategies to help grow her career.
“They [the coaches] loved Iowa,” Gonzalez said. “They would always follow the Iowa men’s team and watch film from the men’s program. They tried to mimic that in how they coached me. That’s how I became really aggressive and attacked all the time.”
In her first season at Iowa, Gonzalez shined as one of the premier wrestlers in the 117-pound weight class. Gonzales posted a 34-2 record in her freshman campaign with the Hawkeyes, went 10-1 in dual matches, won two tournaments, and earned a runner-up finish in the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships.
“She has this game face that makes me feel like she is a completely different person,” Iowa women’s wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun said. “When I see that turned on, I don’t want to mess with her.”
But those accolades at the end of the year didn’t tell the whole story. Gonzalez claimed that she struggled with confidence due to the lofty preseason expectations she put on herself.
Like most incoming college athletes, Gonzalez had to adjust to stiff competition at the highest levels of women’s wrestling. But with the help of her teammates and crafting her skills in training, she overcame this mindset.
“In the beginning, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well,” Gonzalez said. “With the girls that uplift me and push me gave me the confidence to not put pressure on myself.”
Gonzalez has carried this aggressive mindset on the mat throughout her wrestling career. But one thing she has focused on is honing that violent wrestling style to reduce the risk of putting herself into troublesome situations.
Wrestling styles that revolve around applying constant pressure can be very beneficial, but it can sometimes put an athlete in immediate danger during a competitive match. Heading into her second year at Iowa, Gonzalez was determined to implement a little more caution into her game.
“It’s just being more patient and intentional with how I set up my shots,” Gonzalez said. “Being able to wrestle smarter and not over-attack because sometimes I can get in trouble.”
Gonzalez has competed in only dual events for the Hawkeyes in 2024, posting a respectable 3-1 record with all three victories coming via technical fault. When it came time for her tournament debut in the Missouri Valley Open on Nov. 22, Gonzalez was ready.
The sophomore posted a perfect 6-0 record, claiming the event for the second straight season. Four of those triumphs came from technical falls.
In her lone decision victory, Gonzalez showed the mix of patience and aggressiveness she has been working on since arriving at Iowa.
Facing No. 4 Karrisa Turnwell from Emmanuel University, Gonzalez found herself down one point early into the first period. Instead of panicking, Gonzalez used her patience to wiggle out of the sticky situation. She countered Turnwell’s early assault by scoring seven straight points over the next four minutes of the match to earn the victory.
“My wrestling style is aggressive and wanting to look for that takedown,” Gonzalez said. “But I have to make sure I’m working on top. Sometimes I feel like I just work for the takedown and not work on top. I have been working on that and lately, its been helping me get the match over with.”