The No. 1 Iowa women’s wrestling team will compete in the NCC Open on Sunday, Dec 15 in Naperville, Illinois. North Central College will play host to the 38 other schools traveling to Merner Field House.
The event will feature a plethora of ranked opponents. In fact, every team in the top-5 of the NCWA Poll will be competing in the event this weekend: No. 2 North Central. No. 3 King, No. 4 Grand Valley State, and No. 5 McKendree.
North Central enters the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record in dual competitions, flexing wins over King, Grand Valley State, McKendree, Sacred Heart, and No. 22 Schreiner. Their last open competition was in the Carthage Classic on Dec.7, where the Cardinals placed 18 wrestlers in the top three of the invitational.
King still remains in the upper echoclan of the collegiate women’s wrestling world despite Iowa taking over its preseason No. 1 ranking. After the early loss to North Central, the Twisters ripped off nine consecutive wins to improve its record to 12-1 with impressive wins over McKendree, Sacred Heart, and Tiffin.
Grand Valley State poses just a 1-1 record early into the 2024-2025 season, with every other competition being an open tournament. Both dual competitions have been against top ranked opponents. While the Lakers dropped a close one to North Central, 26-17, they demolished No. 15 Northern Michigan in a 44-6 route.
McKendree opened the season with back to back losses in the Adrian Open to King and North Central. Since then, the Bearcats have rattled off eight consecutive victories to push themselves inside the top five. McKendree’s last match was in the Missouri Valley Open where the team notched three first-place finishes.
Last time out
The last time the Iowa women’s wrestling team took the mat was in the Jewell Duals on Saturday, Dec 7. Besides Iowa, the competition featured four other teams: No. 7 Lindenwood, No. 23 William Jewell, Missouri Baptist, and Fort Hays State.
The Hawkeyes made quick work of each opponent, winning each match by an average of 35 points en route to a dominating performance.
Second-year Brianna Gonzalez went 5-0 at 110 pounds, two of which came via forfeit. Gonzalez has now won her last six competitions dating back to her first-place finish in the Missouri Valley Open on Nov. 22.
Fourth-year Jaycee Foeller has emerged as one of the nation’s best wrestlers at 207, and she continued her strong showing by posting a 5-0 record in the Jewell Duals. Her biggest win on the day was a 6-2 decision over then-No.3 Sara Lake from Lindenwood.
Up next
Following the team’s weekend in Illinois, Iowa will return home in preparation for the third annual Soldier Salute on Dec. 29-30. The two-day competition will be the first match held at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
In last season’s tournament, the Hawkeyes recorded five first-place finishes to earn a tournament-high 223 team points.