The Iowa women’s wrestling team continued its winning ways on Saturday evening, defeating the Augustana Vikings 44-1 in the second edition of the Iowa Duals inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Sterling Dias led off for the Hawkeyes at 103 pounds and secured a 5-0 victory, setting the stage for Ava Bayless at 110 pounds. Bayless jumped ahead almost immediately with two takedowns to take a 4-0 lead. She continued to add on from there, leading to a 10-0 win by technical superiority.
Redshirt second-year Brianna Gonzalez faced off with Liz Ramirez at 117 pounds. Gonzalez took an early lead with a two-point takedown. Ramirez attempted to shoot, but Gonzalez countered with a reversal to extend her lead to 4-0. Leading 8-0, Gonzalez secured another reversal on a shot attempt from Ramirez to lock up a 10-0 victory by technical superiority.
Second-year Cali Leng built off of Gonzalez’s momentum, securing a quick takedown to jump ahead 2-0 against Sandie Pfeil in the 124 bout. Pfeil attempted a throw, but Leng countered perfectly to extend the advantage to 4-0. Leng extended her lead with a pushout and clinched the victory in the second on a pin with 27 seconds remaining.
At 131 pounds, Emily Frost took on Moni Griffin. Frost continued the Hawkeyes’ theme of attacking, as she jumped ahead 4-0 within the first 30 seconds. Frost executed a takedown and an exposure to extend her lead to 8-0. Frost perfectly executed a leg lace to secure a 10-0 triumph.
Cadence Diduch continued the hot start for the Hawkeyes with a technical superiority victory over Bri Bynum at 138 pounds. Diduch came out flying, executing a takedown and three straight leg laces to jump ahead 8-0, and locked up the win to push Iowa’s lead to 26-0.
At 145, Reese Larramendy faced Aine Moffit. Larramendy was the aggressor early on with a takedown and a gut-wrench to leap ahead 4-0. Two more takedowns and a step-out for Larramendy extended her lead to 9-0 before Moffit scored the first point for the Vikings with a step-out. A caution call on Larramendy gave Moffit another point before Larramendy shot back with another step-out point. The Hawkeye redshirt second-year took an 11-2 lead into the break before wrapping up the victory with a takedown early in the second period.
Iowa fans were roaring with excitement throughout the dual, but turned it up a notch when it was time for Olympic medalist Kennedy Blades to take the mat at 160 pounds. Her opponent, Maryam Ndiaye, couldn’t muster any sort of offense, and Blades quickly showed off her signature suplex to secure a victory via technical superiority.
The final two matches of the dual were uneventful, as first-year Naomi Simon secured her win in just over 45 seconds. Second-year Alivia White closed the dual with a dominating triumph over Angie Guy, and the Hawkeyes were once again in the winning column.
Iowa executed plenty of techniques on this night, but head coach Clarissa Chun credits the fast, attacking mentality of her young grapplers as the primary factor for their success. It’s a strategy that the Hawkeyes have placed an emphasis on all season.
“They just wrestled hard and wrestled to the best of their abilities,” Chun said. “They’re always looking to score and put points on the board. If they have the opportunity to pin, they go for it.”