CORALVILLE – The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s wrestling team began its quest for back-to-back national titles on Friday, sending 10 wrestlers to the semifinals.
All 15 Hawkeye wrestlers have a chance to place on day two and help Iowa pass North Central College in the overall team standings, as they currently slot in second place behind the Cardinals.
At 103 pounds, first-year Rianne Murphy got the day rolling for the Hawkeyes, defeating Chadron’s Brianna Vollendroff 17-6 by tech fall. Murphy then cruised to a semifinal bid with a quick pin in round two and a tech fall win in the quarterfinals.
Sterling Dias, also in the lineup at 103, dominated all three opponents en route to a semifinal bid. In round one, Dias pinned Summer Batts of Lock Haven in just 39 seconds, and followed that performance with a pin in round two to advance to the semi finals.
Redshirt second-year Emilie Gonzalez started hot at 110 pounds, defeating her first two opponents each by tech fall. Gonzalez then faced off with Kendra Ryan of North Central in the quarterfinals.
Gonzalez found herself behind 3-1 with under one minute remaining in the bout. She secured a huge four-point takedown to snatch the lead, but Ryan took it right back with two takedowns to secure the triumph over Gonzalez.
Ava Bayless secured a semifinal spot in dominating fashion. The redshirt second-year defeated her first two opponents by tech fall, 11-0 and 10-0, respectively. Bayless then pinned Austria Holland of Adams State in just over 30 seconds to advance.
Brianna Gonzalez continued the whitewashing for the Hawkeyes at 117 pounds, defeating each opponent without much trouble. Gonzalez pinned Delaware Valley’s Josey Wehr in the first round, then secured a spot in the semifinals with two tech fall victories.
Cali Leng aimed to continue her underdog story at 124 pounds, and the beginning chapter of the story began well. Leng easily advanced to round two, defeating Megan Edwards of Elmira by tech fall.
Leng won a hard-fought battle by decision in round two, 4-2, but ran into trouble in her next bout against Grand Valley State’s Aspen Blasko. Blasko quickly took over the match, winning by tech fall, 15-2.
At 131 pounds, fifth-year Emmily Patneaud started strong with a 10-0 tech fall win in round one. Patneaud advanced to the quarterfinals with a gritty 8-3 win over Presbyterian’s Cassia Zammit. Patneaud ultimately fell in the quarterfinals to Alexandra Szkotnicki of McKendree by decision, 6-0.
Nanea Estrella began her campaign for a title at 138 pounds with back-to-back tech fall wins in the first two rounds. Estrella then faced Paige Wehrmeister of Presbyterian.
She fell behind early, but mustered a huge comeback to cut the deficit to one point with a takedown. But the senior couldn’t complete the improbable as the clock hit zero, losing 8-7.
Macey Kilty rolled into the semifinals at 145 pounds with three tech fall wins, each by a score of 10-0.
Reese Larramendy repeated Kilty’s success at 145, also winning each of her matches by tech fall. Larramendy defeated Karlie Stith of Mount Union, Trinity Donovan of Quincy, and Elmira’s Zoey Lints 10-0, 13-2, and 11-0, respectively.
At 160 pounds, Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades seeks a title in her first season wrestling with a collegiate program. To no one’s surprise, Blades steamrolled all three opponents, defeating each 10-0 by tech fall.
Kylie Welker cruised into the semifinals at 180 as she eyes back-to-back national titles. Welker claimed a tech fall victory in round one, pinned Allison Brandt of York in just under 50 seconds in round two, and blew by Lydia Krauss of McKendree 10-0 in the quarterfinals.
First-year Naomi Simon continued her outstanding season, pinning her way to a quarterfinals match, where she took on North Central’s Brittyn Corbishley. Corbishley took a 4-3 lead into the break, but Simon’s confidence was never diminished. Simon came out swinging in period two, putting up six straight points to claim the victory 9-6, lighting fire to the Hawkeye faithful in Xtream Arena.
Fourth-year Jaycee Foeller started fast at 207, winning by tech fall in round one and pinning Abbie Miles of Albion in just 19 seconds in the second round.
Foeller’s quarterfinals match moved much slower, but Foeller held on to defeat Julia Richey of Simon Fraser by decision, 3-0.
Second-year Alivia White couldn’t have asked for a better opening to her tournament, pinning Sophie Pollack of Delaware Valley in 33 seconds. White advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1 victory by decision in round two, but ultimately fell to McKendree’s Tristan Kelly by tech fall.
“I’m so proud of the effort our women put in from the morning to the evening,” coach Chun said. “They put points on the board and got bonus points, a lot of them in the morning. This evening, there was great effort up and down. Some hard losses, but it didn’t come from a lack of trying. They gave it their all, and it’s about keeping their head up and moving forward.”
Up Next
The Iowa women’s wrestling team returns to action on Saturday, March 8 for the final day of the NCWWC National Championships. Session one is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the championship round set to begin at 6 p.m.