Women's wrestling finished fifth at the University of the Cumberlands Patriot Duals October 10-11 in Williamsburg, Ky. The Lady Lions were 4-0 in pool C on Friday, then won two and lost two in bracket play on Saturday.
In the first dual of the weekend, Lindenwood defeated McKendree B 42-1. Savanna Nobile (123 lbs.), Rachel Factora (130 lbs.), and Lisa Gonzalez (155 lbs.) all won their matches by pin. The Lady Lions followed that win with another victory over the University of the Cumberlands C squad 37-8. After falling behind early, Lindenwood finished the match with six straight wins, including pins by Angelina Fabbri (143 lbs.), Gonzalez, and Victoria Francis (170 lbs.).
In the third dual of the day, the Lady Lions stopped Life University 38-5. Lindenwood only lost the final match in the dual in the 191 pound division. Once again, Fabbri, Gonzalez, and Francis each pinned their opponents. In the final dual of the day, the Lady Lions edged the University of the Cumberlands by a score of 23-18. Lindenwood fell behind 12-1, but won six matches and tied another down the stretch. Nobile started the comeback with a 12-8 decision at 123 pounds. Factora then posted a 10-7 victory in the 130 pound class and was followed by Monica Ramirez who earned a 12-0 decision at 136 pounds. After a tie in the 143 pound division, Gonzalez (155 lbs.) won her match by a single point. Francis earned a major decision in the 170 pound class to give the Lady Lions the lead and Mikayla Mathews earned a tough 10-8 decision in the 191 pound match to seal the team victory.
In bracket competition on Saturday, Lindenwood faced McKendree University in the opening round and came away with a 24-18 win. The Lady Lions continued their trend of comebacks by rallying after facing a 9-3 deficit early. Tori Deggingerio earned a 6-0 win at 109 pounds to get Lindenwood headed in the right direction. After a defeat in the 116 pound class, the Lady Lions won five of the next six matches, capped by a Francis pin in the 170 pound match-up that put the dual out of reach.
Continuing in the winner's side of the bracket, Lindenwood faced Oklahoma City University in the next round and fell 27-20. The Stars took control of the dual early and built a 27-5 lead after the 143 pound match to eliminate any chance the Lady Lions had of another comeback.
Now in the elimination side of the bracket, Lindenwood faced the University of the Cumberlands again, but this time, came up short in a 26-21 loss. As they had done in the previous meeting on Friday, the Lady Lions found themselves in a hole early in the dual, trailing 16-2 after just four matches. Lindenwood did rally to pull to within two points after a Francis pin in the 170 pound contest, but in the deciding 191 pound match, Mathews was defeated 16-5, giving the Cumberlands the win.
With two losses, the Lady Lions had just the fifth place match remaining, and it was against another opponent they had faced earlier in McKendree. In another close dual that came down to the last match, Lindenwood edged the Bearcats 23-22. After forfeiting the 101 pound division, Deggingerio earned three points for the Lady Lions at 109 pounds, but Cindy Charles was beaten by technical fall in the 116 pound match-up. Nobile countered with a pin in the 123 pound match, but Factora was then pinned at 130 pounds. In the third match in a row decided by pin, Ramirez earned five points to pull Lindenwood to within two of McKendree. Fabbri was stopped by technical fall in the 143 pound match before Gonzalez (155 lbs.) and Francis (170 lbs.) earned back-to-back pins in their contests to give the Lady Lions a 23-19 lead. With just the 191 pound match-up remaining, Mathews had to avoid a pin or major decision to keep the dual in favor of Lindenwood. That's just what she did, keeping the match close in a 2-0 loss, which was good enough for the one point team victory.
Three wrestlers were undefeated at the event. Monica Ramirez, Lisa Gonzalez, and Victoria Francis each went 8-0 for Lindenwood.
The Lady Lions will put their 6-2 dual record on the line when they travel to St. Louis, Mo. for the Spartan Open, hosted by Missouri Baptist University on October 18. Competition begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in the Muncy Gym on the Missouri Baptist campus.
Patriot Duals Saturday Bracket
