CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The third-ranked King University women's wrestling team started the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals with a pair of wins on Friday, reaching the semifinals for the fifth straight duals. The Tornado topped Aurora 36-8 before defeating sixth-ranked Sacred Heart University 32-12.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #3 King 36, Aurora 8; #3 King 32, #6 Sacred Heart 12
LOCATION: UNI Dome; Cedar Falls, Iowa
RECORDS: King 6-0; Aurora 5-1; Sacred Heart 9-3
HOW IT HAPPENED – AURORA (first round)
- The Tornado won the first eight matches of the dual, including five pins.
- Avery Kibelbek got the Tornado off to a hot start, taking an 8-0 win over Genesis Ramirez at 101 pounds.
- Third-ranked Danielle Garcia pinned Camila Neuman in 20 seconds at 109 pounds before fifth-ranked Melanie Mendoza pinned Sharon Moreno in 1:07.
- At 123 pounds, third-ranked Montana DeLawder pinned Bethan Ragione in 1:54 to give King an 18-0 lead.
- Third-ranked Victoria Baez-Dilone then took an 8-0 decision over second-ranked Alexis Janiak at 130 pounds before Anna DiCugno pinned Natasha Markoutsis at 136 pounds in 36 seconds.
- At 143 pounds, fourth-ranked Claire DiCugno took a 10-0 technical fall over OlgaTuriy.
- A Yasmine Kalilliy Oliveira pin 3:54 pin over Antonia Phillips at 155 pounds gave King a 35-0 lead.
- The Spartans then won the next match by forfeit and the following match on criteria, but the Tornado took the 36-8 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED – #6 SACRED HEART (quarterfinal)
- In the first of four ranked matchups in the dual, sixth-ranked Mia Zuniga trailed 10th-ranked Aaliyah Payne-Parris 4-0 at 101 pounds.
- However, Zuniga came back to take the 14-4 technical fall victory and give King a 4-1 lead.
- At 109 pounds, Alyssa Guardiola earned a 4-3 win over Ahsia Torres before Mendoza took a 10-0 technical fall win over Nohea Moniz at 116 pounds.
- At 123 pounds, third-ranked DeLawder pinned sixth-ranked Alexandra Fitzgerald in 3:34 to give King a 16-2 lead.
- Anna DiCugno followed with a 1:02 pin over Bayley Trang at 130 pounds before Baez-Dilone earned a 10-0 technical fall win over Aliza Leander at 136 pounds.
- At 143 pounds, fourth-ranked Claire DiCugno took a 10-0 technical fall win over 10th-ranked Khadijah Sanusi to give King a 29-2 lead.
- Following a Pioneer pin and win by forfeit, sixth-ranked Alexa Garcia gave King the 32-12 win as she defeated fifth-ranked Madeline Hodges 5-0 at 191 pounds.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will take on second seed University of Iowa in a semifinal on Saturday morning at 11:30 (ET).
- King will then face either top seed North Central College or #4 McKendree University at 2:30 p.m. (ET) in either the championship or third place match.
