Women's Wrestling NAIA National Championships Preview

Doane Women's Wrestling will compete in their first NAIA Championship event on Friday and Saturday in Jamestown, North Dakota. The Tigers qualified four wrestlers in their inaugural season of competition.

Representing the Tigers will be four freshmen. Karina Vang (Fresno, Calif.) will compete in the 101 division, Cristelle Rodriguez (Clovis, Calif.) will enter the 130 division, Aevri Ciha (Cambridge, Wis.) will take the mat at 143, and Lamia Benn (Compton, Calif.) represents the Tigers in the 170 division.

Vang received a first round bye only to draw the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket, Ira Navarro of Providence (Mont.). Vang enters with a 14-6 overall record with Navarro sitting at 14-2. Navarro has finished as the runner-up in the division the last two years. Three NAIA All-Americans return in the bracket.

Rodriguez comes in with a 23-1 overall record and is the No. 4 seed in her bracket, drawing Joanna Vanderwood of Iowa Wesleyan in her opening match. Vanderwood was ranked 10th in the final NAIA individual ratings this season and she is 28-9 overall. A win would pit Rodriguez against Bryce White of Oklahoma City, who received a bye. White is ranked 15th in the weight class. There are four returning All-Americans in the division.

Ciha is the No. 8 seed in her bracket and received a first round bye. She is 18-7 on the year and will take on the winner of Morgan Shines of Eastern Oregon and Brelane Huber of Campbellsville (Tenn.). Shines is the No. 9 seed, a returning All-American, and is 28-8 this season while Huber is 7-3. Ciha holds a head-to-head victory over Shines from the Grand View Open in February. There are four returning All-Americans in the bracket.

Benn will take on No. 7 seed Katelyn Lewis of Brewton-Parker (Ga.). She enters with a 12-11 record while Lewis comes in with a 29-6 record. The winner of the match will take on No. 10 seed Bo Geibe of Siena Heights (Mich.) who received a bye and is 38-12 this year. There are three returning All-Americans in the bracket this weekend.

By the end of Friday's action, there will be eight wrestlers per bracket remaining. Action begins each day at 10 AM. The championship matches will be at 7 PM on Saturday.