Women's Wrestling Picks Up Program's First Top 10 Victory

Women's Wrestling hosted No. 6 William Penn on Friday evening in Crete. The Tigers avenged their earlier 10-point loss this month to the Statesmen with an overwhelming 48-0 victory. The victory was the first over a Top 10 team in program history.

The first two matches took less than a minute to finish. NAIA No. 4 Karina Vang pinned Olivia Atkins in 44 seconds at 103. Jaden Breeden, ranked No. 20 at 110, pinned Rachel Cotter in 45 seconds. Julia Breeden followed with a pin at 117, taking down Kylie Bustos in 1:35.

The 124 match-up pitted No. 1 Cristelle Rodriguez against No. 3 Joanna Vanderwood. Rodriguez was up 9-0 before landing her final takedown to end the match as she was able to pin Vanderwood's shoulders to the mat. Ashlee Palimo'o, ranked No. 17 at 131, defeated Grecia Martinez by pin in 4:57. Bridgette Sotomayor won at 138 by forfeit.

In the 145 match, No. 4 Aevri Ciha defeated No. 20 Naida Abdijanovic by tech fall, 10-0. Aspen Barber, ranked 10th, defeated Kylie Eastwood by tech fall, 11-0, at 160. In the 180 match, No. 18 Hailey Romero defeated No. 17 Grace Gray by pin in 1:48. Lilianna Martinez won by forfeit at 207.

Next up for the Tigers will be the Warrior Open on February 8 in Fremont.