Cedar Falls, IA – The Patriots opened the 2024 portion of their season at the NWCA National Duals inside the Uni-Dome. On Day One, UC went 2-1 in order to advance to Day Two of the Duals. On the day, the Pats had five wrestlers go undefeated: #5 Maquoia Bernabe, #13 Gracie Elliott, #16 Presley Anderson, #13 Naomi Duenas, and Jaine Stephens.

#12 CUMBERLANDS DOMINATES #8 WILLIAM PENN, 29-15
UC marked three tech falls, two decisions, and two falls in a 29-15 victory over the William Penn Statesmen. In the 101-bout, #3 Elizabeth Dosado collected a tech fall with a four-point takedown followed by back-to-back two-point takedowns. #13 Elliott followed with a tech fall to raise the team score to 8-0, favoring UC. #16 Anderson took down #9 Catherine Steinkamp in a 5-2 decision. Andersen gathered an early lead with one point at the end of the first period. In the second period, she was able to pull away with a four-point takedown for a 5-2 decision victory.

In the 123-bout, #14 Kaitlin Castro collected a fall in 1:07 over #18 Grecia Martinez, making the team score 16-1 in favor of the Patriots. The Statesmen marked two consecutive tech falls to edge in on the Pats with a 16-9 team score. Micah Fisher shifted the momentum with a 10-4 decision over #14 Isabella Hawley in the 143-bout. Fisher had consecutive two-point takedowns to take an early stance in the first period, but Hawley closed the first period with a four-point takedown. Fisher sprung to action with a four-point takedown in the second period combined with a two-point takedown to secure the 10-4 decision victory.

Ariana Pereira contributed to UC's success with a fall (2:58) in the 143-bout, making the team score 25-10 in favor of UC. The Statesmen saw the last of their points come from a forfeit in the 170-bout, but #13 Duenas closed the dual with a tech fall to finalize the team score at 29-15, favoring the Patriots.  

#12 CUMBERLANDS BATTLES #1 LIFE, 16-29
The Pats tallied one tech fall and a fall in a hard-fought battle against the #1 Eagles. In the 101-bout, Angelina Casteneda went up against #4 Devyn Gomez. Casteneda had a two-point takedown in the first period, leaving things tied at 2-2 going into the second period. She was aggressive early with a pair of two-point takedowns and closed the second period with one-point but fell just short in a 7-9 decision.

The Eagles raised the team score to 1-7 after a tech fall in the 109-bout. #16 Anderson battled against #6 Ariana Martinez and collected a tech fall (17-6). Anderson opened the first period with a four-point takedown, but Martinez quickly collected six points. Anderson recaptured the lead with a two-point takedown, followed by a four-point takedown to end the first period (10-6). In the second period, she took care of business with a four-point takedown paired with a two-point takedown, closed out with one point.

The Eagles won three consecutive bouts with tech falls to make the team score 5-20, in favor of the Eagles. In the 143-bout, Micah Fisher was down 5-7 in the second period until she battled back to record a fall at 3:25 over #1 Jamilah McBryde. The Eagles collected a fall and a tech fall over the Patriots, while UC tallied the final points of the dual with a forfeit in the 191-bout, finalizing the team score at 16-29, favoring the Eagles.

#12 CUMBERLANDS SHUTS DOWN (RV) MISSOURI VALLEY, 34-13
In their final match of the day, the Patriots collected five falls and two tech falls. Casteneda sparked the match with a fall in 4:26 over #19 Sage Beltran followed by #13 Elliott with a fall in 5:57 against #12 Hailey Holland, making the team score 10-0 in favor of UC. In the 116-bout, #16 Anderson marked a tech fall over #15 Laura Lincoln. Anderson notched two consecutive four-point takedowns early in the first period and secured the victory with a two-point takedown.

Stephens continued UC's success with a fall in 0:27 against Mystyque Anderson. Amy Allgaier followed with a pin of her own over Chase Kei in 1:27, raising the team score to 24-0 in favor of UC. The Vikings picked up momentum with a decision and fall of their own, making the team score 25-8 in favor of UC. Pereira dominated her opponent with a tech fall, recording five different two-point takedowns while collecting one additional point.

The Vikings collected the last of their team points with a fall in the 170-bout, making the team score 29-13, favoring the Pats. Bernabe closed out the day for the Patriots with a fall over her opponent in 0:47, finalizing the team score at 34-13 in favor of UC.

UC will return to the mats tomorrow, Saturday, January 6^th for Day Two of the NWCA National Duals. UC is set to face #5 Southern Oregon University at 10:30 a.m. CST.

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