Gatlinburg, TN – The 12th-ranked Patriots traveled to Tennessee for the Rocky Top Duals on Saturday, where they went 2-1 on the day, picking up dominant wins over a pair of receiving-votes opponents before falling to #2-ranked Life University. Cumberlands notched 19 total bout victories across the three duals, including nine by fall and three by technical fall.
 
#12 Cumberlands Rolls Past (RV) Brewton-Parker, 48-3
The Patriots opened the Rocky Top Duals with a dominant 48-3 win over (RV) Brewton-Parker, winning nine of ten matches — including five by fall and two technical falls.
#5 Matteo Vargo set the tone early with a first-period pin at 1:17 over Timothy Mclean in the 125-bout, followed by a fall from #17 Riley Bettich at 1:54 against Cory Moten to make it 12-0. At 141, #15 Eli Peyton secured a 19-7 major decision over David Little.
Following the only loss of the match, Marc Le Gaspe continued the scoring with a 20-4 tech fall in 6:12 over Caden Whittaker, and #19 Rider Trumble added six more with a pin at 1:44 over David Washington, extending the lead to 27-3.
#8 Weston Melvin notched a 12-0 major decision against Gailan Wilds, and Uriah Virzi followed with a pin at 1:20 over Thomas Crawford. Caden Brewer earned UC's second tech fall of the dual at 3:13 in the 197 bout against Brandon Lively. Closing things out, Jovon Howe earned a pin in 19 seconds over Levi Shaw to seal the 48-3 team victory.

#12 Cumberlands Handles (RV) Cornerstone, 36-11
In their second dual of the Rocky Top Duals, the Patriots earned a 36-11 victory over (RV) Cornerstone, winning eight of ten matches.
At 125, Vargo opened with an 8-0 major decision over Jeff Bailey to give UC a 4-0 lead. Bettich followed with another major at 133, defeating Aurelio Mendez 8-0 to double the advantage. Peyton picked up six more at 141 with a fall at 1:44 over Isaac Kuhn. After a Cornerstone tech fall at 149, UC regained control as Le Gaspe earned a 9-5 decision at 157 over Bode Wilson, and Trumble notched a fall in just 35 seconds over Jaden Vanderwall at 165.
Melvin kept the momentum rolling at 174, dominating Joseph Lashuay with a 14-3 major decision. Brewer notched a fall at 1:49 over Jackson Turner in the 197-bout. Howe closed out the dual with a 2-1 decision over Teveion Etchen at heavyweight to seal the 36-11 team win.

#12 Cumberlands Drops Dual to #2 Life University, 34-9
In their final dual of the day, the Patriots faced a tough test against #2 Life University, falling 34-9, picking up two match wins.
At 133, Bettich earned six team points for UC with a forfeit victory to give the Patriots a 6-3 lead early. After a fall at 141, Ben Tarrago stepped in at 149 and delivered a strong 11-5 decision win over Dominic Ruiz (Life), putting the Patriots back on the board.
The remaining matches went Life's way, despite competitive efforts from several Patriots. Vargo dropped a 9-5 decision to Mikey Doerr at 125, and Le Gaspe fell in a 9-1 major decision at 157. Life extended its lead with a tech fall at 165 and a string of bonus-point victories through the upper weights, including major decisions at 184 and 197 and a tech fall at heavyweight to close out the dual 34-9.

Cumberlands will be back in action Friday, December 19^th for the Battle for the Bluegrass, held at The Corbin Arena. Matches are set to begin at 9 a.m.

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