FT WAYNE, Ind. — In a battle of two Mid-South Conference foes, Campbellsville University got the best of University of the Cumberlands for the third straight dual between the two, 23-21 at the NWCA National Duals.
The Lady Tigers finish Day 1 of the Duals with a perfect 2-0 record after dominating Ferrum College earlier on Thursday, 44-1. CU will now have No. 1 King University awaiting on Friday at 11 a.m. ET on Mat 9.
King received a bye and earned a 31-17 win over MSC foe Life University on Thursday night to reach the semifinal bout vs. Campbellsville.
Tonight, though, it was a battle until the very end and Campbellsville's
Hanna Hall sealed the victory in the final match at 191lbs. Hall, wrestling up a few weight classes this week, pinned Courteney Tompkins in 2:44 to give the Lady Tigers five points and complete a huge comeback.
CU got behind by 13 points early to the Patriots. Ruby Ariosa and
McKenzie Bacich were both pinned in the second period giving Cumberlands an early 10-0 lead and then
Charlotte Fowler had a tough-luck criteria loss (3-3, caution) and was defeated by Sarah Allen pushing the Patriots margin to 13-1.
But then it was the heavy hitters of Campbellsville that flat out took over.
Andribeth Rivera tech'd Kellyann Jimenez 10-0 at 123 lbs.,
Koral Sugiyama earned a 5-0 win over Ismileyna Valles at 130,
Shelby Hall won 7-2 over Kirstin Yamasaki at 136 and
Kayla Miracle capped the Lady Tiger run with a forfeit win at 143. That rally for CU was a 15-0 run giving the Lady Tigers their first lead in the dual, 16-13.
At 155 lbs., it was a battle between two rivals.
Hannah Gladden, who was an All-American last year for Campbellsville, transferred to Cumberlands this season and defeated
Michelle Organ with a 15-5 tech fall. Then All-American Jessika Rottier pulled out a close match over
Mariah Harris at 170, 5-4.
With the score in Cumberlands' favor 21-19, Campbellsville needed magic in the final match and got it from
Hanna Hall to keep its hopes alive for a NWCA Championship.
Fans can follow the tournament at the Live Track Wrestling link above and also on Twitter - @CvilleTigers and @CvilleWWwrestle
