Women’s wrestlers severely tested at Patriot Duals in Kentucky

Friday, December 6

Williamsburg, KY

Liberty University Club Sports

Patriot Duals Tournament

Liberty's wrestling team is framed by Assistant Coachs Reid Stewart (left), Charisse (Manley) McIlhenny (right), and Cendall (Manley) Murphy with her newborn son, Caspian (lower right).

Women’s wrestlers severely tested at Patriot Duals in Kentucky

12/12/2024 2:03:00 PM | Women's Wrestling

Competing with as few as four wrestlers per dual match, Liberty lost to all nine opponents it wrestled, but won a handful of individual matches.

Liberty University's women's wrestling team sent seven wrestlers to Friday's and Saturday's Patriot Duals in Williamsburg, Ky., where they were overwhelmed by a whirlwind of high-level competition.

"We won several individual matches but did not win any of our nine dual matches," Lady Flames Head Coach Charisse McIlhenny said. "It was a great challenge for us as we wrestled NAIA's No. 1-ranked team, Life (University) along with several other top-ranked teams in the nation."

The Lady Flames received a rude welcome from Campbellsville (Ky.) University's Maroon team in Friday's opener, falling by a 43-0 final after forfeiting its first four and last two matches, losing two in between by technical fall and next two by pin.

In their second match, a 32-6 setback against Siena Heights (Mich.) University, Liberty's only points came via forfeit. They also forfeited three matches, lost two by fall, one by technical fall, and one decision. Then, against Life (Ga.) University, Liberty earned just one penalty point in a 47-1 blowout loss with the Running Eagles winning six matches by forfeit and three of the four actually wrestled by technical fall, with the fourth coming on a first-period fall.

The Lady Flames scored their first match win of the competition in the final 145-pound bout of its 33-11 loss to the host University of the Cumberlands' Red team, with freshman Alana Folcik pinning Camarie Cunningham in 4:07.

After suffering a 49-0 shutout at the hands of Emmanuel (Ga.) University, in which they lost six matches by forfeit, three by first-period fall, and one by technical fall, Liberty forfeited six more bouts and dropped three by pin and one by tech fall in a 39-0 loss to Campbellsville's Black team.

Then, the Lady Flames put together their two most competitive matches back-to-back, narrowly falling to Lourdes (Ohio) University, 21-18, and Life's Black team, 24-20.

Against Lourdes, Liberty seized an 18-15 lead on consecutive forfeit wins by senior Maile Ka'ahanui at 160 and freshman Faith Kiefer at 180 before Allie Phillips lifted the Gray Wolves to a one-point win by pinning Lady Flames sophomore Amelia Marti in the 207-pound match in 1:15.

Senior Claire Wortz scored a 12-8 decision over Lourdes' Ryleigh Mercer at 138 pounds and sophomore Anna-Marie Servin pinned Phylicia Sudario in 1:35 at 145 pounds to account for Liberty's first nine points.

Against Life's Black squad, only one match was actually contested, with Christina Jaen scoring the decisive technical fall for the Running Eagles over Liberty's Servin at 145.

Servin scored all of the Lady Flames' points in a tournament-ending 43-5 loss to Tiffin (Ohio) University with her technical fall at 145 pounds over Abigail Miller.

Complete results are available online.

"Our wrestlers definitely showed improvement from our last tournament in Pennsylvania and are continuing to reach for their potential one step at a time as we progress toward the (Mid-Atlantic) Conference and (NCWA Grand) Nationals tournaments," McIlhenny said.

Liberty will open spring semester competition on Jan. 18 at the Southern Virginia University Invitational in Buena Vista, Va., before traveling to the Feb. 1 Frostburg (Md.) State University Open and hosting Mid-Atlantic Conference rival Apprentice School in a dual match on Feb. 15. The Lady Flames will then host in the MAC Tournament on March 1, with qualifiers advancing to the March 13-15 NCWA Grand Nationals near Shreveport, La.