CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Providence women's wrestling program advances to the National Duals semifinals after defeating #11 Oklahoma City University 30-18 and #5 Southern Oregon 22-21 in day one at the UNI-Dome.  

Head coach Matt Atwood on his team's performance stated, "Our wins today weren't picture perfect, but I couldn't be happier with the fight that the team brought today. Every single women in our line up didn't back down, they fought for every single point and without each and every one of them doing that we don't make the semifinals. I know not all of them are happy with their performances but they're hungry and will continue to make adjustments before the end of the year. We knew coming into this that we needed some girls to step up and we had that today."

The Argos opened the day with #1 sophomore Erin Hikiji continuing her dominant season pinning her opponent in under a minute. Despite losing the next three matches, #7 freshman Alyssa Randles and #9 senior Paige Respicio both won via pin to retake the lead for the Argos 16-13.

UP would lose the 143 match to go down by two, but #5 senior Sadie Antoque defeated Presly McCandlish 10-0 to put the Argos back ahead by two. UP would finish the dual with back-to-back pins by sophomore Kacey Lee Pua and #8 senior Lexi Tupuola to win their opening match 30-18.

In the second match of the day against #5 Southern Oregon, Hikiji put the Argos ahead 4-0 with an 11-0 TF victory. Despite losing the 109 match, #10 freshman Ani Arias defeated #18 Kaylee Annis 8-1 to put UP ahead by four. UP would not stop there with #12 sophomore Alicia Frank defeating #4 Skyla Zimmerman 14-10 to increase the Argo lead to six.

Despite losing the next four matches to go down by six, Kacey Lee Pua came away with a crucial 9-2 victory over #20 Desarae Matheny to keep the match alive. In the final bout between #8 Tupuola and #9 Shenita Lawson the Argos were down by four and needed a pin to come away with the victory. Despite trailing late in the match, Tupuola was able to pin Lawson with under thirty seconds remaining to defeat #5 Southern Oregon 22-21.

The Argos will be back in action tomorrow Jan. 6 for their semi-final match versus #1 Life University.  Wrestlers will begin at 9:30 a.m. (MDT).  
 
RESULTS vs OKC
101: #1 Erin Hikiji (UP) pinned Sofia Abramson (OKC), 0:54
109: #10 Eliana Martinez (OKC) pinned Paige Morales (UP), 4:39
116: #1 Avery Ashley (OKC) TF #11 Isabelle Asuncion (UP), 15-4
123: #2 Sophia Smith (OKC) TF #12 Alicia Frank (UP), 10-0
130: #7 Alyssa Randles (UP) pinned #19 Destiny Campbell (OKC), 5:17
136: #9 Paige Respicio (UP) pinned Morgan Mackey (OKC), 1:14
143: Marissa Jimenez (OKC) pinned #11 Kailey Rees (UP), 1:58
155: #5 Sadie Antoque (UP) TF #7 Presley McCandlish (OKC), 10-0
170: Kacey Lee Pua (UP) pinned Rayleigh Fisher (OKC), 1:32
191: #8 Lexi Tupuola (UP) pinned #17 Ryann Rumsey (OKC), 1:34
RESULTS vs SOU
101: #1 Erin Hikiji (UP) TF Liana Ferreira (SOU), 11-0
109: #4 Emma Baertlein (SOU) dec. #7 Paige Morales (UP), 9-2
116: #10 Ani Arias (UP) dec. #18 Kaylee Anis (SOU), 8-1
123: #12 Alicia Frank (UP) dec. #4 Skyla Zimmerman (SOU), 14-10
130: #2 Fernanda Lopez (SOU) dec. #7 Alyssa Randles (UP), 10-3
136: #1 Carolina Moreno (SOU) TF #9 Paige Respicio (UP), 14-2
143: #3 Bella Amaro (SOU) pinned #11 Kailey Rees (UP), 4:05
155: #1 Caitlyn Davis (SOU) dec. #5 Sadie Antoque (UP), 5-1
170: Kacey Lee Pua (UP) dec. #20 Desarae Matheny (SOU), 9-2
191: #8 Lexi Tupuola (UP) pinned #9 Shenita Lawson (SOU), 5:33