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Iowa women's wrestling caps undefeated season with 4-0 Saturday

by:Tanner Lafever•about 23 hours•

TannerLafever

Iowa women's wrestling
Another dominant team effort by the Hawkeyes capped a perfect regular season for Iowa women's wrestling. (Photo Credit: Isabella Tisdale/Daily Iowan)

For a sport in which ‘perfection’ never truly exists, the Iowa women’s wrestling program continues to give it its best shot.

The latest such effort came Saturday in Albany, New York at the Journeymen College Duals.

There, the top-ranked Hawkeyes closed out an unbeaten dual season with decisive wins over four ranked opponents. And with its 19-0 record in 2024-25, Iowa is now a staggering 35-0 in the two-year history of the program.

As has become customary under head Coach Clarissa Chun, her team was dominant from start-to-finish.

  • #1 Iowa – 39, #12 Lock Haven – 6
  • #1 Iowa – 38, #15 Sacred Heart – 6
  • #1 Iowa – 38, #19 Elmira – 10
  • #1 Iowa – 27, #6 Presbyterian – 15

Officially, Iowa went 33-7 on the day. Remove several forfeits, however (including Iowa not having a 160-pound option this weekend), and the Hawkeyes were an even more impressive 28-3 in contested bouts.

Of those 28 victories, a whopping 23 of them (82.1 percent) came via either tech. fall or pin. It’s that type of ruthless efficiency that had Iowa an entire dual ahead of schedule midway through Saturday’s proceedings.

I’ll list the entire match-by-match results at the end of this recap. But before then, there are a few notable bouts/storylines I want to dive into.

Welcome back

As is always the case with this grueling sport, getting/staying on the mat is an accomplishment in itself.

And in that regard, both Rianne Murphy and Ella Schmit can be proud of their Saturday in Albany.

Neither Murphy (December 15) nor Schmit (November 23) had competed in a long while before Journeymen. And though their performance(s) upon return differed slightly, Iowa women’s wrestling fans were actually the biggest winners – just by getting to watch them compete again.

Still ranked #1 nationally at 103 pounds, Murphy split duties with #3 Sterling Dias yesterday. And while she was likely thrilled to be back on the mat, the freshman apparently wasn’t all that eager to savor the moment.

A combined 0:55 of wrestling was all that was in store for the Indiana native. That’s as long as it took for her to pin foes from Sacred Heart and Elmira.

With the wins, Murphy is now 22-2 in her college career and remains undefeated against NCAA competition. To date, only one of her wins has gone the full seven-minute match.

Pretty good.

Meanwhile, Schmit had more of an up-and-down return at 145 pounds.

The Bettendorf (IA) native cruised through her first two bouts – a 1:19 pin and an 11-0 tech. fall. – before dropping two others to close the day.

While disappointing for the returning All-American, the latter pair isn’t entirely surprising based on both Schmit’s lengthy absence and the level of competition.

An early headlock proved fatal (in the wrestling sense) against Elmira’s #7 Zoey Lints (fifth at NCWWC’s last March). And in her final match of the day, a tight leg lace did Schmit in during a 12-1 tech. fall against another formidable opponent – #10 Paige Wehrmeister (Presbyterian) – who was third at NCWWC’s in 2023 before missing last postseason due to injury.

Matchups (and mostly wins) of note

If you haven’t been paying attention to recent results, sophomore Cali Leng is on an absolute roll right now.

First at National Duals, then last weekend, and now again on Saturday – Leng has defeated top-seven-ranked opponents at 124 pounds.

Her latest big-time win came against #5 Alyssa Mahan (Presbyterian).

Tied at two-apiece, Leng ran away with a 12-2 tech. fall victory – kicked off by a go-behind takedown just milliseconds before intermission.

Combined with an earlier 4-3 decision over returning All-American Alexandra Fitzgerald (Sacred Heart), you’d be hard-pressed to not see Leng (currently ranked seventh) appear in the top five when the next NWCA Coaches’ Poll is released.

Another under-the-radar ‘unranked’ win came from #10 Emily Frost at 131 pounds.

Competing for the first time collegiately back in her home state of New York, Frost trailed late against 2023 Lock Haven All-American Lily Sherer. But in the spirit of her name, the sophomore was ‘cold as ice’ in hitting the winning throw-by with 17 seconds to go.

Another Hawkeye sophomore who excelled on Saturday was ‘backup’ heavyweight Alivia White.

(I highlight the word ‘backup’ because she’s still ranked sixth in the country at 207 pounds lol.)

White bested two talented freshmen – #3 Alyssa Favara (Lock Haven) and Maria Aiono (Presbyterian) – in divergent, yet equally compelling fashion.

Against Favara, the Hawkeye won two early upper body exchanges before sealing the 10-0 tech. fall with a four-point chest wrap on the edge. The story was quite different against Aiono as White trailed by as many as four in the second period.

Ultimately, she’d counter a reattack for the decisive feet-to-back takedown with just 0:37 remaining.

Iowa’s third (and final) contested loss of the day came when #6 Cadence Diduch lost a 4-1 decision to fellow freshman #5 Carina Giangeruso of Presbyterian.

Gonzalez and Simon keep streaks alive

Look, I don’t need to tell you guys that Brianna Gonzalez is really freaking good at wrestling.

Her past accolades and career record do that just fine on their own:

  • 2024 NCWCC runner up (to teammate Felicity Taylor)
  • 2024 USA Under-20 World Team representative at 53 kilograms
  • 74-4 career record at Iowa
  • 57 wins by tech. fall or pin

See, what did I tell you?

Having said all that, I still wanted to highlight just how impressive it is what the redshirt sophomore is doing right now.

After Saturday – during which she outscored four opponents 37-0 – Gonzalez is now 31-0 this season.

In only five matches has she allowed a point against her. Conversely, she has 23 bonus-point victories.

Simply put, she’s the epitome of all that Iowa women’s wrestling (and Iowa wrestling as a whole) strives to be.

And shoot, since stepping onto campus a few months ago it seems like Naomi Simon is hellbent on joining her. At least that’s the vibe I’ve gotten while observing her incredible true freshman season thus far.

The Decorah native – currently ranked sixth at 180 pounds – seems to love two things when it comes to wrestling: winning and winning quickly.

After a 4/4 Saturday, Simon (28-2) has now earned bonus points in every one of her wins this season.

That figure includes a team-best 17 falls, the latest of which punctuated a major victory.

Back in April at the Last Chance Olympic Trials qualifier, Simon lost a 10-8 semifinal match to Madison Sandquist – who’d shortly thereafter punch her ticket to State College (PA).

Almost 300 days later, a lot has changed.

Simon pummeled Sandquist – a three-time All-American for Sacred Heart – on Saturday, building a 10-0 lead before securing the first-period fall.

Yikes.

Short time

With that, I’m about ready to call it a wrap on this latest Iowa women’s wrestling recap.

But first, there is one final note I’d like to make from this weekend.

Saturday was a super busy day on the mat for both Hawkeye programs. Because of the schedule (which I detailed in my weekend preview), things were always going to overlap.

Even knowing it was coming; I never really formulated a firm plan as to how I would adjust my coverage to handle it all.

When the moment finally arrived, I kind of panicked and decided (unannounced) to focus solely on the Iowa/Ohio State men’s dual, then upon its conclusion return to the Iowa women to watch/recap their final dual of the day against #6 Presbyterian.

Needless to say, I could’ve/should’ve been more forward-thinking with my strategy.

Frankly, I’m not sure I’m good enough at this job (yet) to divide my attention between events for both programs simultaneously and still provide the standard of coverage I feel each deserves.

So yeah, I just wanted to let any Iowa fans who may’ve been wondering about the abrupt switch in coverage yesterday know what went into it all on my end.

In the future, I’ll be better (and clearer) with how I handle things.

And perhaps someday I’ll do this job with the same excellence that the Hawkeye women continue to showcase every time they take the mat.

(Just don’t hold your breath on that last part.)

Alright, now I really am finished.

Thank you guys as always for reading/following along, and be sure to tune back in next weekend.

Iowa women’s wrestling concludes its regular season schedule next Saturday, sending a contingent of wrestlers to the Grand View Open.

‘Till then!

#1 Iowa – 39, #12 Lock Haven – 6

103 – #3 Sterling Dias (IA) over Summer Batts (LH), Fall 0:56

110 – #2 Ava Bayless (IA) win via forfeit

117 – #1 Brianna Gonzalez (IA) over Jayleah Pletz (LH), TF 11-0

124 – #7 Cali Leng (IA) over Bella Devita (LH), TF 10-0

131 – #10 Emily Frost (IA) over Lily Sherer (LH), Dec. 4-2

138 – #6 Cadence Diduch (IA) win via forfeit

145 – Ella Schmit (IA) over Paige Jackson (LH), Fall 1:49

160 – Lock Haven wins via forfeit

180 – #6 Naomi Simon (IA) over Lindsay Laws (LH), TF 10-0

207 – #6 Alivia White (IA) over #3 Alyssa Favara (LH), TF 10-0

#1 Iowa – 38, #15 Sacred Heart – 6

103 – #1 Rianne Murphy (IA) over Ahsia Torres (SH), Fall 0:35

110 – #5 Emilie Gonzalez (IA) over Aaliyah Payne-Parris (SH), TF 10-0

117 – #1 Brianna Gonzalez (IA) over Tati Walker (SH), TF 10-0

124 – #7 Cali Leng over Alexandra Fitzgerald (SH), Dec. 4-3

131 – Emmily Patneaud (IA) over Cailan Drake (SH), TF 10-0

138 – #6 Cadence Diduch (IA) over Elleahna Anderson (SH), TF 10-0

145 – Ella Schmit (IA) over Tayla Tildsley (SH), TF 11-0

160 – Sacred Heart wins via forfeit

180 – #6 Naomi Simon (IA) over #5 Madison Sandquist (SH), Fall 1:11

207 – #6 Alivia White (IA) over Madeline Hodges (SH), Fall 0:38

#1 Iowa – 38, #19 Elmira – 10

103 – #1 Rianne Murphy (IA) over Taylor Green (E), Fall 0:20

110 – #5 Emilie Gonzalez (IA) wins via forfeit

117 – #1 Brianna Gonzalez (IA) over Yenyia Terry (E), TF 10-0

124 – #7 Cali Leng (IA) wins via forfeit

131 – Emmily Patneaud (IA) over Hailey Berry (E), Fall 0:35

138 – #6 Cadence Diduch (IA) over Gabby Bradigan (E), TF 10-0

145 – #7 Zoey Lints (E) over Ella Schmit (IA), Fall 0:14

160 – Elmira wins via forfeit

180 – #6 Naomi Simon (IA) over Hazal Dahlquist (E), Fall 0:54

207 – #6 Alivia White (IA) wins via forfeit

#1 Iowa – 27, #6 Presbyterian – 15

103 – #3 Sterling Dias (IA) over Chiara Barbieri (P), Dec. 5-0

110 – #2 Ava Bayless (IA) over Grace York (P), TF 10-0

117 – #1 Brianna Gonzalez (IA) over Chloe Dearwester (P), Dec. 6-0

124 – #7 Cali Leng (IA) over #5 Alyssa Mahan (P), TF 12-2

131 – #10 Emily Frost (IA) over Kassey Daugherty (P), TF 10-0

138 – #5 Carina Giangeruso (P) over #6 Cadence Diduch (IA), Dec. 4-1

145 – #10 Paige Wehrmeister (P) over Ella Schmit (IA), TF 12-1

160 – Presbyterian wins via forfeit

180 – #6 Naomi Simon (IA) over Henlee Haynes (P), TF 11-1

207 – #6 Alivia White (IA) over Maria Aiono (P), Dec. 8-6

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