ROSEVILLE, CA – Menlo Women's Wrestling made the drive up to the Roebbelen Center in Roseville, California to compete in the West Coast Tournament of Champions Duals - day one of the two day freestyle showcase featuring all levels of women's and girls wrestling. The Oaks managed to land 9 pins across duals against Snow College and Umpqua College and went undefeated with a 52-0 victory over the Snow Badgers and a redemption win over the River Hawks by a score of 50-6. It is a quick turnaround as day two of the West Coast Tournament of Champions Open is just a sleep away!
Zepeda Makes Valiant Return Back to the Mat
The first dual of the day was against Snow College out of Ephraim, Utah. The Oaks did not lose a single match to the Badgers and totaled 4 pins. Micaela Correa (109) and Jaquelin Negrete-Morales (116) set the tone early with back-to-back pins to go up 15-0. Of the many wins in the morning, one that was more special was senior Cindy Zepeda's (143). Zepeda made her return after a long rehabilitation from a knee injury that did not allow her to compete in the 2022-23 season. Today, Cindy looked stronger than ever with an 11-0 tech fall over Abigail Trayhorn (Snow) showing technical finesse to land each of her takedowns. The dual was rounded out by Nikita Dhaliwal (170) and Neila Fritts (191) who each earned pins within a minute and a half. It was an impressive showing from each Menlo wrestler today which makes an immediate impact at a showcase like the West Coast Tournament of Champions which invites wrestlers of all ages to try out the sport of freestyle wrestling.
Menlo Earns Redemption Over River Hawks
After taking a hard loss last weekend against Umpqua by just a single technicality point, Menlo was ready to get their revenge. The Oaks took an early lead after a forfeit and two pins over the Red Hawks in the first three matches. Samantha Barragan (136) went 2-0 on the day with a tech fall against Snow and then a pin in the second period against Umpqua. At 143, freshman Alana Ontiveros made her Menlo debut and totaled a 13-2 tech fall over Tarnpreet Saroya. Two more tech falls from Alexandra Lopez (155) and Neila Fritts (191) as well as a pin from Nikita (170) would earn the Oaks a 50-6 victory! The day also featured many exhibition matches against both foes that allowed more wrestlers to get warm before hitting the mats tomorrow.
Up Next….
Women's Wrestling will begin the West Coast Tournament of Champions Open at 10am on Saturday, December 16th as part of the two-day weekend showcase! The Oaks took home the Championship title last season… Can they full off the repeat? Follow along using the link at Menloathletics.com.