NMU’s women’s wrestling team fought hard but ultimately lost to Grand Valley State 27-18. Despite the defeat, the Wildcats showed significant improvement from their earlier 44-6 loss to GVSU this fall.
The match started with GVSU’s Emily Medford pinning NMU’s Samantha Chaon at 1:39, giving the Lakers an early 5-0 lead. Sophia Bassino evened things up for NMU at 160 pounds, pinning GVSU’s Johnson at 4:56.
Grand Valley regained the lead with a pin by Sabrina Nauss at 180 pounds and extended it further with a fall by Aaliya Grandberry at 207 pounds.
NMU closed the gap with a forfeit win at 110 pounds and a dominant 13-2 technical fall from Yu Sakamoto at 117 pounds, narrowing the score to 16-14. However, GVSU pulled away with back-to-back pins in the 124 and 131-pound matches.
The Wildcats finished strong with Alissa Caltagirone’s 12-1 technical fall win, but GVSU sealed the victory 27-18.
The Wildcats are now preparing for the NCWCC Northwest Regional V Qualifier on Feb. 22 at Adrian College.
