The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Women's wrestling team competed in the NWCA National Duals this past week on January 7, 2012. The Patriots wrestling team competed against three different teams in the tournament including Lindenwood, Waldorf, and Missouri Valley College. 

The first competition the Patriot ladies faced was against Lindenwood University and unfortunately the Patriots were defeated by their opponent with a final score of 32 to 12.  The Patriots had three victories during this competition, the first win by forfeit in the 101kg weight class by Opelia Felipe (Rome, GA). The second victory was in the 116 kg weight class by Andrea Hughes (Sahuarita, AZ) who won by decision 6-2 over Alexis Rodriguez from Lindenwood.  The last Patriot victory was in the 136 kg weight class by Kerstin Harmon (Bellefontaine, OH) who also won by decision 2-1 over Rachel Shannon.

The next dual the Patriots faced Waldorf College.  UC was able to come away with a victory over Waldorf with a final score of 30-12. In both the 101 kg and 116 kg weight classes, both Opelia Felipe and Andrea Hughes earned victories by forfeit.  Sherri Berube (Corbell, MI) who is in the 123kg weight class won by decision over Dana Karkar 7-0.  Kerstin Harmon won by decision 5-2 in the 143 kg weight class over April Ritts. In the 155 kg weight class, Kayla Petit (Goodrich, MI) won by pinfall over Claire Lawson in 1:36.  Sydney Nelson (Kingsland, GA) defeated Ashlee Lentz by decision 5-0 in the 170 kg weight class.  Finally in the 197 kg weight class, Treneir Alexander (Hephzibah, GA) won by forfeit to seal the Patriot victory.

The final dual for the Patriots was versus Missouri Valley College.  UC put up a strong fight but fell to Missouri Valley 26-16.  Opelia Felipe won by decision 8-1 over Mary Catherine Correia in the 101 kg match while Andrea Hughes pinned Samantha Lovelace in 1:04 to win the 116 kg match.  Kerstin Harmon earned an 8-3 decision win over Frances Efiong in the 143 kg match while Sydney Nelson won by decision 6-0 over Brittany Jones.

Head Coach Alaina Berube said, "This was a very good tournament for us and there were several girls who competed hard and won their matches. I think this was a valuable learning experience for us and we look forward to applying the knowledge we took from these duals to other meets later in our season."

The Patriots will continue their season when they travel to California to compete in the Menlo Open on January 14, 2012.

For more information on the women's wrestling team or Patriot athletics visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.  

University of the Article Provided by Sagan King, University of the Cumberlands Multimedia & Athletic Services Graduate Student Assistant.