CLINTON, S.C. – The two most prominent programs in the Southeast Region will collide in a marquee dual tomorrow evening at Templeton Gymnasium, as the sixth-ranked Presbyterian College women's wrestling team squares off with #3 King.
ESPN+ will have live coverage of the event – perhaps PC's biggest ever home match – at 6:00 PM. The dual will feature a combined 17 wrestlers who are nationally-ranked and two schools who have their eyes set on championship glory come March.
The Blue Hose seem well-equipped to handle one of the country's most consistent obstacles and a visitor who has already won a whopping 11 duals at this stage of the season.
Since the campaign began back in November, Presbyterian has assembled 12 gold finishes in tournament play and a 2-0 record in standard duals (defeating Campbellsville and, most recently, Mount Olive last week).
GAMEDAY INFO – TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10
#6 Presbyterian vs. #3 King | 6:00 PM
WHERE: Templeton Gymnasium (Clinton, S.C.)
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE RESULTS: Track Wrestling
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
- PC's most storied rival for Southeast Region supremacy, King will enter Templeton for the first time with a tidal wave of momentum behind them. Since eating a nine-point decision to #2 North Central exactly one month ago, the Tornado has devoured its last eight opponent in dual competition.
- King was originally scheduled to visit Presby on November 24, although a team-wide illness postponed that top-ten battle for an extra 16 days.
- Since healing up, King has rampaged their way through an eight-match winning streak, all occurring within a five-day period.
- They've achieved an average margin of victory of 26 points during this stretch, with interim head coach Gracie Figueroa leading the charge.
- Tomorrow's joust won't be the first time that PC and King have locked horns in a dual setting. It also happened in Bristol last January, a 28-20 result that favored the Tornado after falling behind by an early 9-1 deficit.
LAST TIME OUT
- Their first action in two weeks due to the King delay, the Blue Hose shook off the rust six days ago in a 35-12 victory against Mount Olive at home. While the pins didn't register until late in the match, PC still built a stout advantage thanks to six straight wins in the early going.
- Head coach
Brian Vutianitis and co. bested the Trojans behind three technical falls and a pair of match-ending pins from
Lexi Fornshell and
Ella Beam, with both of them lasting less than 90 seconds.
- After dropping the first bout of the night via fall, the Blue Hose rocketed to a 25-2 scoring spree that blew the contest wide open.
-
Chloe Dearwester (110),
Alyssa Mahan (124), and
Carina Giangeruso (138) all grabbed a TF in the one-sided win, adding up for a 42-2 point differential specifically in their matches.
FLAWLESS START
- Presbyterian has certainly looked the part of a national championship contender when judging their tournament performances, lining up 12 gold medals and eight other silver trinkets to their already-large collection.
- Over the course of just two tourneys, nine different PC grapplers have taken home a first-place prize. The Scotsmen hosted an invitational last month where they promptly won a program-record eight titles and 56 individual wins.
- Powered by their highest-ever preseason ranking of number five and now spotted at six, Coach V's club has now piled up 113 personal wins in only four days of competition.
- The combo of Dearwester, Giangeruso,
Cassia Zammit,
May Cuyler, and
Maria Aiono have combined for a record of 44-2 and 21 pins between them.
RANKINGS UPDATE
- As of this week, there are six PC performers who are included inside the nationwide top ten for their respective weight class. Those rankings are listed below:
Alyssa Mahan | 6th in Class 124 | 7-1 Record | 2 Pins, 4 Tech's
Cassia Zammit | 4th in Class 131 | 10-0 Record | 5 Pins, 2 Tech's
Paige Wehrmeister | 4th in Class 138 | 7-2 Record | 1 Pin, 5 Tech's
May Cuyler | 7th in Class 160 | 8-0 Record | 6 Pins, 2 Tech's
Ella Beam | 9th in Class 207 | 5-3 Record | 2 Pins, 3 Tech's
Maria Aiono | 10th in Class 207 | 8-1 Record | 4 Pins, 4 Tech's
