The fourth-ranked UW-La Crosse wrestling team came away with a decisive 35-9 victory over the visiting Pointers of UW-Stevens Point Friday night, Feb. 6, in Mitchell Hall.
The victory moved UW-L to 4-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) competition, while the pointers dropped to 3-2.
The first wrestler for UW-L was sophomore Ryan Weinmann at 125 pounds, who ended up on the losing side for UW-L, one of the few dark spots on an otherwise impressive evening. The only other defeat for UW-L was Weinmann’s brother, junior Derek Weinmann. The Weinmann family name, however, got it’s vengeance as sophomore Dustin Weinmann took the victory at 133 pounds. Dustin is currently the 10th ranked wrestler in the National Wrestling Coaching Association (NWCA).
Junior Cody See would receive a victory by way of forfeit and junior Kasey Einerson, who is ranked 4th in the NWCA at the 149 pound level, would also be victorious. Five more matches were next on the schedule, and they resulted in five more UW-L victories to close out the dual. Sophomore Tyler Schneider, ranked 7th at 165-pounds, and junior James Hoeppner would take their first two victories.
UW-L then had a pair of 5th ranked wrestlers take their next two matches, as junior Richard Carlson in the 184 pound weight class would win his bout, which preceded a victory by senior Eric Twohey in the 197 pound class. Junior Zach Tooley set out to complete the great night and was successful scoring a pin fall four minutes and 17 seconds into his match, which drew a roar of support from the UW-L fans in attendance.
UW-L traveled to UW-Eau Claire last weekend for the Don Parker Open, but the next time UW-L will be at Mitchell Hall will be Feb. 12 as they take on Augsburg College. The match will close out the regular season before the WIAC Conference Championships in Oshkosh.