UW-Whitewater, ranked thirteenth in the NWCA Division III poll, defeated fifth ranked UW-La Crosse 24-14 Friday night in Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  UW-W improved to 3-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual matches, and La Crosse, 2-1, lost for the first time.

The match began with the 157 pound weight class, where UW-L's James Lewis came into the match ranked eighth in the D3wrestle.com ratings and UW-Whitewater's Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) was making his first appearance of the season after going 31-10 last year.  Gibson went in front 2-0 on a first period takedown, and made it 3-0 with an escape in the second.  A Lewis escape in the third made it 3-1, and Gibson scored a takedown with 0:44 left for a 5-1 lead and held on to give the Warhawks a 3-0 lead.

UW-W's Tyler Becker (Fox Lake Grant, IL/), ranked seventh by D3wrestle.com, defeated Derek Weinmann of La Crosse by a pin at 6:02 at 165 pounds, after leading by the same score as the first match, 5-2.  Becker had a 2-1 lead after period one, and added an escape from the bottom position for a 3-1 lead after two periods.  Weinmann turned the tables and escaped from the bottom position to start the third, but Becker put up two points with a takedown with 1:15 left and then ended the match with a fall to put UW-W in front 9-0.

At 174 pounds Whitewater's Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) scored an escape and a takedown in the last 1:37 of the match but fell to Kevin O'Brien of La Crosse 8-4.  O'Brien led 2-0 after one and 4-1 after two, and a near fall gave him a 7-1 lead before Aprahamian rallied late, and O'Brien added riding time, as UW- L got on the board, 9-3.

Justin Birschbach (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) of Whitewater and Richard Carlson of La Crosse went down to the wire at 184.  Neither could score a point in the first period.  Carlson's only point in the second period was an escape from the bottom position, and Birschbach tied it 1-1 with the same strategy to start the third.  With just 0:13 left, Carlson scored a decisive takedown, and even though Birschbach escaped, it was Carlson that escaped with a 3-2 win.  La Crosse pulled closer, 9-6.

Whitewater's Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel), ranked seventh by D3wrestle.com, and Tony Piechowski of UW-L scored as many points in the first period at 197 as in the entire match at 184.  Siefert led 3-2 after one, and 5-2 early in the second period, before Piechowski closed to 5-4 with a reversal.  Siefert ended the period, but not the scoring, with an escape to lead 6-4 after two periods.  Siefert opened the third with an escape from the bottom and a takedown, giving him five consecutive points in the match, but Piechowski rallied with a reversal to close within 9-6 before Siefert turned the tables with a reversal as time ran out for an 11-6 win, returning Whitewater's lead to six points, 12-6.  Siefert improved to 18-5 with the win.

The 285 match might have been a preview of something WIAC fans will see later in about a month at the conference tournament.  UW-L's William Mayer came in ranked fifth by D3wrestle.com and Whitewater's Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon) was listed in the "contenders" category of the same poll.  Mayer opened with a 2-1 lead in period one, made it 5-2 after the second, and closed out with two penalty points and riding time for an 8-3 win as the Eagles closed within three again, 12-9.

La Crosse took its first lead of the night, 14-12, with a win by technical fall by Isaac Balsiger, in the "contenders" group of the D3wrestle.com 125 ratings.  Balsiger defeated Whitewater's Joe Meylor (Darlington/Darlington) 16-1 at 5:42.  Balsiger led 7-1 after one and 12-1 after two periods.

Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville), a D3wrestle.com "contender" quickly got those points back for Whitewater with a 19-4 technical fall at 7:00 over James Bennett at 133.  Sutter reeled off nine points in the first period before Bennett scored a point, and led 9-3 after two.  Sutter's third period included two, two point near falls, a three point near fall, and a takedown, with the important fifth team point coming on riding time.  Whitewater regained the lead, 17-14.  Sutter upped his record to 14-4.

Whitewater's Jake Fredrickson lived up to his number five ranking with a 9-2 win over Mitchell Lexvold at 141.  Fredrickson led 2-0 after period one an d 5-0 after the second.  He controlled the third as well, with Lexvold earning both of his points on escapes.  Fredrickson, now 22-5, increased the Whitewater lead to 20-14.

Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall)'s 15-3 major decision over Dylan Schaffer at 149 pounds sewed up the match for UW-W.  After holding a slim 3-2 lead in period one, Perkin escaped from the bottom, and added a takedown and nearfall for an 8-3 lead after two.  Consecutive three point nearfalls, and riding time, ended the scoring.  Perkin, now 23-8 and in the "contender" list at D3wrestle.com, gave UW-W the 24-14 win.

matches in order of competition
157   Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North), WW, defeated James Lewis, LC, 5-2
165   Tyler Becker (Fox Lake Grant, IL/), WW, pinned Derek Weinmann, LC, 6:02
174   Kevin O'Brien, LC, defeated Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago), WW, 8-4
184   Richard Carlson, LC, defeated Justin Birschbach (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac), WW, 3-2
197   Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel), WW, defeated Tony Piechowski, LC, 11-6
285   William Mayer, LC, defeated Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon), WW, 8-3
125   Isaac Balsiger, LC, tech fall over Joe Meylor (Darlington/Darlington), WW, 16-1 in 5:42
133   Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville), WW, tech fall over James Bennett, LC, 19-4 in 7:00
141   Jake Fredrickson, WW, defeated Mitchell Lexvold, LC, 9-2
149   Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall), WW, won by major decision over Dylan Schaffer, LC, 15-3

UW-Whitewater will finally get to wrestle on the home mats of Williams Center next week, hosting UW-Eau Claire Friday, January 24 at 7:00, and then the annual Border Brawls Saturday beginning at 10:30 Saturday.