CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 10-ranked Missouri Baptist University Women's Wrestling looked extremely strong on Day One at the NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships, going 2-1 with bounce-back wins over No. 8 William Penn and No. 7 Campbellsville following a 36-10 loss to top-ranked Life University in the opening dual.
 
Defeating William Penn and Campbellsville consecutively gives MBU four ranked wins on the year and improves the Spartans to 7-3 overall in duals.
 
Action will pick back up on Saturday, where the Spartans will go head-to-head with No. 3-ranked Grand View University in the All-American Pool. With a win, MBU would slot into the fifth-place match, while a loss would place the Spartans in the seventh-place dual. No matter what, the Spartans can finish no lower than eighth place out of 16 teams after coming in as the No. 16 seed in the bracket.
 
(1) Life University def. (10) Missouri Baptist, 36-10
On paper, sophomore Alyssa Quezaire, who's No. 7 in the latest NAIA rankings, pulled off the perceived upset of No. 4-ranked Devyn Gomez with a pin in 1:16. Fellow sophomore Juliana Diaz [No. 7 @ 123 lbs.] grabbed the Spartans' other match victory against the Running Eagles at 116 pounds with a 12-2 tech fall win over sixth-ranked Ariana Martinez.
 
Freshman Chloe Herrick earned a point for MoBap in a hard-fought 10-6 decision against No. 7 Riley Dalrymple. After Herrick's 136-pound match and trailing Life by just four at 14-10, momentum went south for the Spartans, and the Running Eagles scored 22 unanswered team points to win the dual, 36-10.
 
(10) Missouri Baptist def. (8) William Penn University, 31-14
The Spartans bounced back with a vengeance and won seven of the ten weight classes in their 31-14 win over eighth-ranked William Penn. They wasted little time against the Statesmen, winning the first five matches. Alyssa Quezaire recorded her second pin of the day at 101, followed by an Alyssa King pin at 109 pounds.
 
Juliana Diaz picked up her second straight win, edging WPU's Alexis Montes 3-2. The Spartans captured another two wins after Diaz with a big-time performance from Riley White at 123 pounds. White upset 18^th-ranked Grecia Martinez in an 11-9 decision, and freshman Janiah Jones pinned No. 7-ranked Devin Patton in 0:57.
 
Other Spartans to pick up wins against No. 8 William Penn included Josette Partney [TF, 12-0] at 155 and Emma Schreiber at 191 [F, 1:13].
 
(10) Missouri Baptist def. (7) Campbellsville University, 30-16
Missouri Baptist capped off Day One of the National Duals with another win over a Top-10 opponent – this time No. 7 Campbellsville University. The Spartans once again started strong at the first three weight classes. Quezaire completed a 3-0 day with a 10-0 tech fall win over No. 15 Riley Banyas, succeeded by Alyssa King's second pin of the afternoon, and a top-five win for Juliana Diaz over No. 4 Icart Galumette at 116 pounds. The Spartan trio provided MBU with an early 13-0 advantage.
 
Janiah Jones corralled her second pin [4:21], defeating CU's Addison Messerly. The Tigers won at 123, 136, and 143 on the backs of three individuals ranked in the Top 10.
 
Holding a slight 19-16 lead, Missouri Baptist finished in decisive fashion with back-to-back ranked wins for Josette Partney over No. 4 Kendra Thompson [D, 6-1] and Anastasia Hardin over No. 15 Sierra Chavez [D, 5-2]. At 191, Emma Schreiber anchored the finish with a dominant 12-second pin of Campbellsville's Lexiana Garcia.