EAST STROUDSBURG, PA. (November 3, 2024) – The WNE women's wrestling team took part in their first tournament of the 2024-2025 season. They wrestled in the East Stroudsburg University Open. WNE saw two wrestlers place in the top six, with both placing for the first time in their collegiate careers.
How it Happened:
First-year Hailey Laabs competed in Laabs' first career collegiate matches. Laabs picked up a first-career collegiate win by VFA against Leilani Martinez from Cedar Crest College while earning a 2-2 record in the 110 lb. weight class on Sunday. Sophomores Ariel Casella and Linda Holeman picked up their first wins of the season wrestling in the 124 lb. weight class. Casella finished the day with a 3-2 record, with a 4-0 win by VFA in the championship bracket and two wins by VFA in the consolation bracket. Holeman finished with a record of 1-2 during the ESU Open, with a win by VFA 10-0 in the consolation bracket.
Evangeline Moran competed in Moran's first career collegiate matches on Sunday. Moran picked up a 2-2 record on the day in the 131 lb. weight class, including Moran's first collegiate victory. Moran picked up the 4-3 VPO1 victory against Maddy Keeler from GPS Wrestling Club. Atiyana Williams wrestled in Williams' first-career collegiate match today, too. Williams lost the first match but then won five matches in a row at the 160 lb. weight class in the consolation bracket. Williams picked up a first-career win with a 6-0 VFA victory over Kelly Gelb, who wrestled unattached. Williams' 5-2 record was enough for Williams to place 6th in the ESU Open.
Shalom Feliz López wrestled in the 180 lb. weight class and finished 3-2 in Feliz López's first career collegiate Open. Feliz López picked up three victories in the consolation bracket, with Feliz López's first career collegiate win being an 11-0 VSU victory against Citlaly Condado from New Jersey City University. Samantha Rabkin wrestled in Rabkin's first-career collegiate matches on Sunday and would place 5th overall in the 207 lb. weight class. Rabkin dropped the first match but won all four consolation bracket matches to place fifth. Rabkin won Rabkin's first career match by VFA 8-0 and then won the fifth-place match over top-ranked Kenisha Jacsaint from King University by VIN.
Coach's Corner:
Head coach Tyler Keane was asked for a comment on how Keane felt about the performance from the women's wrestling team today. "I'm really proud of how our team competed today. The ESU Open is a challenging tournament, and our athletes stepped up with impressive effort and determination. This was a valuable experience for us, and we're grateful for the opportunity to test ourselves against such tough competition. We're eager to get back to work in the practice room and are already looking forward to our next event on Saturday, November 9th," Keane stated.
Samantha Rabkin, who finished 5th overall in the 207 lb. weight class, was asked what Samantha attributes the success to after going 4-1 in the tournament. "The most important thing to me during a tournament, especially when having to wrestle back from a loss, is taking it one match at a time. There is no use in stressing about the future and the what-ifs, so just putting all your energy into the moment you're currently in," Rabkin answered.
Up Next on the Schedule:
The Golden Bears will return home to host the Western New England Duals, which includes New England College, East Stroudsburg University, and Felician University. The duals will start at 4:00 PM on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
