SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 8, 2025) – The Western New England women's wrestling team saw their 12-match win streak come to an end on Saturday night as the 12th-ranked Pioneers of Sacred Heart University defeated the Golden Bears on their home mat, becoming the first team to do so this season, coming up with a 28-15 defeat over WNE.

How it Happened:
The Golden Bears would fall behind in the first three weight classes of the night, earning just one point as the Pioneers got off to a 12-1 start. Claudia King would fall in 0:26 in the 103 lb. weight class to start the match. Victoria Orender earned WNE a point but came up short in a 12-4 decision to Sacred Heart's Aaliyah Payne-Parris. Western New England got their first win in the 124 lb. weight class as Linda Holeman earned a technical fall victory over Cailan Drake, a 10-0 win in 3:55. Jaden Coppins would fight to earn a point in the 131 lb. weight class match for Western New England, coming up just short on a 10-6 decision to Ellehana Anderson. Tanya Teneva earned a fall victory for the Golden Bears in 3:47 to earn five points to Western New England's score as the Golden Bears would slowly climb back into the match, trailing 15-11 after the Teneva win. Sacred Heart pulled out a near decision victory over WNE in the 145 lb. weight class, but Noelle Alexander picked up a point for the Golden Bears, seeing Sacred Heart pick up an 18-12 lead. Atiyana Williams earned a decision victory in the 160 lb. weight class for the Golden Bears, coming up with the 4-2 win, closing the gap for WNE ever so slightly, trailing 19-15. Sacred Heart would earn the final nine points of the match after a fall victory at 180 lbs., and a technical fall victory in the 207 lb. weight class would push Sacred Heart over Western New England by a final score of 28-15.

Results:
103 – Ahsia Torres (SHU) over Claudia King (WNE) – Fall, 0:26
110 – Aaliyah Payne-Parris (SHU) over Victoria Orender (WNE) – Dec, 12-4
117 – Nohea Moniz (SHU) over Hailey Laabs (WNE) – TF, 12-0, 2:20 
124 – Linda Holeman (WNE) over Cailan Drake (SHU) – TF, 10-0, 2:20
131 – Elleahna Anderson (SHU) over Jaden Coppins (WNE) – Dec, 10-6
138 – Tanya Teneva (WNE) over Bailee Militello (SHU) – Fall, 3:47
145 – Khadijah Sanusi (SHU) over Noelle Alexander (WNE) – Dec, 6-5
160 – Atiyana Williams (WNE) over Jacklyn Smith (SHU) – Dec, 4-2
180 – Madison Sandquist (SHU) over Mikayla Maloy (WNE) – Fall, 0:53
207 – Madeline Hodges (SHU) over Samantha Rabkin (WNE) – TF, 10-0, 1:28

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will participate in the all-important NCWWC Region I Championships on Sunday, February 23 at 10:00 AM for a chance at qualifying for the national championships event.