SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 15, 2026) – Five members of the Western New England women's wrestling team have been ranked nationally by The Open Mat in the latest rankings by the organization released on Wednesday afternoon. WNE's Maddie Ripley, Linda Holeman, Jazmene Molina, Tanya Teneva, and Atiyana Williams slide into the top-20 of their respective weight classes. 

Ripley sits 11th overall in the 117 lb. weight class, coming off a dominant weekend at the NWCA National Dual Tournament. Ripley went a perfect 4-0 in the weight class, winning three matches via technical fall and also earning a forfeit win to improve to 18-1 on the season. Ripley defeated Aurora University's Zoee Sadler 17-6, Manchester University's Paola Villarruel 13-2, and Simpson College's Layla Phillips 12-1 on the weekend to move up in the latest The Open Mat rankings. 

Holeman had a successful weekend for Western New England at the NWCA National Duals, going 3-1 overall on the mat. Holeman ranks 15th in the latest national rankings. Holeman took wins over Aurora's Natasha Markoutsis, 11-9 on a decision, Manchester's Allison Palluck, 8-1 on a decision, and McMurry's Chelsey Upton on a 10-0 technical fall. Holeman moves to 17-3 on the season in the 124 lb. weight class. 

In the 131 lb. weight class, WNE's Molina also sits 15th overall in the national rankings. Molina was successful in three of her four matches this past weekend at the National Duals, winning each match with a different result. In a win over Simpson's Vanessa Aguirre, Molina picked up a 12-8 decision victory. Against McMurry's Brandie Brown, Molina needed one minute and five seconds to come away with a fall victory. In her third win of the weekend, Molina picked up a victory over Manchester University's Kaylee Smith, a 10-0 technical fall win. Molina is now 16-3 for Western New England on the season. 

At 138 lbs., Teneva was also 3-1 over the weekend in a dominating effort. The Western New England junior earned two wins via decision, a win over Manchester University's Katy Vardaman, 20-13, and a 14-5 decision over Paige Gershmel of Simpson College. Teneva also earned a technical fall victory in 1:47 over Alexis Schmotzer, winning 11-0 in the match. Teneva continues her team lead with 20 wins on the season, marking a 20-4 record overall for WNE. Teneva ranks 13th in The Open Mat national rankings this week.

Western New England sophomore Atiyana Williams sits 19th in the 180 lb. weight class, entering the rankings for the first time this season. Williams went 3-1 on the mat at the national duals for the Golden Bears over the weekend, earning two forfeit victories as well as a technical fall win, 13-0 in 3:21, over Simpson College's Autumn Calvert. Williams has nine wins for the Golden Bears on the mat this season in her 15 appearances. 

The Western New England women's wrestling team also received two national rankings from The Open Mat, with the Golden Bears ranking 25th overall in the Team Tournament rankings and 22nd overall in Team Dual rankings, fifth among teams in Division III. The Blue and Gold return to the mat this coming weekend at the Will Abele Invitational on Saturday, January 17, at Ursinus College.