DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – On a night that saw plenty of shuffling, the eighth-ranked Duhawks prevailed over Augustana in an in-region dual matchup Wednesday, December 17 in the Athletic & Wellness Center, 20-18.
 
At 125#, freshman Vinny Elizalde grabbed the early lead with two takedowns in the opening period. After cutting Jimmy Panozzo twice, Elizalde took a 4-2 lead into the second period. The same story would play out in the second and third periods as Elizalde worked over Panozzo for five more takedowns and only surrendered five additional points as a result of cutting to win 14-7.
 
A scoreless opening frame at 133# between Michael Triplett and Brendan Gould lent itself to plenty of excitement as the match wore on. After choosing to start in the down position in the second period, Gould earned an escape before Triplett scored a takedown and a near-fall to take the 4-2 lead into the third.
 
Electing to start down, Triplett suffered back-to-back near-falls, putting himself in a 6-4 hole. An escape brought the freshman to within one, but with Gould earning the riding time point, Triplett couldn't get back to level ground, falling 7-5.
 
Sixth-ranked Nick Steger faced little opposition at 141# against Collin Tomkins. Heading into the second period ahead 2-0, Steger opted to start down and quickly escaped before earning another two points on a takedown. At times, Steger came close to turning Tomkins to his back in an attempt to find a pin, but in the end, settled for the 6-1 decision.
 
The shakeup in Loras' lineup began at 149# as freshman Jimmy Davis earned the spot, bumping sophomore Evan Weaver to 157# and senior Steven DeWitt to 165#.
 
Entering Wednesday's dual, Davis was tied for second on the team with 11 wins, including four pins, two technical falls, and four major decisions. Facing Matt Sears, Davis had a rude awakening in the first period, surrendering a reversal and a near-fall.
 
Trailing 4-3 heading into the second period, Davis rattled off five unanswered points by way of an escape, a takedown, and a two-point near-fall. An escape by Sears made it 8-5 after two. A reversal by Sears to start the third period brought the Augustana grappler to within one point of Davis, but an escape gave him a two-point cushion, which was where things would finish, 9-7.
 
At 157#, Evan Weaver took the mat against Hector Ruiz, who entered Wednesday's bout with a 13-6 record.
 
Weaver maintained his composure at his new weight class and kept control of the match, scoring a takedown in the first and third periods. An escape from Weaver to start the second gave him a 3-1 advantage. Ruiz opted to start down in the third and made it 3-2 following his escape. Another takedown by Weaver made it 5-2, but the Normal, Illinois product couldn't keep Ruiz down, who scored an escape to make it 5-3, which proved to be the final score.
 
Wrestling in his first match at 165#, DeWitt took some time to adjust to the weight differential against Connor Cummings. A relatively quiet first period resulted in a 4-1 advantage for DeWitt by way of two takedowns.
 
In the second period, DeWitt turned on the burners and ripped off 13 points, including a three-point near-fall, a reversal, and four takedowns. The trend continued through the third period, as DeWitt continued his rampage, scoring three more takedowns to earn the technical fall in 6:08, 23-8.
 
With Loras leading 17-3 after five matches, Augustana began to mount their comeback attempt, beginning at 174#.
 
After a scoreless opening frame that saw senior Joe Butler escape three single-leg takedown attempts, Jordan Richardson finally got on the board late in the second period, securing a takedown. Electing to start down in the third, Richardson extended his lead to three before scoring another takedown to seal the win, 5-0.
 
At 184#, Thomas Reyhons earned his sixth pin of the year at the 1:31 mark of the first period. An early takedown and near-fall by Reyhons on Isaiah Castillo put him in a position to get his team the six points they were looking for to draw closer to Loras.
 
In what turned out to be a pivotal match, junior Malcolm Watson and Ethan Benoit took to the mat at 197#. With his team leading 17-12, Watson needed to secure a win in order to give the Duhawks the upper hand going into the final match of the night.
 
Trailing 2-1 heading into the third period, Benoit elected to start in the down position and earned one point on the escape to draw things level at two. With neither side able to grab the lead in the early goings of the final period, Watson scored a double-leg takedown to go ahead 4-2. In almost an identical situation, Watson added another takedown to make it 6-3 and rode out the remainder of the match to put Loras ahead, 20-12.
 
With the win in hand, Loras forfeited at 285#, surrendering six points, making the final score 20-18.