LA CROSSE, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - In their first dual action of the 2014-15 season, the Loras Wrestling team made the most of the cards they were dealt on Saturday. Loras showcased the strength that they have in their lower weight classes on their way to two dual victories, including one over No. 9 Augsburg.
 
At 125#, freshman Vinny Elizalde went 2-1 on the day and just fell short from upsetting the No. 1 wrestler in Mike Fuenffinger, who was last year's national champion. With Elizalde and Fuenffinger level at 6-6 in the third period, Elizalde was called for stalling, giving Fuenffinger a one-point advantage. Using the momentum, Fuenffinger scored a takedown and added an additional point from riding time to win 10-6.
 
"I wished Vinny had wrestled a match before he faced Augsburg," head coach Randy Steward said. "I think not wrestling against UW-Eau Claire hurt him a little bit."
 
In his last bout of the day, Elizalde defeated Ryan Weinmann of UW-La Crosse, 6-4. Leading 4-3 heading into the final period, Elizalde elected to go neutral and scored a takedown to grab the 6-3 advantage. Weinmann secured one point of riding time to make it 6-4.
 
Sophomore Michael Triplett at 133# provided crucial points for Loras on the day, finishing 2-1, including a pinfall. In his first match of the day, Triplett made easy work of Scott Worlund from UW-Eau Claire, earning four team points with a 16-3 major decision. In the bout, Tripplett had five takedowns and one near-fall.
 
Against Augsburg, Triplett found himself behind the eight ball, trailing 3-0. A takedown got him on the board and he was able to turn Chad Bartschenfeld onto his back and secure the pin, giving Loras a much-needed six team points. His lone defeat of the day came against Dustin Weinmann of UW-La Crosse. After scoring an early takedown, Triplett surrendered four unanswered points by way of two escapes and a takedown to fall 4-2.
 
"I did not expect Mike to be where he's at now this early in the season," Steward said. "He's a fighter and competitor and a great kid to have in this program."
 
Making his first appearance since November 8, junior Nick Steger was strong and efficient on the mat, failing to surrender a single point in two matches. After a forfeit against UW-Eau Claire, Steger scored a takedown and a near-fall against Marcus Hamer of Augsburg. Eventually, Steger secured the pin at 2:08 of the first period.
 
In his final match of the day, Steger's decision to start the second period in the down position against Austin Schoen proved to be the difference as the Dyersville native earned an escape and rode that lead the rest of the way to a 1-0 decision.
 
"Nick doesn't have a lot of matches so far this season, so for him to come out and earn a pin against the kid from Augsburg was huge," Steward said. "Then, he came out against the kid from UW-La Crosse and he did what he had to do and won."
 
At 149#, junior Evan Weaver started hot with a 16-4 major decision against Ty Griffin of UW-Eau Claire. Totaling five takedowns, one near-fall, and one escape, Weaver held total control of the match from start to finish. Unfortunately for Weaver, the winning would end there as he could only manage three escape points against Will Keeter of Augsburg, falling 8-3, and suffered a loss by pinfall against Kasey Einerson of UW-La Crosse.
 
"We're trying to get Evan to turn a corner," Steward said. "He's inches from being great and today showed that."
 
Senior Steven DeWitt continued his rampage with two major decisions and one pinfall on Saturday. Against Robert Rocole of UW-Eau Claire, DeWitt scored two takedowns and two near-falls before eventually earning the pin in 2:16.
 
In his second match of the day, DeWitt wasted no time getting out in front, scoring three takedowns in the first period. Despite the score being 6-3 after the first three minutes, DeWitt was making a strong statement for his No. 4 ranking. The final four minutes saw three more takedowns, a reversal, and a near-fall to earn the major decision, 17-6.
 
"DeWitt is doing some little things on the mat where he's really improved from a year ago and I think that's something that is going to pay off later this year."
 
Derek Weinmann of UW-La Crosse proved to be no match for DeWitt either, as the Sterling, Illinois product concluded the day with his second 17-6 major decision, totaling eight takedowns. The only points Weinmann scored were as a result of an escape allowed by DeWitt.
 
With the injury to junior Greg Vance, sophomore Tyler Ries stepped into the 165# slot for Loras and stepped up when his team needed him the most. After losing by pinfall to Brandon Stradel of UW-Eau Claire, Ries bounced back with a pin of Austin Boniface of Augsburg just 21 seconds into the bout. Unfortunately for Ries, he would be caught on the short end in his next match against Tyler Schneider of UW-La Crosse as he lost by pinfall.
 
"Tyler wrestled four good minutes and was competitive against La Crosse and then got caught," Steward added.
 
Senior Joe Butler flexed his muscle in his first match against Mathew Laugen of UW-Eau Claire, totaling four takedowns on his way to a 10-2 major decision. Butler couldn't build on the win in his next bout against Eric Hensel of Augsburg, as he got himself caught and turned to his back, resulting in a pinfall just 44 seconds into the match.
 
Fortunately for Butler he had one more opportunity and he made the most of it. Against Alex Friedman of UW-La Crosse, Butler racked up nearly four minutes of riding time to go along with three takedowns and an escape, winning 10-4.
 
"After getting pinned against Augsburg, he came back an wrestled a hard fought, mistake free match against La Crosse."
 
At 184#, Loras was forced to put an unfamiliar face in the lineup. Sophomore Noah Goldsmith, who regularly wrestles at 174#, stepped up for his team to avoid an automatic forfeit. Goldsmith saved one point on the day, as he was pinned twice and suffered a 16-0 tech fall to Matt Rieckhoff of UW-Eau Claire.
 
"We weighed him in at 174 today and he stepped up and did it for the team," Steward said. "He took some beatings today, but didn't complain once, and is a great kid to have in this program."
 
Junior Malcolm Watson, coming off a second place finish at the CUW Open, couldn't quite get it going, suffering a pinfall against Josh Cormican of UW-Eau Claire. Watson bounced back when his team needed it the most, grinding out a 3-2 win over Eric Twohey of Augsburg College. A takedown in the first period allowed Watson to clip the one-minute mark for the riding time bonus, which proved to be the difference as Matthew Hechsel earned two escape points.
 
"Malcolm didn't show up in that first match, but he woke up and battled back to get a good result against Augsburg."
 
In his final match, Watson was overpowered by Eric Twohey, falling to major decision 10-0.
 
"I can sit here an whine about how we didn't have certain guys, but this is a big day on the schedule and we knew we had to come out and compete," Steward said. "I'm pleased with the fact that most of our guys came out today and fought hard."
 
Loras will be back in action on December 17 when they host Augustana College. With the Vikings being an in-region opponent, the dual matches will have heavy implications on seeding at the regional tournament in March.
 
"I hope we have a full lineup for Augustana, that will really help us," Steward said. "They're a solid team and we're going to have to go out and wrestle hard to get that win."