Louisville, Ky.—The Mercyhurst Wrestling team fell in two straight matches at the NWCA National Duals.
Mercyhurst opened the tournament with a dual against No. 1 St. Cloud State. The Huskies topped the Lakers by a score of 32-9.
Eric Bartos and
Luke McGonigal combined to earn the Lakers nine points. At 133, Bartos took down Caleb Meekins by pinfall collecting six points for the team. No. 10 McGonigal earned a close 3-2 decision at 197 over No. 5 Dominic Murphy.
No. 3
Dillon Walker fell to the No. 1 grappler at 174 lbs. Abner Romero.
Next up for the Lakers was No. 13 McKendree in their first match of the consolation bracket. Mercyhurst dropped their second match of the day 24-16.
Bartos opened the scoring for the Lakers picking up a 16-3 major decision. Freshman
Jake Niffenegger followed Bartos up with a 13-3 decision at 141. His win gave the team a 7-4 lead; however, McKendree would take the next two matches.
Michael Clark and Walker claimed the last points for the Lakers. Clark won his bout in a 4-2 decision while Walker pinned his opponent in 31 seconds.
