Fighting Tigers battle in Gatlinburg, TN
Cuthbert, GA - The Fighting Tigers traveled to Gatlinburg, TN to compete in the Rocky Top Duals hosted by Life University. "This dual event was more like a preparation in the NAIA for their National Duals in early January. I knew we were going to be battle tested right out the gate, and was focused on our fight and effort throughout the day". Andrew wrestled 4 dual matches against Campbellsville University #6 (NAIA), University of Cumberlands #5 (NAIA), Liberty (NWCA), and Midway University (NAIA).
In the first dual against #6 Campbellsville the Fighting Tigers dropped by a final score of 46-0. The scoreboard doesn't do us any favors but our guys really wrestled hard. It's tough when you're competing against All-Americans and ranked wrestlers at every weight, with us being a young talented team.
In the 2nd duel of the day against #5 University of Cumberlands, the Fight Tigers dropped it 55-0.
The 3rd dual of the day was against Liberty, (VA). This is a really tough team that has shown it helps being a polished and experienced program. We just couldn't find any momentum leading up to the dual with how the first two duals of the day panned out.
In the last dual of the day Coach Gordy faced off against his former team in Midway University. It was an intense dual from start to finish. The dual started with a bang as Corey Dye won by a Major Decision 22-9. Alex Tabb followed up with 5 team points by finishing his opponent via Tech Fall 21-6. The Fighting Tigers would drop their next three in a row. Riley Brewer bumped up to wrestle the 165lb weight class and would be victorious by decision 8-6. Tim Dunn got the job done at 174 lb by a decision 4-2. Midway would take the match at 184 leading the dual 22-15. The next bout was 197lb as Christian Preston found himself in a hole 11-1 after the first period. His relentless fight and effort would ultimately carry him to pinned his opponent in 5:54. The team score was 22-21 heading into the final bout at 285 lb. Abe Preston put up a fight but would fall short in his comeback dropping the match 5-0. Coach Gordy had this to say about the dual match between Midway " That was a fun dual to be a part of coaching against my Alma Mater. Our guys fought till the very end and showed relentless effort. I am extremely grateful to lead this program and will go to battle with these guys any day."
The Fighting Tigers will take two weeks off for Christmas Break and will return to action January 4th at the Huntingdon Open in Montgomery, Alabama.