The UW-Whitewater wrestling team upset No. 1 ranked Wartburg (Iowa) in their last of three dual meets by a score of 21-20 Dec.2 at the Candlewood Suites Duals at UW-La Crosse.

The Warhawks finished the day 2-1 (5-1 overall) as they were also able to beat No. 21 Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) in dominant fashion, with a final score of 41-6. The team’s lone loss came during their first dual against No. 2 Augsburg (Minn.), losing 26-16.

“We picked up our intensity and picked up our fight, and from that standpoint we gave ourselves the best opportunity to score points and get bonus points in some big matches,” head coach Ned Shuck regarding the meet with Wartburg.

Senior Jordan Newman, and sophomores Devin Tortorice and Mike Tortorice each finished 3-0 on the day Newman continues his pursuit of a repeat national championship and the Tortorice brothers continue to prove they are both forces to be reckoned with.

The Warhawks claimed six of their 10 matches against top-ranked Wartburg (4-1), jumping to an early lead with victories in the dual’s first three matches.

Mike Tortorice led off with a 5-2 decision over Connor Cleveland at the 125 pound division, then sophomore Hazen Rice came through with a pin in 3:38 over Brennan Doebel at 133 pounds.

Devin Tortorice, at 141 pounds, beat Brock Rathburn 4-3 to give the Warhawks an early 12-0 lead.

Sophomore Ryan Sigler and junior Nicholas Bonomo both were victorious at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Sigler beat the nation’s No. 8 ranked wrestler, Derek Lee Loy, by a 3-2 decision and Bonomo won by major decision over Max Forsyth, 14-2.

After Bonomo gave the Warhawks an 18-14 lead, Newman, the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at 197 pounds, finished off Kyle Fank, who’s ranked second by D3wrestle.com and third by the NWCA, by a 4-2 decision.

Against Concordia-Moorhead (1-3), the Warhawks won nine of the dual’s 10 matches, including a handful of pins coming from Mike Tortorice, Hazen Rice, Nick Stencel, and Newman.

Devin Tortorice won by a 12-4 major decision over Adam Presler.  Bonomo beat Jake Johnson by 3-1 decision. Sophomore Wilder Wichman won by a 19-8 major decision at 157 pounds over Ben Baumgartner.

After starting off tied at 6-6 against Augsburg (2-0) the Warhawks lost four consecutive matches as Augsburg jumped out to a daunting lead. Devin Tortorice, Mike Tortorice, and Nick Stencel all picked up wins by decision before the Augsburg took control.

“They just out fought us,” Shuck said.

Newman won by a 12-1 major decision over Sebastian Larson and freshman Dylan Uzumecki picked up a 2-0 decision at 285 pounds, finishing 2-1 on the day.

For the upcoming week, Shuck stressed consistency in the team’s training.

“It’s good to have that focus right now, this next week is just about maintaining consistency and getting better,” Shuck said. “[The wrestlers] gotta make sure they finish up strong academically and then be really consistent with their fight and motivation in their training.”

The Warhawks will face UW-Parkside Dec. 6 in the annual Sake Bottle Battle, then host the University of Wisconsin Dec.9 at 1 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.