The Warhawk wrestling team appears to have started off the new season on the right foot and are showing plenty of promise going forward.

Whitewater won its first dual of the season Nov. 14 with a dominant 34-9 performance over WIAC opponent UW-Stevens Point at Kachel Gymnasium.

Their next scheduled home competition is the Willie Myers Open on Jan. 19.

Before then, the wrestlers will have everything in front of them as they will have to face WIAC opponents UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh in back-to-back away meets Dec. 5 and 6, and then travel to UW-Platteville Jan. 10 and UW-La Crosse Jan. 17.

In addition to the solid dual meet start, the Warhawks have also seen promise in their individual tournament performances.

At the CUW Open at Concordia University Nov. 17, junior Mike Tortorice finished atop the podium in the 125 pound division with a perfect 4-0 record on the day. One of his wins came over Joe Arroyo from Division II opponent UW-Parkside, and another over No. 2 ranked Carlos Fuentez of Wheaton College (Ill.) by a 9-3 decision to take first place. Most notably, Tortorice was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

The team’s next tournament competition is the Candlewood Suite Duals at UW-La Crosse, scheduled for Dec. 1.

Though it’s still early in the season, individual performances like Tortorice’s and solid performances from the rest of the roster–as was the case at the Luther Open, where the Warhawks finished among the top six in seven different brackets–could be a strong sign looking ahead to both the team and individual postseasons. 

“The team’s main goal for our WIAC competition is go undefeated in the duals, then win the conference tournament at the end of the year,” junior Nicholas Bonomo said. “We want to get back to being the alphas of the WIAC because we had a couple 2nd place finishes in the past couple seasons.”

If last year’s conference dual performances are any indication, Bonomo and the Warhawks have a chance to accomplish their goals. Last season the Warhawks were able to beat UW-Eau Claire (36-7), UW-Oshkosh (27-11), UW-Platteville (33-10), and UW-La Crosse (19-15).

If the Warhawks handle their long road stint against all four aforementioned conference foes, a successful season just might be in the works.