#2 UW-La Crosse 17, #3 Augsburg College (Minn.) 17

Minneapolis, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling squad finished in a 17-17 tie with Augsburg College Sunday afternoon in Si Melby Hall. In a dual featuring the second and third ranked wrestling teams in NCAA Division III, UW-L is now 10-3-1 overall while Augsburg is 7-5-1. 

The Auggies, ranked third, took a 4-0 lead as second-ranked Jared Massey opened the dual at 197-pounds with a win by major decision (10-2) over the Eagles' Vinnie Pedretti. UW-L, second in NCAA Division III, cut the lead to 4-3 after ninth-ranked Billy Mayer won by decision (4-3) over Pat Fletcher at 285-pounds. 

Fifth-ranked Josh Roberts made it 8-3 for Augsburg as he won by major decision (9-0) over Matt Cole at 125-pounds, but UW-L won the next two matches to take a 11-8 lead. At 133-pounds, fifth-ranked Adam Sheley won by major decision (12-3) over Boyd Suparate and at 141-pounds, UW-L's top-ranked Bebeto Yewah also won by major decision (20-7) over Will Keeter. 

Augsburg forced an 11-11 tie after third-ranked Tony Valek defeated sixth-ranked Matt Mauseth by decision (3-0) at 149-pounds. 

At 157-pounds, Orlando Ponce won by decision (11-4) over Brady Schrupp to give the Auggies a 14-11 advantage. Ponce is ranked fifth in the nation at 165-pounds. 

UW-L's JR Lewis, wrestling for the first time this season at 165-pounds, evened the dual with a win by decision (2-1) over Jon Priess. Lewis had wrestled at 157-pounds all season. 

The Eagles' Mike Schmitz, the top-ranked wrestler at 174-pounds, earned a win by decision (5-3) over second-ranked Zach Molitor to give UW-L a 17-14 lead. Augsburg's sixth-ranked Brad Baus finished the dual with a win by decision (5-0) over Tony Piechowski at 184-pounds to force a 17-17 tie.

UW-L returns to action Thursday, February 10 hosting UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.