LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University Wrestling team fought to the wire, pulling out a 23-15 win over Gardner-Webb University on Sunday afternoon at Knights Hall.
 
A tight, hard-fought battle from start to finish, the Knights secured yet another duals victory, this time in the final bout of the day. The win, their 12^th of the season, matches a program record set just last season when Bellarmine went 12-4.

"Really impressed with our team's resilience tonight. We had a lot of hard fought scraps and some tough battles to score bonus points," head coach Ned Shuck said of his team's effort. "I'm proud of the full team effort and for the guys to step up and have each other's backs." 
 
With Bellarmine holding a narrow 17-15 margin, sophomore Thadd Huff (285) was the deciding factor. Huff came out swinging and secured the win for Bellarmine, notching the lone fall of the match.
 
Gardner-Webb got on the board first, notching a tech fall in the opening bout (125).

"We had a lot of young guys on the mat today," Shuck said. "Having six true freshman or redshirt freshman in the lineup is encouraging for our program now and for the future." 
 
Bellarmine battled back, earning major decisions from both redshirt freshman Trayce Eckman (133) and freshman AJ Rallo (141). Eckman earned the victory 16-6 while Rallo, competing in his first collegiate dual, claimed an 8-0 win.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs took both the 149 and 157 bouts by decision, taking an 11-8 lead into intermission.
 
Redshirt freshman Grant O'Dell (165) tied the match right out of the break, earning a decision 7-3 before junior Cole Nance (174) followed immediately with a decision of his own, 6-5, to retake the lead for the Knights, 14-11.
 
Gardner-Webb brought home the 184 points via major decision before freshman Andrew Liber (197) tallied an 11-8 decision before Huff ultimately brought home the match for Bellarmine.

"I'm happy we could cap off the dual again with a big pin so the fans could enjoy another set of Bourbon and Beyond or Louder than Life tickets," said Shuck. "The fans love a pin, and Thadd knows it!"
 
Bellarmine (12-0, 2-0) hits the road for a five-match road trip, starting Friday, February 2 with a dual at Davidson College.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

Bellarmine vs. Gardner-Webb
125: Drew West (GW) def. Damion Ryan (BU) by TF, 18-1
133: Trayce Eckman (BU) def. Tyson Lane (GW) by MAJ, 16-6
141: AJ Rallo (BU) def. Dominic DiTullio (GW) by MAJ, 8-0
149: Zach Price (GW) def. Zac Cowan (BU) by DEC, 4-3
157: Joseph Giordano (GW) def. Jeb Prechtel (BU) by DEC, 6-4
165: Grant O'Dell (BU) def. Andrew Wilson (GW) by DEC, 7-3
174: Cole Nance (BU) def. Samuel Mora (GW) by DEC, 6-5
184: Jha'Quan Anderson (GW) def. Sam Schroeder (BU) by MAJ, 11-1
197: Andrew Liber (BU)  def. Josh McCutchen (GW) by DEC, 11-8
285: Thadd Huff (BU) def. Peyton McComas (GW) by FALL, 5-4