ERIE, Pa. — Gannon University will host one of four regional qualifiers in advance of the 2021 Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships, the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Coalition announced Wednesday.
Gannon's Recreation and Wellness Center will host the one-day Northeast Regional Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 20. No fans will be permitted, but the event will feature live video and statistics.
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Women's wrestling is an NCAA Emerging Sport at all three divisions. The National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships will serve as the national championships for NCAA women's wrestling programs until the sport qualifies for an official NCAA Championship. The 2020-21 season is the first to feature a regional qualification process before the national tournament.
"We are extremely excited for the NCAA women's wrestling post-season," said Julia Salata, president of the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Coalition. "We thank Tiffin University for hosting the NCWWC national tournament this year, and welcome back Cliff Keen Athletic as the presenting sponsor.
"We applaud the four regional qualifier host universities for their leadership within women's college wrestling. Although it has been a challenging year for college athletics, we look forward to providing these post-season competition opportunities for the student-athletes and their teams,"
The Golden Knights will be one of eight teams at the regional, welcoming in Adrian, Davenport, Delaware Valley, Elmira, New Jersey City, Tiffin and Trine.
Each team may enter a maximum of 15 wrestlers, with no more than two in an individual weight class. Team scoring will be based on one wrestler per weight class, with that person named by the team before wrestling begins.
Four individuals per weight class will advance from each region to form 16-woman brackets at each weight at nationals, with the top eight there being crowned All-Americans. The national champions at each weight will also earn bids to the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
The 2021 NCWWC will be held at Tiffin on Saturday, March 6. It's the second annual national tournament for NCAA schools. Last year's inaugural event was hosted by Adrian, with Gannon finishing 11th in the nation with two All-Americans.
