2023-24 Gannon women's wrestling team

Women's Wrestling Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Season Preview: Vandiver Era Begins for Women's Wrestling Program

ERIE, Pa. – The Vandiver Era begins at Gannon this weekend as Erin Vandiver takes over as head coach of the Golden Knights. Gannon debuts on Sunday, November 5 in the ESU Open at East Stroudsburg University.

The addition of Vandiver as head coach brings further legitimacy to a Gannon program that has been among the best in women's wrestling since its inception. The Golden Knights come off a 10th-place finish in the team race at the NCWWC National Championships. Gannon had four All-Americans, including three who were underclassmen.

The Golden Knights were recently ranked sixth in the NWCA Women's Wrestling Preseason poll with four wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes. Lili Ujfalvi (Kecskemet-heteny, Hungary/Bolyai Janos Secondary School) is ranked third at 143 lbs. as is Jewel Gonzalez (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) at 170 lbs. Annabelle Helm (Vancouver, Wash./Union) is ranked fourth at 170 lbs. while Julianne Moccia (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) is sixth at 109 lbs.  

Vandiver likes what she has seen so far with her 2023-2024 Golden Knights. "Our preseason has been outstanding," she related. "What I saw was a bunch of veterans taking the lead and new members following suit right behind them. The squad came together – instantly began working, encouraging each other, and pushing one another – it was outstanding. From day one there was great intensity, soon after the drive really picked up and now each day they are more motivated than the day before."
 
Vandiver is expecting big things from a strong returning cast. "Our returning All Americans have not missed a beat. (Julianne) Moccia, (Lili) Ujfalvi, (Jewel) Gonzalez and (Annabelle) Helm have picked up right where they left off and continue to gain more momentum each week. These ladies are on a mission, and you can feel it.
 
"(Chloe) Kitagawa and (Jayden) Bazemore have been working diligently to close the gap," Vandiver continued. "I see them really coming into their own in this second season. They're both looking strong and confident. Be on the lookout for (Juliana) Cubias to have a breakthrough year. She has found a nice home at a new weight class and is really hitting her stride. You can see she is eager to make the most of her final year. (Kat) Pendergrass has returned to the lineup and we are all excited to watch her compete in dominating fashion. Also be on the lookout for Christina Chavez (Chandler, Ariz./Arizona College Preparatory), she is holding her own among the upperclassmen. Her mentality, combined with a strong work ethic is going to get her noticed this year.

We are ready and excited to kick off the competition season this weekend at the ESU Open."
 
Erin Vandiver
Erin Vandiver
 
Head Coach: Erin Vandiver was announced as Gannon's women's wrestling head coach on June 29, 2023. Vandiver, whose maiden name was Erin Tomeo, wrestled at Grove City High School and Lock Haven University, and represented the U.S. in numerous international competitions before beginning her coaching career. She served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Women's Freestyle National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 2009 to 2017 before becoming the head coach at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, Pa., one of the premier girls wrestling schools in the nation. She founded the Wyoming Seminary girls wrestling program in 2017 and led the Knights to tremendous national and international success. In 2022-23 alone, Vandiver guided Wyoming Seminary to National Prep Wrestling and Tallinn Open team championships while coaching six All-Americans, two National Team members, two national runners-up, and one national champion at Women's Nationals. Vandiver was a coach for Team USA at the 2021 Junior World Championships in Ufa, Russia, where the team turned in a historic performance with a team title, four gold medals and one bronze medal. Prior to her time at Wyoming Seminary, Vandiver coached some of the nation's biggest names with the U.S. Women's Freestyle National Team while assisting longtime head coach Terry Steiner. She also served as the personal coach of six-time World champion Adeline Gray. Vandiver also was a coach for Team USA at the Summer Olympics in 2012 and 2016, and led Team USA at several World Championships, Pan American Games, and international tours. She has coached dozens of World medalists from the Cadet to Senior levels. As a wrestler, she was a pioneer.  Vandiver competed on the Grove City High School wrestling team against boys competition from 1998 to 2001. She became the first girl to compete and place in the District 10 championships. Vandiver also won Cadet World bronze medals in 1998 and 1999, and she was picked up by the elite wrestling team, Sunkist Kids, as a junior in high school. Vandiver attended Lock Haven University in 2001-02 and trained with the men's team. She competed in USA Wrestling events with the Sunkist team while there and qualified for the U.S. Senior team that competed in the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She then became a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Vandiver later competed in the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China, where she placed seventh.

Top Returnees: Lili Ujfalvi (Kecskemet-heteny, Hungary/Bolyai Janos Secondary School) earned All-American honors as a freshman a year ago, finishing fifth at 143 lbs. She led Gannon in wins with a 28-12 record. Ujfalvi enters the season ranked third at 143 lbs.
 
Lili Ujfalvi
Lili Ujfalvi 



Jewel Gonzalez (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) comes into the season ranked third at 170 lbs. The senior earned All-American honors a year ago thanks to a seventh-place showing at Nationals. She claimed seventh place thanks to a 2-1 decision over teammate Annabelle Helm, who earned All-American honors with the eighth-place showing. Gonzalez ended the year at 22-10 while Helm, who is ranked fourth at 170 lbs., was 20-12. Helm previously earned All-American accolades in 2019-20 with a fifth-place finish at 155 lbs.

Julianne Moccia (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) was an All-American in 2021-22 after placing seventh at 109 lbs. She is ranked sixth at 109 lbs. The junior was 18-7 last year after going 23-8 as a freshman.   

Kat Pendergrass (Bracey, Va./South Granville (N.C.)) sat out the 2022-23 season but is a two-time All-American, once at Gannon and once at Ferrum. The senior finished eighth for the Golden Knights at 101 lbs. in 2021-22, going 18-8 on the season.

Season Opener: Gannon will take to the mats for the first time on Sunday, November 5 at the ESU Invitational. The Golden Knights debut at home on Sunday, December 3 hosting John Carroll and D'Youville in a tri-match.

Preseason Rankings: The Golden Knights are ranked sixth in the NWCA Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jewel Gonzalez

Jewel Gonzalez

170
Senior
155
Annabelle Helm

Annabelle Helm

170
5' 9"
Graduate Student
170
Julianne Moccia

Julianne Moccia

109
Junior
109
Kat Pendergrass

Kat Pendergrass

109
Senior
101
Lili Ujfalvi

Lili Ujfalvi

143
Sophomore
Christina Chavez

Christina Chavez

191
5' 6"
Freshman
191

Players Mentioned

Jewel Gonzalez

Jewel Gonzalez

Senior
155
170
Annabelle Helm

Annabelle Helm

5' 9"
Graduate Student
170
170
Julianne Moccia

Julianne Moccia

Junior
109
109
Kat Pendergrass

Kat Pendergrass

Senior
101
109
Lili Ujfalvi

Lili Ujfalvi

Sophomore
143
Christina Chavez

Christina Chavez

5' 6"
Freshman
191
191