ST. LOUIS, Mo.- An early 12-0 lead in team score seemed comfortable for the No. 20 Ouachita Tiger wrestling team, as they took on Maryville University on Friday night. Unfortunately, a late rally from the Saints doomed the Tigers, as they won four of the last five matches to rally to a 22-21 victory.
 
Garret Evans kicked the night off with a win by fall in the 125 lb division, followed by a 2-0 decision win for Anthony Melillo at 133 lb. Josh Myers continued the early Tiger rally with a win another decision victory, this time a 12-5 win, over his opponent, giving the Tigers their early 12-0 lead.
 
The first Maryville victory of the night came in the 149 lb class, as the Saints' Keenan Hagerty downed Marc Smith in a 12-3 major decision victory. Bobby Williams followed the Tiger loss up with another Tiger victory though, in an 11-5 decision win that made the team score 15-4 in favor of Ouachita.
 
Maryville's late rally started at the 165 lb class though, as a win by fall, which was followed by a 9-4 decision over the Tigers made the team score 15-13 in favor of the Tigers.
 
Dallas Smith recorded a victory via forfeit for the Tigers, adding six points to the team total. A major decision and a technical fall in the last two matches of the night for the Saints proved to be the difference though, making the team score 22-21 in favor of Maryville.
 
The Tigers are back on the mat on February 23, when they travel to Ashland, Ohio to compete in the NCAA Super Regional 2 Tournament.
 
-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director