ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College Women's Wrestling team has released its schedule for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

In three weeks, the Bulldogs will kick it off with a Black & Gold Scrimmage at the Merillat Fitness Center, followed by a brand new tournament at Tiffin University on November 4. Head Coach, Cliff Cushard, mentioned that the team is excited to have something closer to home in the first week of the season. In week two, the Bulldogs host their traditional pair of tournaments - the Adrian College Women's Duals on Saturday, November 11 and the Adrian College Women's Invitational on Sunday, November 12. Coach Cushard notes, "These are some of the best tournaments in the country each year with many of the best teams coming together to compete." Other key tournaments and events for the Bulldogs in the fall semester include the Albion Invitational, a cross-town dual with Siena Heights at home, and a run over to Chicago where the defending national champions, North Central College, will host their Invitational tournament.

Every other year, the Women's Wrestling team takes a trip out to Sacramento, California for the Women's West Coast Tournament of Champions to compete with different schools around the nation. This year, the Bulldogs will make the trek to California on December 16. After the Christmas break, the team will then head to the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on January 5-6. This invitation-only tournament is where the top 16 teams in the NCAA go toe-to-toe for national placings. The Bulldogs have placed in the top ten of the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals tournament in the last two years and will aim to do so again this year.

To finish the spring semester the Bulldogs will take a trip down to Bristol, Tennessee for the King Tornado Open on January 14, then head across the border to test themselves against some of the best competition that Canada has to offer at the University of Guelph Open on January 21. The Bulldogs will also attend Indiana Tech's Open tournament on January 27, where a mix of NAIA and NCAA teams will compete. On February 2-3, the Bulldogs will attend The DIII Invitational, hosted by Augustana, which is another new tournament this year. Currently, the national championships are all three divisions together (DI, DII & DIII), but this new tournament will showcase the DIII teams only. Coach Cushard is excited to attend this tournament saying, "This tournament will allow us and other teams to see how we all compare. This is a very exciting tournament to add. We have had solid placements (between 7th-13th) over the last few years at our national tournament so it will be fun to see how we do against only the DIII schools."

The final regular season competition will be held on February 6 when the Bulldogs host Tiffin University for a Senior Night dual. Coach Cushard expressed the enjoyment of Senior Night saying, "We enjoy sending off our seniors with a special night of their own."  The NCWWC Region DIII Championships will then be held at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania on February 24. The Bulldogs have placed second in their region for the last three years, but are hoping that this is the year it is their turn to claim the title. The top four in each weight class at the NCWWC Regionals will advance to Nationals. Last year, the Bulldogs had ten national qualifiers - the second most in the country. To close out the season, the 5th annual National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships will take place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 8-9. Last season, the Bulldogs had two All-Americans and the team finished in 13th place out of all the DI, DII & DIII programs at Nationals. Coach Cushard and the Bulldogs are eager to improve upon that finish this year.

For more information on the Adrian College Women's Wrestling team, head to their page on the Adrian College Athletics website or follow them on social media @AC_Bulldogs on Twitter (X) or @AC_Wrestling on Instagram.