UW-Whitewater, ranked fifth in the D3wrestle.com preseason poll, defeated UW-Platteville 31-9 Thursday evening in Williams Fieldhouse in Platteville, Wisconsin.

Platteville's Cole Ferguson got the Pioneers an early lead with a 4-1 decision at 125 pounds over Trevor Pruett (West Bend/West Bend East) of Whitewater.  After a scoreless first period, Ferguson used an escape for a 1-0 lead in period two.  Ferguson took the lead in the third with a reversal and, with 0:44 left, added a nearfall.

Warhawk All-American Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) put UW-W in front in the team score with a pin of Jesse McClain in 4:16 at 133.  Sutter was leading 4-0 at the time.

At 141 Jake Fredricksen (Woodstock, IL/Woodstock) gave Whitewater more room with a 6-1 decision over Mason Bohm.  Fredricksen scored in every period, and Bohm's points came with just 0:37 left, as the Warhawks moved in front 9-3.

Tom Gerszewski (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) added to UW-W's lead, edging Gunnar Melstrand 3-2 at 149.  Gerszewski earned the win with a point for riding time.

Pioneer Peter Crocco pinned Willie Anaya (Downers Grove, IL/Downers Grove) in 4:28 at 157 pounds to cut Whitewater's lead to 12-9.  Anaya had a 7-5 lead before the fall.

Adam Zeh (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) pushed Whitewater's lead back up to the maximum individual score with a 7-5 defeat of Mike Uliana at 165.  After a scoreless first period, Zeh never trailed in the match.

Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) gave Whitewater a major decision with a 10-2 win over Austin Holland at 174.  Aprahamian led 2-1 after period one, 5-1 at the end of two periods, and outscored Holland 5-1 in the third.

After leading 2-0 at the end of one period in the 184 class, Andrew Pettit (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates) gave Whitewater its second pin of the evening, coming at 4:53 over Dylan DeShane.  Whitewater's lead moved to 25-9.

Shane Seifert, Whitewater's Walmart Wrestler of the Week for his performance at the Muskie Invitational last Saturday, outscored Abraham Graziano 9-2 in the first period of the 197 match on the way to a 10-5 win that boosted Whitewater's lead to 28-9.

The final match of the night went the longest, with the 285 pound class requiring overtime to get a decision. Whitewater's Justin Birschbach (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) and Platteville's Josh Dust tested their early season conditioning.  Birschbach scored the only point of the first period with an escape, 1-0.  An escape by Dust knotted the score at 1-1 after two.  There was no score in period three, re-setting the clock for OT.  The duo battled to no decision in the first extra period.  The second overtime is divided into 30 second sections, with each wrestler given the option of up/down.  In the first section, Birschbach selected the bottom and earned an escape for a 2-1 lead, and added a penalty point for locked hands to lead 3-1 going into the second section.  Dust, on the bottom, executed a reversal to tie at 3-3, but an escape with 14 seconds left gave Birschbach the decision.

125 lbs: Cole Ferguson (UWP) defeats Trevor Pruett (West Bend/West Bend East) (UWW) 4-3.
133 lbs: Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) (UWW) pins Jesse McLain (UWP) 4:16
141 lbs: Jake Fredrickson (UWW) defeats Mason Bohm (UWP) 6-1.
149 lbs: Tom Gerszewski (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) (UWW) defeats Gunnar Melstrand (UWP) 3-2.
157 lbs: Peter Crocco pins Willie Anaya (Downers Grove, IL/Downers Grove) (UWW) 4:28
165 lbs: Adam Zeh (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) (UWW) defeats Mike Uliana (UWP) 7-5.
174 lbs: Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago) defeats Austin Holland (UWP) 9-2.
184 lbs: Andrew Pettit (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates) (UWW) pins Dylan DeShane (UWP) 4:53
197 lbs: Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) (UWW) defeats Abe Granziano 10-5.
285 lbs: Justin Birshbach (UWW) defeats Josh Dust 4-3 2OT.

The Warhawks will travel to Decorah, Iowa to participate in the Luther Open Saturday. The first time UW-W will wrestle at home will be January 25, when UW-Eau Claire comes to Williams Center.