Iowa Women's Wrestling Adds Gonzalez Twins
IOWA CITY, Iowa – California twins Brianna and Emilie Gonzalez have signed national letters of intent to join the University of Iowa women’s wrestling program in 2022. Iowa women’s wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun made the announcement Tuesday.
“Both Brianna and Emilie are high character individuals with unlimited upside,” Chun said. “Iowa has a reputation of twins making history and it continues with these two. They are tremendous competitors and incredible additions to our campus and our wrestling room.”
Brianna is considered the No. 13 pound-for-pound and No. 1 100-pound recruit in the country. Emilie was ranked No. 6 at 100 but recently made a switch to 106, where she ranks No. 15. The pair shared the title at 100 pounds at last year’s USA Wrestling Junior Women’s Freestyle National Championships.
“We chose Iowa because of how invested Clarissa has been in trying to learn more about us,” Brianna and Emilie said in a joint statement. “It shows how enthusiastic she is for our future. We also love the huge support from the community, and we know that we will have teammates that will take our craft to the next level.”
The duo represented the United States at 43 and 46 kg at the U17 Pan-American Championships in June 2021. Emilie competed at 43 kg, going 3-0 and winning gold. Brianna competed at 46 kg, winning a pair of matches to win gold.
Brianna and Emilie will compete unattached in 2022-23. Iowa announced in September 2021 it would become the first Division I Power Five school to add women’s wrestling. The Hawkeyes begin competing in 2023-24.
2022 Signing Class
Brianna Gonzalez (San Lorenza, California)
Emilie Gonzalez (San Lorenza, California)
Reese Larramendy (Reno, Nevada)
Ella Schmidt (Bettendorf, Iowa)
Nyla Valencia (Morgan Hill, California)
Kylie Welker (Franksville, Wisconsin)