CHATTANOOGA – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team opens its 2021-22 road slate this weekend at Davidson in a quad meet. The Mocs will face Davidson at 10 a.m. to kick off Southern Conference action. UTC’s dual with Clarion (11:30) and Rutgers (1 p.m.) will follow the Davidson match.
The Mocs are coming off of a 8-4 record in 2021 and a third-place Southern Conference finish after going 6-2. The Mocs return four NCAA qualifiers from last year including SoCon Champion Drew Nicholson (165).
SERIES HISTORY
vs Davidson: UTC leads 30-0. Last met on Jan. 23, 2021, UTC won 37-6.
vs. Clarion: Clarion leads 2-1. Last met on Jan. 4, 2003, Clarion won 26-14.
vs. Rutgers: Rutgers leads 1-0. Met on Dec. 16, 2012, RU won 25-12.
UTC’S PROBABLE LINEUP
125: No. 22 Fabian Gutierrez
133: Brayden Palmer -OR- Jake Insko
141: Colton Landers -OR- Franco Valdes
149: Noah Castillo -OR- Grant Lundy
157: Weston Wichman
165: Caleb Waddell
174: Carial Tarter -OR- Thomas Sell
184: No. 30 Matthew Waddell -OR- Landon Lewis
197: TBD
285: Matthias Ervin -OR- Grayson Walthall
* Rankings are InterMat (Nov. 9, 2021)
SCOUTING THE MOCS
UTC returns nine of its 10 starters from last year’s squad. All four NCAA Qualifiers return to the Blue and Gold including Fabian Gutierrez who is back for his sixth year and is projected to wrestle in his first match this season this weekend.
Last weekend, the Blue and Gold hosted Cumberland (TN) in their season opener. The Mocs picked up wins from Brayden Palmer (133), Colton Landers (141), Noah Castillo (149), Grant Lundy (157), Carial Tarter (174) and Thomas Sell (184).
Sell and Landers both won by fall, while Castillo posted the match’s only major decision.
Reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, Weston Wichman is projected to return to the Mocs’ lineup this weekend.
UTC was slated to finish third in the SoCon preseason poll with 50 votes after a third-place finish last season. The Mocs will open up league action in the first half of November for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
DAVIDSON PROBABLE LINEUP
125 lbs: Hale Robinson (2-2)
133 lbs: Kyle Gorant (3-2)
141 lbs: Gavin Damasco (2-3)
149 lbs: Garrett Stewart (3-1) or Noah Frack (2-2)
157 lbs: Bryce Sanderlin (4-1)
165 lbs: Jaden Hardrick (2-2)
174 lbs: Steven Newell (3-2)
184 lbs: Gavin Henry (2-3)
197 lbs: Owen Vietmeier (1-2)
HWT: Mitchell Trigg (2-2) or Jake Fernicola (4-0)
SCOUTING DAVIDSON
UTC’s dual with Davidson will be the first for the Wildcats this season. Davidson competed at the Southeast Open last weekend and was led by Jake Fernicola who swept the heavyweight freshman/sophomore bracket. Sophomore 149-pounder Garrett Stewart placed second after defeating two opponents by decision and pinning his third. Davidson was picked to finish seventh in the SoCon Preseason Poll with 24 votes. Last season, the Wildcats finished seventh with a 3-5 record overall and in SoCon action.
HEAD TO HEAD
184: Matthew Waddell (UTC) is 2-0 with two wins by fall over Gavin Henry (DAV). Waddell’s fastest fall vs. Henry was 0:47 on 3/8/20.
HWT: Grayson Walthall (UTC) is 2-0 with a 5-3 decision and a fall vs. Mitchell Trigg. The last meeting was 1/23/21 where Walthall won by decision.
LAST TIME VS. DAVIDSON (JAN. 23, 2021)
Chattanooga 37, Davidson 6
125: No. 22 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) winner by forfeit
133: Colton Landers (UTC) dec. over Kyle Gorant (DC), 5-3
141: Franco Valdes (UTC) maj. dec. over Gavin Damasco (DC), 11-3
149: Aidan Murphy (UTC) dec. over David Loniewski (DC), 7-2
157: Grant Lundy (UTC) maj. dec. over Erik Eva (DC), 17-2, (3:53)
165: Drew Nicholson (UTC) maj. dec. over Anthony Spera (DC), 11-3
174: Carial Tarter (UTC) dec. over Jaden Hardrick (DC), 3-2
184: Matthew Waddell (UTC) fall over Gavin Henry (DC), 4:45
197: Finlay Holton (DC) fall over Logan Andrew (UTC), 1:13
285: Grayson Walthall (UTC) dec. over Mitchell Trigg (DC), 5-3
Extra Matches:
149: Garrett Stewart (DC) maj. dec. over George Coleman (UTC), 9-1
RUTGERS PROBABLE LINEUP
125: 26/NR Dylan Shawver (2-0) -OR- Nico Messina (1-0)
133: 13/20 Sammy Alvarez (1-1) -OR- David Campbell (1-0)
141: 5/4 Sebastian Rivera (2-0) -OR- Michael Cetta (1-0)
149: 27/NR Michael VanBrill (2-0)
157: 32/NR Robert Kanniard (2-0) -OR- Al DeSantis (1-0)
165: Andrew Clark (1-1) -OR- Gerard Angelo (1-0)
174: 7/8 Jackson Turley (0-0) -OR- Connor O’Neill (2-1)
184: 5/5 John Poznanski (3-0)
197: 14/17 Greg Bulsak (2-0) -OR- Kyle Epperly (1-0)
HWT: 29 Boone McDermott (2-0) -OR- Alex Esposito (1-0)
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers is 3-0 this season with wins vs. NJCU, Cleveland State and Binghamton after a home quad meet. The Scarlet Knights are ranked No. 12 by Intermat, No. 15 by FloWrestling and No. 19 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Three wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes in Rivera (141), Poznanski (184) and Turley (174).
HEAD TO HEAD
There are no head-to-head results available for this dual.
UTC VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Mocs have lost their last six duals to ranked teams. Their last win came vs. #25 Campbell (18-12) on Feb. 10, 2019. UTC’s last top-20 win was at #19 Virginia (19-18) on Feb. 14, 2016. The team’s last win over a team ranked No. 12 or higher was vs. #12 Samford, nearly a decade ago, on Nov. 20, 2011, 22-15.
CLARION PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Joey Fischer (3-2) -or- Logan Mazzeo (0-2) -or- Hunter Verge (0-2)
133: Alex Blake (2-2) -or- Mason Prinkey (3-2)
141: Seth Koleno (5-0)
149: Brent Moore (5-0) -or- Kyle Schickel (3-2)
157: Kolby Ho (4-1) -or- Trevor Elfvin (4-2)
165: Cam Pine (2-2) -or- Caleb Hetrick (1-2)
174: John Worthing (3-2)
184: Ryan Weinzen (2-2) -or- Max Wohlabaugh (2-2) -or- Dylan Bisel (0-0)
197: Will Feldkamp (3-1) -or- Brett Wittmann (0-2)
285: Ty Bagoly (0-0) -or- Austin Chapman (2-2)
SCOUTING CLARION
The Davidson quad will be the first dual for Clarion this season. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles hosted the Clarion Open where two Clarion wrestlers won titles and two reached the finals. Clarion was picked fifth in the MAC Preseason Poll with 76.5 votes.
HEAD TO HEAD
There are no head-to-head results available for this dual.
To purchase Chattanooga Wrestling season tickets, click here.
Comments