The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team hosts the biggest dual meet in school history when No. 2 Iowa visits Maclellan Gym on Friday, Nov. 16. Match time against the 23-time NCAA Champion Hawkeyes is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Chattanooga-Iowa match culminates a busy day of collegiate wrestling on UTC's campus. Four other dual matches will also showcase No. 17 Virginia and NAIA-member Cumberland University.
There will be a two-mat setup in Maclellan Gym for most of the day that begins with a 2:00 p.m. match between the Cavaliers and Cumberland. The Mocs also face the Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. There will be one mat for the showcase match at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets for the entire day are $5 and can be purchased online on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627). As always, UTC students get free admission with a valid Mocs Card.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
2:00 p.m. - Virginia vs. Cumberland
3:30 p.m. - Iowa vs. Cumberland
Youth Match on Mat 2
5:00 p.m. - Virginia vs. Iowa
Cumberland vs. Chattanooga
7:00 p.m. - Iowa vs. Chattanooga
LIVE STATS & MOCSVISION VIDEO
A link for live stats for the UTC matches will be available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. There will be live video for each match through MocsVision on GoMocs.com. The live video stream is $8.95 per match or $19.95 for a full day's pass.
CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP:
125: No. 7Nick Soto (So. - 9-2)
133: Marvin Lopez (Fr. - 5-5)/Alex Ward (Fr. - 0-1)
141: Dean Pavlou (Sr. - 10-3)/Austin Sams (Fr. - 3-2)
149: Alex Hudson (Jr. - 2-3)/Jared Presley (4-5)
157: Trey Stavrum (So. - 6-4)
165: John Lampe (Fr. - 6-5)
174: Jake Young (Jr. - 4-4)
184: Robert Prigmore (Sr. - 3-5)
197: Niko Brown (Sr. - 12-1)
285: Kevin Malone (So. - 4-3)
NO. 2 IOWA PROBABLE LINEUP:
125: No. 1 Matt McDonough - (Sr. - 0-0)/Matt Gurula (So. - 0-0)
133: No. 2 Tony Ramos - (Jr. - 0-0)
141: No. 15 Mark Ballweg - (Sr. - 0-0)/Ethan Owens - (So. - 0-0)
149: Brody Grothus - (Fr. - 0-0)
157: No. 1 Derek St. John - (Jr. - 0-0)
165: No. 4 Mike Evans - (So. - 0-0)/Walt Gillmor - (So. - 0-0)
174: Grant Gambrall - (Jr. - 0-0)
184: Ethen Lofthouse - (So. - 0-0)/Jeremy Fahler (So. - 0-0)
197: Tomas Lira - (Jr. - 0-0)
285: No. 6 Bobby Telford - (So. - 0-0)
CUMBERLAND PROBABLE LINEUP:
125: Zach Shelton - (Sr. - 0-0)
133: Jake Williams - (So. - 0-0)
141: Jared McKinley - (Fr. - 0-0)
149: Steven Sandefer - (Jr. - 0-0)
157: Shane Brown - (Fr. - 0-0)
165: Kirk Johnson - (Fr. - 0-0)
174: Zeke Hunt - (Jr. - 0-0)
184: Cody Linton - (So. - 0-0)
197: Joe Gallegos - (Fr. - 0-0)
285: Tyler Smith - (So. - 0-0)
NO. 17 VIRGINIA PROBABLE LINEUP:
125: No. 7 Matt Snyder - (Sr. - 4-0)/Nick Herrmann - (Fr. - 2-0)
133: Joe Spisak - (So. - 4-0)
141: David Wesley - (Fr. - 0-2)/Jimmy Nehls - (Fr. - 2-0)
149: No. 10 Derek Valenti - (Sr. - 4-0)
157: Jedd Moore - (Sr. - 4-0)
165: No. 9 Nick Sulzer - (So. - 4-0)
174: No. 9 Jon Fausey - (Jr. - 4-0)
184: Stephen Doty - (Jr. - 4-0)
197: Mike Salopek - (Sr. - 3-0)
285: Patrick Gillen - (Fr. - 3-0)
SOTO RANKED THIS WEEK
SophomoreNick Soto moved up to No. 7 in the Wrestling Insider Magazine rankings. He is No. 9 in Intermat and No. 13 in the AWN listings. He finished second at the Wolfpack Open. SeniorDean Pavlou dropped out of the top-20, despite also placing second at the Wolfpack Open. At 12-1, seniorNiko Brown is just outside of the top-20 at 197 pounds.
BROWN WINS WOLFPACK OPEN & SOCON WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
SeniorNiko Brown was named the SoCon Wrestler of the Week after winning the 197-pound title at the Wolfpack Open on Nov. 11. It is the second weekly honor of his career. Brown is currently 12-1 on the year.
SOTO WINS HOKIE OPEN & SOCON WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
SophomoreNick Soto was the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week after going 6-1 in the opening weekend (Nov. 3-4). He won the 125-pound title at the Hokie Open, posting a 10-9 win over No. 6 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech in the finals on Sunday. His only loss was to No. 9 Matthew Snyder in a dual match with Virginia on Saturday. It is the third weekly honor for Soto in his career.
RECENT RANKED TEAMS TO VISIT MACLELLAN GYM
The last time the Mocs hosted a top-25 team, UTC pulled off a 22-15 win over No. 12 Stanford on Nov. 20, 2011. The Mocs biggest home win in recent years was a 19-16 upset of No. 9 Ohio State on Nov. 10, 2007. Below is a list of ranked teams to visit Maclellan Gym for a dual match with the Mocs since the 1996-97 season.
No. 2 Oklahoma State - L - 9-39 - Nov. 16, 1996
No. 7 Illinois - L - 7-37 - Jan. 16, 1999
No. 4 Illinois - L - 6-31 - Jan. 18, 2003
No. 4 Iowa State - L - 9-27 - Nov. 29, 2003
No. 15 Wisconsin - L - 12-23 - Dec. 11, 2004
No. 22 Northern Iowa - L - 18-19 - Jan. 28, 2006
No. 9 Ohio State - W - 19-16 - Nov. 10, 2007
No. 8 Missouri - L - 10-24 - Dec. 16, 2007
No. 5 Central Michigan - L - 11-26 - Feb. 17, 2008
No. 10 Oklahoma - L - 14-23 - Jan. 11, 2009
No. 2 Cornell - L - 7-32 - Feb. 1, 2009
No. 19 Missouri - L - 14-24 - Jan. 16, 2010
No. 12 Stanford - W - 22-15 - Nov. 20, 2011
MOCS PICKED TO WIN SOCON TITLE
The Mocs were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference title by the league's coaches. UTC has won 28 SoCon titles since joining the league in 1978. Head coach Heath Eslinger's squad claimed the tournament crown in 2012, received four of eight first-place votes and 46 points overall, narrowly edging The Citadel.
1. Chattanooga (4) - 46
2. The Citadel (4) - 44
3. Campbell - 35
4. Appalachian State - 33
5. Gardner-Webb - 25
6. VMI - 20
7. SIU- Edwardsville - 14
8. Davidson - 7
FOUR MOCS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SOCON
Head coachHeath Eslinger's squad boasts three members on the preseason All-SoCon team. After winning the 2012 title at 133 pounds, sophomoreNick Soto (Spring Hill, Fla.) will drop down to 125 and was the preseason selection there. SeniorDean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.), a two-time SoCon champion at 149, is the preseason pick at 141 this year. SeniorNiko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) earned the selection at 197.
MOCS RANK NO. 13 IN THE NATION IN TEAM G.P.A.
The UTC wrestling team recorded the nation's 13th highest grade-point-average for the 2011-12 season according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). The Mocs posted a 3.15 g.p.a. among its starters and top reserves in 2011-12.
MOCS ARE BRINGING TOP TEAMS TO CHATTANOOGA
Between home dual matches and the Southern Scuffle, the Mocs will bring six of the top seven teams from the 2012 NCAA Championships to the Scenic City during the 2012-13 season. Highlighted by a Nov. 16 visit from Iowa, the Mocs home schedule features seven events, including the return of the prestigious Southern Scuffle.
The Scuffle (Jan. 1-2) will feature NCAA Champion Penn State, runner-up Minnesota and top-five finishers Cornell and Oklahoma State. No. 7 Illinois visits Maclellan Gym for a dual meet in Jan. 6 and there are five home Southern Conference duals. Season and single-match tickets are on sale now at the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online at GoMocs.com.