NEW YORK, NY -- The Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestlers lost two matches in Madison Square Garden here today, losing to No.2 Oklahoma State, 41-9, and to Rutgers, 28-12.
The Mocs had strong individual performances but dropped two team duals in the Grapple in the Garden, presented by Suplay.com. Sophomore Nick Soto and senior Niko Brown both posted a pair of wins against No. 2 Oklahoma State and Rutgers in the first collegiate duals in Madison Square Garden.
UTC vs. Oklahoma State: Soto, ranked No. 7 in the nation at 125, opened the match against No. 2 Oklahoma State (6-0) with a fall. He pinned Edward Klimara at the 6:29 mark to give UTC a 6-0 lead. UTC was only down 7-6 after three matches, but the Cowboys dominated the middle weights with four straight pins.
Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) was able to stop the bleeding with a win at 197. He posted a 5-4 decision over Austin Schafer, but the Mocs would eventually drop the match 41-9.
UTC vs. Rutgers: Chattanooga also started quickly against Rutgers (7-1), winning the first two matches. Soto (Spring Hill, Fla.) scored a 10-4 decision over Joe Langel to put the Mocs up 3-0. It was the third win of the weekend for Soto, upping his overall record to 13-3.
Freshman Marvin Lopez (Cleveland, Tenn.) gave Chattanooga a big boost with a fall at 133. He pinned Vinny Dellafave at the 5:36 mark for a 9-0 UTC lead.
Rutgers got right back in the match with back-to-back pins at 141 and 149. The Scarlet Knights followed that with three-straight decisions for a 21-9 lead. A major decision at 184 put the match out of reach, but Brown still battled for a win at 197. He scored a 3-1 decision over Dan Seidenberg to improve to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in dual matches. Rutgers went on to win the match 28-12.
UTC goes into the holiday break with a 4-4 overall record. The Mocs will now prepare to host the 2013 Southern Scuffle, presented by Defense Soap on Jan. 1-2 in McKenzie Arena. An impressive field of 23 teams will make the trip to the Scenic City for the two day tournament. Tickets are on sale now at the UTC Ticket Office by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online on GoMocs.com.
No. 2 Oklahoma State 41, Chattanooga 9
125: No. 7 Nick Soto (UTC) - Fall 6:29 - Edward Klimara (Ok. State) - UTC 6-0
133: No. 7 Jonathon Morrison (Ok. State) - MD 12-0 - Marvin Lopez (UTC) - UTC 6-4
141: Julian Feikert (Ok. State) - Dec. 5-3 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Ok. State 7-6
149: No. 2 Jordan Oliver (Ok. State) - Fall 3:12 - Jared Presley (UTC) - Ok. State 13-6
157: Dallas Bailey (Ok. State) - Fall 0:25 - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - Ok. State 19-6
165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Ok. State) - Fall 6:15 - Josh Condon (UTC) - Ok. State 25-6
174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Ok. State) - Fall 3:49 - Jake Young (UTC) - Ok. State 31-6
184: No. 17 Christopher Chionuma (Ok. State) - MD 18-9 - John Shrader (UTC) - Ok. State 35-6
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 5-4 - Austin Schafer (Ok. State) - Ok. State 35-9
285: No. 4 Alan Gelogaev (Ok. State) - Forfeit - Ok. State 41-9
Rutgers 28, Chattanooga 12
125: No. 7 Nick Soto (UTC) - Dec. 10-4 - Joe Langel (Rutgers) - UTC 3-0
133: Marvin Lopez (UTC) - Fall 5:36 - Vinny Dellafave (Rutgers) - UTC 9-0
141: No. 15 Trevor Melde (Rutgers) - Fall 1:17 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - UTC 9-6
149: Kenny Theobold (Rutgers) - Fall 2:52 - Alex Hudson (UTC) - Rutgers 12-9
157: Scott Goodale (Rutgers) - Dec. 9-4 - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - Rutgers 15-9
165: Nick Visicaro (Rutgers) - Dec. 11-8 - Josh Condon (UTC) - Rutgers 18-9
174: No. 9 Greg Zannetti (Rutgers) - Dec. 4-0 - John Lampe (UTC) - Rutgers 21-9
184: No. 13 Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers) - MD 8-0 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Rutgers 25-9
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Dan Seidenberg (Rutgers) - Rutgers 25-12
285: Billy Smith (Rutgers) - Dec. 4-0 - Kevin Malone (UTC) - Rutgers 28-12