Wednesday, July 25, 2012
- by B.B. Branton
Highlighted by home matches with No.6 Iowa, No.7 Illinois, No 28 Virginia and five Southern Conference foes as well as the Southern Scuffle, Chattanooga wrestling has its strongest schedule in history.
The Mocs 2012-13 home opener is Friday Nov. 16 with Iowa, Virginia and Cumberland University.
The January home schedule shows the 21-team Southern Scuffle on Jan.1-2, quickly followed by Illinois (Jan.6) and The Citadel on Jan. 27
The Mocs wrestle four other SoCon teams at home in February; Davidson (Feb.
10), VMI, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (Feb. 23) and Campbell (Feb. 25).
“We wanted to set a strong schedule that helps our guys prepare for the NCAA tournament in March and I think we have done that,” said UTC head coach Heath Eslinger.
“What a great home schedule with Iowa, Virginia and Illinois, all the strong teams in the nation’s best in-season tournament in the Southern Scuffle and five Southern Conference foes.
"The Chattanooga wrestling community has supported our program so well over the years that we wanted to provide our fans with the best schedule possible as a show of thanks for all they do for us."
Open on the Road: The Mocs open the season Nov. 3 at Virginia with a tri-meet with UVa, Ohio U. and Anderson, followed by the Hokie Open (Nov.4) and the Wolfpack Open (Nov.11) before the home opener on Nov. 16.
Early Christmas in New York: The Mocs have two matches (Rutgers, Oklahoma State) in Madison Square Garden in New York City (Dec.16) after a dual at Princeton Univ. on Dec. 14.
Southern Scuffle: The 21-team field includes four teams which finished in the top 10 at the NCAAs - No.1 Penn State, No.2 Minnesota, No. 4 Cornell and No. 5 Oklahoma State.
Season Tickets: Go on sale on Sept. 15 on GoMocs.com and by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) ... Season tickets are $60 and include all of the home duals and the two-day Southern Scuffle.
The Blue-Gold Match is set for Sat. Oct. 27.
Chattanooga Wrestling
2012-2013 Wrestling Schedule
Sat. Oct. 27 Blue-Gold Match Maclellan Gym Noon
Sat. Nov. 3 Virginia, Ohio, Anderson Charlottesville, Va
Sun. Nov. 4 Hokie Open Salem, Va
Sun. Nov. 11 Wolfpack Open Raleigh, N.C.
Fri. Nov. 16 Iowa/Cumberland/Virginia Maclellan Gym 4, 6, 8 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 14 Princeton Princeton, N.J.
Sun. Dec. 16 Madison Square Garden New York City, N.Y.
Jan. 1-2 Southern Scuffle McKenzie Arena All Day
Sun. Jan. 6 Illinois Maclellan Gym 2 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 20 Cleveland State Cleveland, Ohio
Sun. Jan. 27 The Citadel Maclellan Gym 2 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 1 Gardner-Webb Boiling Springs, N.C.
Sun. Feb. 3 Appalachian State Boone, N.C.
Sun. Feb. 10 Davidson Maclellan Gym 2 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 23 VMI, SIU-Edwardsville Maclellan Gym 2,4,6 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 25 Campbell Maclellan Gym 7 p.m.
Sat. March 9 Southern Conference Lexington, Va.
March 21-23 NCAA Tournament Des Moines, Iowa
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net