Mocs Open SoCon Wrestling Schedule This Weekend In North Carolina

UTC To Wrestle The Citadel And Gardner-Webb In Tri-Meet

  • Friday, January 15, 2021

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is back on the road this weekend for a tri-meet at Gardner-Webb.  UTC opens Southern Conference action against The Citadel and Gardner-Webb on Sunday, Jan. 17, Boiling Springs, N.C.

 

Wrestling begins at 1:00 p.m.

(E.S.T.) with the Mocs taking on The Citadel.  Immediately following is UTC facing the host Runnin’ Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m. Follow both matches with live results on TrackWrestling. Gardner-Webb is producing both matches for ESPN+. Be sure to check the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to the live scoring and broadcast.

 

This is the first SoCon action for all three teams. UTC is 2-2 overall, while The Citadel is also even with a 1-1 record.  GWU is 0-3 against three opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference.  The Mocs have wins over Emmanuel and Little Rock, with losses to No. 6 Oklahoma State and Oregon State.  The Citadel beat St. Thomas and lost to Southeastern, while GWU dropped duals to No. 4 N.C. State, Virginia and No. 14 North Carolina.    

 

CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP FOR SUNDAY’S MATCHES

125: No. 19 Fabian Gutierrez (Sr. - 3-1)

133: Colton Landers (Jr. - 2-2)

141: Franco Valdes (Jr. - 1-0) or Aidan Murphy (Jr. - 1-0)

149: No. 22 Tanner Smith (Jr. - 1-0) or George Coleman (So. - 0-3)

157: Weston Wichman (Fr. - 4-1) or Grant Lundy (Fr. - 1-1)

165: Drew Nicholson (Jr.- 3-1) or Carial Tarter (So. - 2-0)

174: Hunter Fortner (Jr. - 3-2)

184: No. 12 Matthew Waddell (Jr. - 3-1)

197: Logan Andrew (Fr. - 2-2)

285: Grayson Walthall (Jr. - 1-3)

* Rankings are Flo (Jan. 12, 2021)

 

HEAD COACH KYLE RUSCHELL

Kyle Ruschell is in his third season at UTC owns a 16-18 dual record. The Mocs were 7-9 last season, with three qualifying for the NCAA Tournament before it was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  His first year was an impressive one that included a share of the 2019 SoCon regular season title and four individuals advancing to the NCAA Championships. He spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. A former member of the U.S. National Team (2014-15), he was a two-time All-American for the Badgers (2007-10).

 

SCOUTING THE MOCS

UTC returns six of 10 starters to the lineup from last year’s team that went 7-9 and placed third at the Southern Conference Tournament.  The Mocs are off to a 2-2 start after going 1-2 at the Oklahoma State duals on Sunday.

 

Senior Fabian Gutierrez and junior Matthew Waddell represented the Mocs on the preseason All-SoCon team.  Both qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Gutierrez, a senior from Commerce City, Colo., went 17-9 last season, including a 6-0 mark in SoCon dual action.  He was runner-up at the SoCon Tournament before earning an at-large bid to the NCAAs.  He is currently No. 19 in the nation in the Flo rankings. 

 

Waddell, a junior from Gilmer, Ga., was 22-9 at 184 pounds last season.  He was ranked throughout the year and earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs with a second place showing at the SoCon Tournament.  He also won the Appalachian Open and placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle. Flo ranks him No. 12 in the country at 184 this week. 

 

Junior Tanner Smith is another returning NCAA Qualifier.  He went 25-9 last year and is No. 22 at 149 pounds. 

 

Other returning starters include juniors Drew Nicholson (165), Hunter Fortner (174) and Grayson Walthall (285).  Nicholson was 16-16 last season, while Fortner posted a 12-17 record.  Walthall had six pins with an 8-12 record at heavyweight. 

 

THE CITADEL PROBABLE LINEUP

125- Jordie White (So. - 3-3)

133- Jake Rotunda (Jr. - 4-1)

141- Ethan Willis (So. - 1-1) or Tyler Seeley (Fr. - 0-4)

149- Selwyn Porter (Jr. - 5-0)

157- Grant Speer (Jr. - 1-5) or Sebastian Collazo (Jr. - 0-4)

165- Dazjon Casto (Jr. - 4-2)

174- Cole Burke (Jr. - 1-5)

184- Kyle Kretzer (Jr. - 2-3) or Cooper Youngblood (Jr. - 0-3)

197- Ben Stemmet (Fr. - 1-4) or Houston TyWater (Sr. - 0-2)

285- Michael McAleavey (Sr. - 5-1)

 

SCOUTING THE CITADEL

• The Bulldogs are under the direction of first-year head coach Ryan LeBlanc. LeBlanc spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at SoCon-member Appalachian State. He was a three-time NCAA Qualifier at Indiana (‘14).

• The Bulldogs are 1-1 overall with both duals coming against non-Division I competition before the semester break.  They defeated St. Thomas (54-0) on Nov. 14 and lost to Southeastern (22-14) on Dec. 18.  Both matches were in Charleston, S.C.

• Junior Selwyn Porter is 5-0 at 149. He was an NCAA Qualifier last season when he won a true second place match over UTC’s Tanner Smith at the SoCon Tournament.

• Senior Michael McAleavey is the preseason All-SoCon pick at heavyweight. He is 5-1 on the year.

• Juniors Dazjon Casto and Jake Rotunda are also among the team leaders in wins.  Rotunda is 4-1 at 133 pounds, while Casto is 4-2 at 165.

• The Citadel was 4-6 last season, including a 2-5 SoCon record and a fourth-place finish at the SoCon Tournament.

• The Citadel was picked to finish sixth in the SoCon preseason coaches poll.

  

HEAD TO HEAD

125: Fabian Gutierrez scored a 10-2 major decision in last year’s dual meet over Jordie White on Feb. 16.

149: Tanner Smith is 2-1 against Selwyn Porter, but Porter scored a 7-6 win in the true second place match at the 2020 SoCon Tournament. Smith pinned Porter (6:26) in last year’s dual. Smith also had a tech fall (18-3) in the 2019 dual with the Bulldogs.

165: Drew Nicholson is 2-2 against Dazjon Casto, with three of the matches decided by two points or less. Casto won 8-6 in the first round of last year’s SoCon Tournament. Nicholson won 6-5 in the dual on Feb. 16, 2020. They also split matches in 2019, with Casto winning 9-3 at the SoCon Tournament and Nicholson taking the 8-6 decision in the regular season dual meet.

174: Hunter Fortner posted a 9-0 major decision over Cole Burke in last year’s dual meet on Feb. 16.

285: Grayson Walthall is 0-2 against Michael McAleavey.  He dropped a tech fall (16-0) at the 2020 SoCon Tournament and lost 5-3 in the dual on Feb. 16. 

 

ALL-TIME VS. THE CITADEL

All-Time: 40-3, Home: 17-2, Away: 19-1, Neutral 4-0

The Mocs are 40-3 all-time against The Citadel, 23-1 away from Chattanooga.  This is the first meeting on a neutral mat since UTC scored a 22-20 win in Clemson, S.C., on Jan. 19, 1985.  The Mocs are 4-0 overall in a neutral setting. Chattanooga has won 16 in a row in the series with the last loss coming on Feb. 14, 1999, (27-13) at Charleston.

 

LAST FIVE MATCHES VS. THE CITADEL

2-12-16 - Charleston, S.C. - W - 34-3

2-12-17 - Chattanooga - W - 36-11

1-21-18 - Charleston, S.C. - W - 38-7

2-8-19 - Chattanooga - W - 31-10

2-16-20 - Charleston, S.C. - W - 39-9

 

GARDNER-WEBB PROBABLE LINEUP

125: Austin Wadlow (Fr. - 0-7)

133: Todd Carter (Fr. - 0-7)

141: Conrad Schiess (Jr. - 0-5)

149: Jacson Muldrew (Fr. - 1-4)

157: Chase McKinney (Jr. - 1-6)

165: RJ Mosley (So. - 2-1)

174: Samuel Mora (So. - 0-6)

184: Evan Schenk (Fr. - 1-4)

197: Jack Trautman (So. - 0-4)

285: Anthony Perrine (Jr. - 0-3)

 

SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB

• Gardner-Webb is led by Daniel Elliott, who is in his ninth season as head coach of his alma mater. 

• The Bulldogs are 0-3 on the year against a tough early schedule. They lost to No. 4 N.C. State (42-0) on Jan. 3 and [44-(-1)] at Virginia on Jan. 9.  GWU also dropped a 45-0 match at No. 14 North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 10. 

• Gardner-Webb was 5-9 last year, including a 3-4 mark in SoCon action.  The Runnin’ Bulldogs finished seventh at the SoCon Tournament.

• GWU was picked to finish fourth in the preseason SoCon Coaches Poll. 

 

HEAD TO HEAD

165: Drew Nicholson dropped a pair of close matches to GWU’s RJ Mosely last season.  He lost 4-2 in the backdraw at the SoCon Tournament.  Nicholson also lost 4-2 in the dual on Jan. 12, 2020

174: Hunter Fortner scored a 6-5 decision over Samuel Mora in last year’s dual on Jan. 12.

 

ALL-TIME VS. GARDNER-WEBB

All-Time: 15-0, Home: 6-0, Away: 5-0, Neutral 4-0

The Mocs are 15-0 all-time against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, including a 34-5 win in last year’s meeting on Jan. 12 in McKenzie Arena.  UTC is 5-0 in road matches in the series. 

 

LAST FIVE MATCHES VS. GARDNER-WEBB

1-15-16 - Chattanooga - W, 24-13

2-3-17 - Boiling Springs, N.C. - W, 26-12

2-11-18 - Chattanooga - W, 37-5

2-1-19 - Boiling Springs, N.C. - W, 31-11

1-12-20 - Chattanooga - W, 34-5

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