CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The 16th-ranked wrestling team made an early exit Saturday in its first trip to the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. The Mocs fell to the nation's top-ranked team, Penn State, 37-2 in the preliminary round then were defeated 31-11 by ninth-ranked Northwestern in the consolation bracket.
Chattanooga, now 5-4 overall, never led in either dual although it had better results against Northwestern, claiming three of the 10 matches.
Twelve of the Wildcats' team points came from UTC forfeits. Junior Shawn Cordell, subbing for the injured Steve Hromada at 133 pounds, was injured in his earlier match against Penn State and was unable to compete against Northwestern. With the decision in hand heading into the heavyweight match, UTC forfeited the last position.
Cody Cleveland got the Mocs on the scoreboard at 141 pounds. The sophomore defeated Keith Sulzer 7-2 to trim Northwestern's lead to 10-3. Seth Garvin's 6-4 win over Kyle Bartin at 157 got UTC to within 13-6.
Josh Edmondson provided the Mocs with their highest individual point total on the day, pinning Adil Kolovic in the second period to slice the deficit to 22-12.
In the 197-pound match, UTC's Matt Koz led third-ranked Mike Tamillow, 3-2 late in the third period. But Koz was docked a point for stalling with one second remaining in regulation. Tamillow gained the takedown in overtime for a 5-3 victory.
Chattanooga managed only one win against top-ranked Penn State in the opener. Senior Lloyd Rogers posted a 12-6 victory over David Erwin at 174 pounds for UTC's lone points of the match. A team point was deducted from the Mocs after Phil Davis defeated No. 13 Koz, 4-2 at 197, giving the Lions a 31-2 margin with one match to go.
The Lions, 6-0, used two pins, a major decision and a forfeit for the lopsided victory.
Mark McKnight began the dual with a pin at 125 pounds over UTC's Javier Maldonado. The Mocs lost six points at 133 and fell behind 12-0 when Cordell couldn't finish the match because on an injury. Jake Strayer and Bubba Jenkins extended Penn State's advantage to 18-0 with back-to-back decisions at 141 and 149 over Cleveland and Joey Knox respectively.
Dan Vallimont scored a 15-7 major decision over Garvin at 157, and Dave Rella defeated Nick Davis 5-1 at 165 for a 25-0 Lions lead before Rogers got the Mocs on the scoreboard.
The Mocs faced a No. 1-ranked team for the third time in five years. UTC took on top-ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., in both 2003 and 2004.
Chattanooga travels to Norman, Okla., next week to face Oklahoma Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
No. 1 Penn State 37, No. 16 Chattanooga 2
125 ? No. 7 Mark McKnight (PSU) pinned No. 9 Javier Maldonando (UTC), 4:49 6-0
133 - Tim Haas (PSU) won by forfeit Shawn Cordell (UTC) 12-0
141 ? No. 2 Jake Strayer (PSU) dec. No. 18 Cody Cleveland (UTC), 8-4 15-0
149 ? No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (PSU) dec. No. 20 Joey Knox (UTC), 5-3 18-0
157 ? No. 10 Dan Vallimont (PSU) maj. dec. No. 20 Seth Garvin (UTC), 15-7 22-0
165 - Dave Rella (PSU) dec. Nick Davis (UTC), 5-1 25-0
174 ? No. 12 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) dec. No. 17 David Erwin (PSU), 12-6 25-3
184 ? No. 14 Phil Bomberger (PSU) dec. No. 20 Josh Edmondson (UTC), 11-5 28-3
197 ? No. 2 Phil Davis (PSU) dec. No. 14Matt Koz (UTC), 4-2* 31-2*
285 - John Lamboranti (PSU) pinned Matt Lettner (UTC), 4:42 37-2
(*one team point deducted)
No. 9 Northwestern 31, No. 16 Chattanooga 11
125 ? No. 4 Brandon Precin (NW) maj. dec. No. 9 Javier Maldonando (UTC), 9-0 4-0
133 - Eric Metzler (NW) won by forfeit 10-0
141 - No. 18 Cody Cleveland (UTC) dec. Keith Sulzer (NW), 7-2 10-3
149 ? No. 5 Ryan Lang (NW) dec. No. 20 Joey Knox (UTC), 5-3 13-3
157 - No. 20 Seth Garvin (UTC) dec. Kyle Bertin (NW), 6-4 13-6
165 - Dominic Marella (NW) pinned Nick Davis (UTC), 2:48 19-6
174 ? No. 14 Nick Hayes (NW) dec. No. 12 Lloyd Rogers (UTC), 8-4 22-6
184 - No. 20 Josh Edmondson (UTC) pinned Adil Kolovic (NW), 4:53 22-12
197 ? No. 3 Mike Tamillow (NW) dec. No. 14 Matt Koz (UTC), 5-3* ot 25-11*
285 ? No. 1 Dustin Fox (NW) won by forfeit 31-11
(*one team point deducted)
