The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team suffered a 30-6 loss at No. 7 Illinois today, but did come away with a pair of individual wins in the dual. The Mocs were in five of the 10 matches but only managed six team points in the loss. UTC falls to 3-3 overall while the Illini improve to 7-1.
Chattanooga freshman Nick Soto (Spring Hill, Fla.) had the team's marquis win of the season with his 8-2 decision over No. 4 B.J. Futrell at 133. Soto led 3-2 after two periods and dominated the final frame for his first win over a ranked opponent. He improves to 9-3 in his young collegiate career.
Heavyweight freshman Kevin Malone (Carrollton, Ohio) got his team-high 13th win of the year with a 6-3 decision against Patrick Walker. Malone is now 13-7 overall.
Junior Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) nearly had another upset for Chattanooga, dropping a tight 4-3 decision to No. 13 Mario Gonzales at 197. Freshman Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) also had a one-point defeat. He fell to Daryl Thomas 11-10 at 141. Senior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) put himself in a position to win at 157, but gave up a takedown to Guy Kirby with nine second left to lose 3-1.
The Mocs will now have a brief break before hosting the 2012 Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2. Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or at the UTC Ticket Office by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
No. 7 Illinois 30 - Chattanooga 6
Huff Hall - Champaign, Ill.
125: No. 6 Jesse Delgado (Ill.) - TF 21-5 - Cole Gallagher (UTC) - Illinois 5-0
133: Nick Soto (UTC) - Dec. 8-2 - No. 4 B.J. Futrell (Ill.) - Illinois 5-3
141: Daryl Thomas (Ill.) - Dec. 11-10 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) - 8-3
149: No. 6 Eric Terrazas (Ill.) - Dec. 9-3 - Kelly Felix (UTC) - Illinois 11-3
157: Guy Kirby (Ill.) - Dec. 3-1 - Dan Waddell (UTC) - Illinois 14-3
165: Jackson Morse (Ill.) - Dec. 11-4 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - Illinois 17-3
174: No. 9 Jordan Blanton (Ill.) - MD 19-6 - Levi Clemons (UTC) - Illinois 21-3
184: Tony Dallago (Ill.) - Fall 5:37 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Illinois 27-3
197: No. 13 Mario Gonzalez (Ill.) - Dec. 4-3 - Niko Brown (UTC) - Illinois 30-3
285: Kevin Malone (UTC) - Dec. 6-3 - Patrick Walker (Ill.) - Illinois 30-6
