The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is back on the road this weekend at the Virginia Duals. The Virginia Duals feature a number of college and high school teams and take place in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va., on Jan. 8-9.
UTC is competing in the national college division that includes Arizona State, Bucknell, Campbell, George Mason, Grand Canyon, No. 15 Iowa State, Kent State, No. 23 Old Dominion, Rider, The Citadel and No. 3 Virginia Tech.
Live video for the tournament is available via Flowrestling, while live scoring can be followed through Trackwrestling. Links for both are on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
UTC is competing in the York River bracket and opens against Grand Canyon on Friday, Jan. 8, at 9:00 a.m. (E.S.T.). The Mocs follow that with a 1:00 p.m. match against Rider.
Teams are place in the Gold, Silver or Bronze brackets for Saturday's action, based on their outcomes from Friday. Each team will have two additional matches on Saturday.
Chattanooga Mocs (5-2, 3-0 SoCon) Probable Lineup125:
Alonzo Allen (Fr. - 8-7) or
Cody Minnick (Fr. 0-0)
133:
Cody Hill (So. - 3-7)
141:
Michael Pongracz (Jr. - 12-2) or
Chase Zemenac (So. - 0-0)
149:
Roman Boylen (Fr. - 7-6),
Andrew Webb (So. - 2-3)
Jacob Murphy (So. - 3-6)
157:
Kamaal Shakur (Fr. - 15-4)
165:
Dominic Lampe (Fr. - 11-6)
174:
Sean Mappes (Jr. - 10-6),
Barrett Walthall (So. - 4-6)
184:
John Lampe (Sr. - 14-4),
McCoy Newberg (Jr. - 5-4)
197:
Scottie Boykin (Jr. - 11-5)
285: No. 11
Jared Johnson (Jr. - 15-3),
Connor Tolley (Fr. - 3-6)
UTC fields a young lineup, with six freshmen among the probables.
Kamaal Shakur is one of the top rookies with a 15-4 overall record at 157.
Alonzo Allen (125),
Roman Boylen (149) and
Dominic Lampe (165) are other freshmen in the starting lineup.
Junior
Jared Johnson leads the team with his 15-3 overall record and No. 11 national ranking at heavyweight. He is coming off a fourth place finish at the Southern Scuffle.
Junior
Michael Pongracz is also off to a strong start. He is 12-2 overall with both of his losses coming last week at the Scuffle.
Chattanooga was picked to win the Southern Conference race for the 30th time since joining the league in 1978. UTC returns six starters and four NCAA qualifiers from last year's team that went 13-6 overall and 7-0 in league action.
Head Coach
Heath Eslinger is in his seventh season at UTC. A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, he owns a 79-43 (.648) career dual record.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (4-10) PROBABLE LINEUP125: Trayton Libolt (Fr. - 6-7)
133: Jauquin Olivas (Fr. - 3-10)
141: Uzo Owuama (So. - 2-6)
149: Blake Monty (Fr. - 7-7)
157: Zack Velasquez (Fr. - 3-8)
165: Bobby Reece (Fr. - 1-6) or Casey Larson (Jr. - 2-5)
174: Kenny Moore (Fr. - 7-7)
184: Cale Wilson (So. - 2-6) or Austin Trujillo (Jr. - 1-5)
197: Austin Gaun (Jr. - 5-9)
285: Sean Medley (Jr. - 1-6)
Grand Canyon is coached by former UTC All-American and assistant coach Jon Sioredas ('05). The Lopes are 4-10 overall and this will be the first meeting between UTC and GCU.
RIDER BRONCS (3-4, 0-1 EWL) PROBABLE LINEUP125: Zach Valcarce (So. - 1-2)
133: Rob Deutsch (Sr. - 4-4)
141: Paul Kirchner (Jr. - 9-7)
149: No. 14 B.J. Clagon (So. - 10-9)
157: No. 14 Chad Walsh (So. - 14-4)
165: No. 20 Conor Brennan (Sr. - 16-2)
174: Wayne Stinson (So. - 6-8)
184: Michale Fagg-Daves (Fr. - 10-6)
197: No. 20 Ryan Wolfe (Jr. - 12-7)
285: Mauro Correnti (So. - 7-6)
Rider is 3-4 overall and coming off a fifth place finish at the Midlands Championships last week. Chad Walsh is the current Eastern Wrestling League's Wrestler of the Week after placing third at the Midlands at 157. Others who placed at the Midlands include Conor Brennan (3rd at 165), B.J. Clagon (6th at 149) and Ryan Wolfe (8th at 197).
UTC is 1-2 all-time against the Broncos. Two of the previous meetings have come at the Virginia Duals, including a 26-15 Chattanooga win on Nov. 11, 2014. The Mocs lost the first matchup (33-10) on Nov. 7, 2011, and also dropped a close 19-17 dual on Nov. 10, 2013 in Blacksburg, Va.
