The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team welcomes No. 8 Virginia Tech on Friday, Nov. 17.  Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Maclellan Gym. 
 
The Mocs are coming off a strong showing after an opening weekend trip to Virginia.  UTC scored a 37-7 Southern Conference win at VMI on Saturday, Nov. 4.  Chattanooga followed that with two individual wins and three additional placers at the Hokie Open on Sunday, Nov. 5. 
 
The Hokies bring a top-10 ranking and a 1-0 record to the Scenic City on Friday.  Virginia Tech opened with a 22-12 win over No. 12 Stanford before competing at the Hokie Open.  The Hokies won four individual titles at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Albany, N.Y., last weekend. 

Friday's match is a WHITE OUT and all fans are encourage to wear their white Mocs gear.  FREE WHITE OUT t-shirts are available at the door while they last.  
 
Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).  Fans can also purchase at the door when they open on Friday at 6:00 p.m. A link for live scoring and the free MocsVision broadcast are available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
UTC follows the Virginia Tech match with an early wakeup call and a flight to West Point, N.Y., for the Black Knight Invite.  There the Mocs face Army, Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Rutgers and Worcester Polytechnic on Sunday, Nov. 19.  A link to live scoring is also on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.   
 
CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP
125:  Alonzo Allen (Jr. - 3-0, 1-0 SoCon)
133:  Wade Cummings (So. - 1-3, 0-1 SoCon)
141:  Michael Pongracz (Sr. - 4-1, 1-0 SoCon)
149:  Roman Boylen (Jr. - 2-2, 0-0 SoCon)
157:  Dylan Forzani (Jr. - 0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
165:  Chad Pyke (Sr. - 5-1, 1-0 SoCon)
174:  Justin Lampe (Sr. - 4-2, 1-0 SoCon)
184:  No. 12 Bryce Carr (Sr. - 5-0, 1-0 SoCon)
197:  Scottie Boykin (Sr. - 5-0, 1-0 SoCon)
285:  Connor Tolley (Jr. - 5-2, 1-0 SoCon)
 
UTC is coming off a 7-9 record last season.  The Mocs return five starters to a team that finished 5-2 in SoCon regular season duals and fourth in the league tournament. 
 
Senior Scottie Boykin is back in the lineup at 197 after redshirting last season.  He won the league as a junior in 2016, when he was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country.  He is off to a 5-0 start after winning the Hokie Open.
 
Also coming off a redshirt year is senior Michael Pongracz.  He is a two-time NCAA qualifier who was 22-6 at 141 in 2015-16.  He is 4-1 overall and finished third at the Hokie Open. 
 
HEAD COACH HEATH ESLINGER
Head Coach Heath Eslinger is in his ninth year at UTC.  A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, he owns a 94-54 (.635) career dual record, including a 48-4 (.923) tally in league matches.  He has guided the Mocs to six SoCon regular season and six SoCon tournament titles.
 
MOCS IN THE RANKINGS
Senior Bryce Carr is the lone Moc in this week's Intermat Top-20.  He checks in at No. 12 at 184 pounds with a 5-0 record.  As a team, UTC picked up three votes in the NWCA Coaches Top 25 this week. 
 
VIRGINIA TECH PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Kyle Norstrem (Fr. - 5-3)
133: No. 18 Dennis Gustafson (Sr. - 6-1)
141: Brent Moore (Fr. - 5-3) or Andrew Mehrholz (Fr. - 6-2)
149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Jr. - 3-1)
157: Ryan Blees (Jr. - 1-2) or B.C. LaPrade (Fr. - 4-3)
165: No. 5 David McFadden (So. - 8-0)
174: Cody Hughes (So. - 3-4) or Hunter Bolen (Fr. - 3-1)
184: No. 7 Zack Zavatsky (Jr. - 6-2)
197: No. 2 Jared Haught (Sr. - 4-0)
285: Andrew Dunn (Fr. - 6-2)
 
Virginia Tech is coming off its fifth-straight top-10 finish at the NCAAs after placing sixth last season.  The Hokies were 18-1 in duals and 5-0 in ACC matches in 2016-17. 
 
VIRGINIA TECH SERIES
The Hokie have won the last six to even the series at 7-7.  They scored a 29-6 win over the Mocs last year with Chris Debien and Justin Lampe both scoring decisions in the loss.
 
ALL-TIME VS. VIRGINIA TECH (7-7)
Home: 5-1, Away: 2-4, Neutral 0-2
1979 - Chattanooga - W - 22-15
12-8-79 - Blacksburg, Va. - L - 22-26
1-8-82 - Chattanooga - W - 37-4
12-14-02 - Blacksburg, Va. - W - 27-15
11-29-03 - Chattanooga - W - 24-14
11-26-04 - Chattanooga - W - 32-13
11-11-06 - Chattanooga - W - 29-9
2-9-08 - Blacksburg, Va. - W - 26-10
11-30-08 - Chattanooga - L - 0-37
11-7-09 - Blacksburg, Va. - L - 18-21
11-21-10 - Chapel Hill, N.C. - L - 12-25
11-10-13 - Blacksburg, Va. - L - 10-27
2-17-14 - Columbus, Ohio - L - 17-22
11-13-16 - Blacksburg, Va. - L - 6-29
 
LAST TIME: No. 7 Virginia Tech 29 - No. 24 Chattanooga 6 -  NOV. 13, 2016
125: No. 3 Joey Dance (VT) – MD 18-5 – Alonzo Allen (UTC) – VT 4-0
133: Chris Debien (UTC) – Dec. 10-5 – Dominic Latona (VT) – VT 4-3
141: Dennis Gustafson (VT) – Dec. 9-4 - Roman Boylen (UTC) – VT 7-3
149: No. 6 Solomon Chisko (VT) – MD 15-3 - Dylanger Potter (UTC) – VT 11-3
157: Sal Mastriani (VT) – Tech. Fall 22-4 (5:25) - Trey Watson (UTC) – VT 16-3
165: Justin Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 3-1 - Mike Ciavarro (VT) – VT 16-6
174: No. 2 Zach Epperly (VT) – MD 14-6 - Sean Mappes (UTC) –VT 20-6
184: No. 10 Zack Zavatsky (VT) – Dec. 2-1 - Bryce Carr (UTC) – VT 23-6
197: No. 3 Jared Haught (VT) – Dec. 6-1 - Clay Dent (UTC) – VT 26-6
285: No. 2 Ty Walz (VT) – Dec. 13-7 - No. 11 Jared Johnson (UTC) – VT 29-6
 
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT NOTES
125: Junior Alonzo Allen went 2-0 before pulling out of the Hokie Open on the opening weekend.  He scored a 6-4 decision over Virginia Tech freshman starter Kyle Norstrem in the second round.  Allen is 3-0 on the year.
 
133: Sophomore transfer Wade Cummings is in the lineup at 133.  He went 1-2 at the Hokie Open, including a 17-4 major decision loss to VT starter No. 18 Dennis Gustafson.  Cumming is 1-3 overall.
 
141:  Senior Michael Pongracz is off to a 4-1 start that includes a third place finish at the Hokie Open.  His lone loss was a 3-2 setback to UNC's A.C. Headlee.
 
149:  Junior Roman Boylen is in the lineup with a 2-2 record, all at the Hokie Open.    
 
157:  Junior Dylan Forzani is coming off a redshirt season and is competing for the time at UTC.  He spent his first two years at Sacramento (Calif.) City College, where he won a state title. 
 
165:  Senior transfer Chad Pyke brings a 5-1 record into the weekend.  His lone loss is a 10-3 decision to the Hokies' David McFadden in the finals of the Hokie Open.
 
174:  Senior Justin Lampe is 4-2 overall, including a 3-2 mark at the Hokie Open.  He is one of two Mocs to score a win in last year's dual with Virginia Tech, a 3-1 decision over Mike Ciavarro at 165.
 
184:  This will be a big match between the Mocs 12th-ranked senior Bryce Carr and Virginia Tech's No. 7 Zack Zavatsky.  Carr won the Hokie Open and is 5-0 overall.  Zavatsy is 6-2 on the year and did not compete at the Hokie Open. 
 
These two battled in a 2-1 decision won by Zavatsky in last year's dual match in Blacksburg. 
 
197:  Senior Scottie Boykin is 5-0 and won the Hokie Open.  He was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country in 2015-16 before redshirting last season.  He has not broken back into the rankings yet, and will have a big test against second-ranked  Jared Haught. 
 
Despite competing in a number of the same events throughout their careers, these two have never met on the mat. 
 
285: Junior Connor Tolley brings a 5-2 record.  He will face off against Virginia Tech freshman Andrew Dunn who is 6-2 overall.
 
MOCS VS. RANKED TEAMS
The last time the Mocs beat a ranked team was a 19-18 win at No. 19 Virginia on Feb. 14, 2016.  Chattanooga is 3-35 against ranked teams under head coach Heath Eslinger.  The other two wins include a 23-15 victory against No. 25 Kent State in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Nov. 15, 2014 and 22-15 over No. 12 Stanford in Maclellan Gym on Nov. 20, 2011.
 
MOCS AT THE BLACK NIGHT INVITE
The Mocs are making their first ever trip to West Point, N.Y. for the Black Knight Invite on Sunday, Nov. 19.  Coach Eslinger is taking 15 Mocs to the tournament.  Joining the starters listed for the Virginia Tech dual on the trip are freshmen Fabian Gutierrez (125), Jake Adcock (149), Dominick Petrucelli (165) and juniors Chris Debien (141) and Rodney Jones (184). 

CARR NAMED SOCON WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Senior Bryce Carr was the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for all competition from Nov. 3-7.  Carr, a senior from Dublin, Georgia, opened his 2017-18 season going 5-0 and winning the Hokie Open at 184 pounds.  The reigning Southern Conference champion at 184 pounds began the weekend by registering a pin in just 39 seconds against VMI on Nov. 4. He then went 4-0 in the Hokie Open with two decisions, a major decision and a technical fall.  This marks the second time in his career that Carr has been named SoCon Wrestler of the Week (Jan. 4, 2017).