The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team returns to the mat this weekend.  The Mocs travel to Alpharetta, Ga., on Sunday, Dec. 17, to take on No. 2 Ohio State.  UTC is back home on Monday, Dec. 18, hosting Ohio in Maclellan Gym.
 
The match against Ohio State is at The Cooler in Alpharetta, Ga. (10800 Davis Dr.).  Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).  The home match on Monday against the Bobcats is 7:00 p.m.
 
Chattanooga has a 2-2 record in dual action, including a 2-0 mark in Southern Conference bouts.  UTC's wins are against VMI and Davidson, while the two losses are to No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 6 N.C. State.
 
Links for live scoring through Trackwrestling are available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.  There is PPV video for the Ohio State match, while the Ohio dual is available for free on the SoCon Digital Network.  Links for video and tickets are also found on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. 
 
CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Alonzo Allen (Jr. – 6-3)
133: Jake Huffine (Jr. – 0-1)
      Wade Cummings (So. – 2-6)
141: Michael Pongracz (Sr. – 7-5)
149: Chris Debien (Jr. – 5-5)
157: Dylan Forzani (Jr. – 3-4)
165: Chad Pyke (Sr. – 9-4)
174: Justin Lampe (Sr. – 9-4)
184: No. 15 Carr (Sr. – 9-2)
197: No. 15 Scottie Boykin (Sr. – 9-2)
285: Ben Stacey (So. – 1-2)
 
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 an 9-2 start after winning the Hokie Open and Black Knight Invite.
 
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 7-5 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 95-56 (.629) career dual record, including a 49-4 (.925) tally in league matches.  He has guided the Mocs to six SoCon regular season and six SoCon tournament titles.
 
MOCS IN THE RANKINGS
Seniors Bryce Carr and Scottie Boykin are both ranked No. 15 at 184 and 197, respectively, in this week's Intermat Top-20.  Both have 9-2 overall records. 
 
OHIO STATE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Brakan Mead (Fr. - 6-8)
133: No. 4 Luke Pletcher (So. - 14-0)
141: No. 6 Joey McKenna (Jr. - 2-0)
149: No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes (So. - 15-1)
157: No. 5 Micah Jordan (Jr. - 12-2)
165: No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell (Jr. - 11-2)
174: No. 3 Bo Jordan (Sr. - 12-2)
184: No. 2 Myles Martin (Jr. - 14-0)
197: No. 1 Kollin Moore (So. - 10-0)
285: No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Sr. - 2-0)
 
Ohio State is 4-0 overall with a match at Princeton on Friday, Dec. 15.  They are No. 2 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll and the Intermat Dual Meet rankings.  They grabbed three first place votes in the Coaches Poll and trail No. 1 Penn State by just 10 points. 
 
OHIO STATE SERIES
The Mocs have actually won three in a row against the Buckeyes and are 3-4-1 in the all-time series.  The last meeting was a 19-16 win in Chattanooga over a ninth-ranked OSU squad on Nov. 10, 2007.  
 
All-Time Against Ohio State (3-4-1)
Home: 2-1, Away: 1-2-1, Neutral 0-1
2-10-89 - Columbus, Ohio - T - 18-18
1-24-89 - Chattanooga - L - 9-31
1-2-97 - Mount Pleasant, Mich. - L - 3-33
1-8-00 - Columbus, Ohio - L - 9-27
1-4-03 - Columbus, Ohio - L - 8-32
1-10-04 - Chattanooga - W - 25-19
12-17-06 - Columbus, Ohio - W - 28-13
11-10-07 - Chattanooga - W - 19-16
 
OHIO PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Trevor Giallombardo (Fr.)
133: No. 15 Cameron Kelly (Jr.)
141: Alec Hagen (Fr.)
149: Kade Kowalski (So.)
157: Cullen Cummings (Sr.)
165: Nick Vestal (Fr.)
174: Austin Reese (Jr.)
184: Dontae McGee (Fr.)
197: Aaron Naples (Fr.)
285: Zack Parker (Jr.)
 
Ohio is 0-3 overall, including an 18-14 loss to Appalachian State on Dec. 2.  Their other matches were against Buffalo on Nov. 25 (29-7) and Missouri on Dec. 10 (36-6). 
 
OHIO SERIES
The Mocs are 6-8 all-time against Ohio, including 3-2 under head coach Heath Eslinger.  These two teams have met each of the last two seasons, with the Bobcats taking both bouts.  They scored an 18-14 win in their last trip to Chattanooga on Dec. 18, 2015, and a 26-12 victory in Athens on Dec. 16, 2016. 
 
ALL-TIME VS. OHIO (6-8)
Home: 2-4, Away: 2-4, Neutral 2-0
1-25-86 - Athens, Ohio - L - 17-29
12-12-86 - Chattanooga - L - 15-23
1-24-88 - Athens, Ohio - W - 33-9
12-10-88 - Chattanooga - W - 45-4
2-25-90 - Athens, Ohio - L - 18-20
12-11-91 - Chattanooga - L - 9-27
12-5-98 - Chattanooga - L - 6-26
1-5-01 - Athens, Ohio - L - 15-32
12-5-04 - Albany, N.Y. - W - 26-14
1-3-11 - Athens, Ohio - W - 20-18
12-12-11 - Chattanooga - W - 18-17
11-3-12 - Charlottesville, Va. - W - 21-12
12-18-15 - Chattanooga - L - 14-18
12-16-16 - Athens, Ohio - L - 12-26
 
Last Time vs. Ohio - Dec. 16, 2016
Ohio 26 – Chattanooga 12 - Athens, Ohio
125: No. 18 Shakur Laney (Ohio) – Fall – Alonzo Allen (UTC)
133: Cameron Kelly (Ohio) –MD 18-6 – Chris Debien (UTC)
141: Noah Forrider (Ohio) – Dec. 6-1 – Roman Boylen (UTC)
149: Kade Kowalski (Ohio) – Dec. 5-2 – Dylanger Potter (UTC)
157: Cullen Cummings (Ohio) – MD 8-0 – Trey Watson (UTC)
165: Justin Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 12-5 - Tanner Miller (Ohio)
174: Arsen Ashghyan (Ohio) – Dec. 6-5 - Sean Mappes (UTC)
184: Bryce Carr (UTC) – Fall – Nate Hall (Ohio)
197: Bailey Faust (Ohio) – Dec. 7-2 – Clay Dent (UTC)
285: No. 14 Jared Johnson (UTC) – MD 8-0 – Zack Parker (UTC)
 
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT NOTES
125: Junior Alonzo Allen is 6-3 overall, with a fourth place finish at the Hokie Open and a runner-up showing at the Black Knight Invite.  He is the only one not facing a ranked opponent in the Ohio State match. 
 
133: Sophomore transfer Wade Cummings and junior Jake Huffine could see action this weekend.  Huffine is 0-1 while Cummings holds a 2-6 record. 
 
141:  Senior Michael Pongracz is off to a 7-5 start, placing at both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite. 
 
149:  Junior Chris Debien is 5-5 overall and moving up to 149 this week where he is 0-1.    
 
157:  Junior Dylan Forzani is coming off a redshirt season and has won the 157 slot.  He spent his first two years at Sacramento (Calif.) City College, where he won a state title.  He is 3-4 after placing fourth at the Black Knight Invite.  
 
165:  Senior transfer Chad Pyke brings a 9-4 record into the weekend.  He finished second at the Hokie Open and third at the Black Knight Invite. 
 
174:  Senior Justin Lampe is also 9-4 overall, including a 3-2 mark at the Hokie Open.  He also placed third at the Black Knight Invite.
 
184:  Senior Bryce Carr is 9-2 overall and will have a shot at another top-10 opponent in No. 2 Myles Martin.  Carr is currently No. 15 in the country with his only losses to Virginia Tech's No. 7 Zach Zavatsky (3-1) on Nov. 17 and N.C. State's No. 3 Pete Renda (2-1) on Dec. 2.  Carr won both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite. 
 
197:  Senior Scottie Boykin is 9-2 with titles at both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite.  He was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country in 2015-16 before redshirting last season and is up to No. 15 this year. His only losses are to top-10 opponents in Virginia Tech's No. 2 Jared Haught (10-6) and N.C. State's No. 8 Michael Macchiavello (8-2).  He is paired against No. 1 Kollin Moore in the Ohio State dual. 
 
285: Sophomore Ben Stacey is in the lineup at heavyweight.  He is 1-2 overall, all at the Hokie Open. 
 
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.
 
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).
 
CARR NAMED SOCON WRESTLER OF THE MONTH
Senior Bryce Carr was the SoCon Wrestler of the Month for November 2017.  He earned the honor after going 8-1, winning both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite at 184 pounds.  This is his second career monthly award from the SoCon after winning the award in January of last season.  A senior from Dublin, Georgia, Carr had three major decisions, one technical fall and one pin.  His only loss in the opening month was to No. 7 Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech in sudden victory.