The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team hosts a huge Southern Conference showdown against Appalachian State on Sunday, Feb. 4.  The only two remaining undefeated teams in league action take the mat at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Maclellan Gym.  
 
Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).  They are also available at the gate when doors open at 1:00 p.m.
 
UTC is currently 6-6 overall and 4-0 in SoCon matches thanks to two league wins in its last outings on Jan. 19-21.
 
The Mocs scored a 29-15 victory at home over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Jan. 19, before traveling to The Citadel for a 38-7 win on Jan. 21.  Five of UTC's six losses have come against ranked opponents.
 
A win for the Mocs would put them one giant step closer to their league-leading 17th SoCon Regular Season Title.  The SoCon began recognizing a regular season winner in 1994.   
 
Appalachian State is 7-3 overall and 5-0 in SoCon duals.  The Mountaineers used five pins to beat VMI 46-5 in their last outing on Wednesday in Boone.  A win on Sunday would give ASU at least a share of its 10th SoCon regular season title. 
 
Live video is available for Sunday's action, along with live scoring through Trackwrestling.  Chris Goforth and Travis Jarrard have the call on the MocsVision broadcast.  Links for both are on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.  Live updates are also posted on the UTC twitter page @UTCWrestling.
 
Chattanooga Probable Lineup
125: Alonzo Allen (Jr. – 15-8, 3-1 SoCon)
133: Chris Debien (Jr. – 9-11, 3-0 SoCon)
141: Michael Pongracz (Sr. – 13-10, 3-0 SoCon)
149: Roman Boylen (Jr. – 13-10, 1-2 SoCon)
157: Dylan Forzani (Jr. – 5-12, 2-1 SoCon)
165: Chad Pyke (Sr. – 16-9, 3-1 SoCon)
174: Justin Lampe (Sr. – 14-10, 4-0 SoCon)
184: No. 16 Bryce Carr (Sr. – 20-5, 4-0 SoCon)
197: No. 14 Scottie Boykin (Sr. – 21-5, 4-0 SoCon)
285: Connor Tolley (Jr. - 7-5, 1-0 SoCon)
 
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 99-60 (.623) career dual record, including a 51-4 (.927) tally in league matches.  He has guided the Mocs to six SoCon regular season and six SoCon tournament titles.
 
ESLINGER CHASING WIN NO. 100
Head Coach Heath Eslinger is closing in on 100 dual wins in his career.  He is currently 99-60 (.623), which is second on the Mocs all-time wins list.  Jim Morgan owns the career coaching wins record at UTC with a 209-70-3 (.746) mark in 16 seasons (1969-83).
 
MOCS IN THE RANKINGS
Senior Bryce Carr is No. 16 at 184, while senior Scottie Boykin is No. 14 at 197 in this week's Intermat rankings. 
 
APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS PROBABLE LINEUP
125: De'Andre Swinson-Barr (Fr. - 6-11, 2-2 SoCon)
133: Codi Russell (R-Fr. - 9-11, 4-1 SoCon)
141: Irvin Enriquez (Jr. - 13-9, 4-1 SoCon)
149: Gavin Londoff (So. - 17-8, 5-0 SoCon)
157: Angel Najar (Jr. - 14-5, 3-0 SoCon)
165: Thomas Flitz (R-Fr. - 10-13, 1-4 SoCon)
174: No. 16 Forrest Przybysz (Sr. - 20-6, 4-0 SoCon)
184: Alan Clothier (R-Fr. - 23-7, 5-0 SoCon)
197: Randall Diabe (Jr. - 13-7, 5-0 SoCon)
Hwt: Cary Miller (So. - 15-7, 4-1 SoCon)
 
Chattanooga is 29-15-1 all time against the Mountaineers, but enters Sunday trying to snap a two-match slide in the series.  UTC lost on criteria (17-16) in last year's dual in Boone.  App. State also scored a 22-15 win in their previous trip to Maclellan Gym in 2016.  ASU has accounted for three of the four losses on head coach Heath Eslinger's league record.
 
All-Time VS. APPALACHIAN STATE (29-15-1)
Home: 16-5, Away: 11-10-1, Neutral 2-0
Last 10 Meetings
1-27-08 - Chattanooga - W - 27-9
1-24-09 - Boone, N.C. - W - 25-12
2-6-10 - Chattanooga - W - 30-9
2-6-11 - Boone, N.C. - W - 27-10
2-5-12 - Chattanooga - L - 17-21
2-3-13 - Boone, N.C. - W - 29-9
2-2-14 - Chattanooga - W - 35-8
2-8-15 - Boone, N.C. - W - 19-17
2-5-16 - Chattanooga - L - 15-22
2-5-17 - Boone, N.C. - L - 16-17^TB
 
Last Time Against Appalachian State
No. 17 Appalachian State 16 – Chattanooga 16
Feb. 5, 2017 - Boone, N.C.
ASU wins 17-16 (55-54 tiebreaker).
Tie breaker was total match points for each team.
285: No. 13 Denzel Dejournette (APP) def. No. 9 Jared Johnson (UTC), 10-4 dec.
125: Vito Pasone (APP) Alonzo Allen (UTC), 15-4 maj. dec. - 7-0
133: Chris Debien (UTC) def. #21 Colby Smith (APP), 2-1 dec. - 7-3
141: Chase Zemenak (UTC) def. Irvin Enriquez (APP), 8-5 dec. - 7-6
149: Matt Zovistoski (APP) def. Roman Boylen (UTC), 7-3 dec. - 10-6
157: Gavin Londoff (APP) def. Dylanger Potter (UTC), 3-1 dec. - 13-6
165: Forrest Przybysz (APP) def. Justin Lampe (UTC), 2-0 dec. - 16-6
174: Sean Mappes (UTC) def. #17 Nick Kee (APP), 17-7 maj. dec. - 16-10
184: No. 19 Bryce Carr (UTC) def. #30 David Peters-Logue (APP), 9-4 dec. - 16-13
197: Clay Dent (UTC) def. Randall Diabe (APP), 5-1 dec. - 16-16
 
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT NOTES
125: Junior Alonzo Allen is 15-8 overall, and coming off a first place finish at the Appalachian Open in Boone last weekend.  He also has a fourth place finish at the Hokie Open and a runner-up showing at the Black Knight Invite.  He is currently 3-1 in SoCon action.
 
133: Junior Chris Debien is weighing in at 133 for the third week in a row.  The 2017 SoCon Champion and NCAA Qualifier at this weight has gone 6-6 at 141 and 0-3 at 149 this season.  He was 2-2 at the Virginia Duals in his first competition at 133 this season.  He is 2-0 in SoCon matches at 133. 
 
141:  Senior Michael Pongracz is 13-10, placing at both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite.  He is 3-0 in SoCon action.
 
Pongracz's likely opponent is App. State junior Irvin Enriquez.  These two met at the Hokie Open, with Pongracz taking a 10-0 major decision. 
 
149: Junior Roman Boylen had an outstanding run at the Southern Scuffle, placing eighth overall.  He missed the Virginia Duals but is back in the lineup with a 13-10 overall record.
 
Boylen's opponent, sophomore Gavin Landoff, enters the match with a 5-0 record in SoCon matches and a 17-8 mark overall.  Boylen is 1-2 in league duals. 
 
157:  Junior Dylan Forzani is 5-12 overall.  He recently snapped a five-match slide with a win at The Citadel.  
 
165:  Senior transfer Chad Pyke brings a 16-9 record into the weekend.  He finished second at the Hokie Open and third at the Black Knight Invite, before going 2-2 at the Scuffle.  He was 3-1 at the Virginia Duals and is 3-1 in SoCon action.    
 
174:  Senior Justin Lampe is 14-10 overall, including a 3-2 mark at the Hokie Open.  He also placed third at the Black Knight Invite, but only won one match at the Scuffle and went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals.  He is currently 4-0 in SoCon matches.  
 
Lampe has a tall order in his likely opponent, No. 16 Forrest Przybysz.  Przybysz is 20-6 overall and also 4-0 in SoCon action. 
 
These two have met twice before, with Przybysz winning both times when they were compting at 165 pounds.  He defeated Lampe 2-0 in last year's dual and 1-0 in the Southern Conference Tournament. 
 
184:  Senior Bryce Carr is 20-5 overall and ranked No. 16 by Intermat this week.  His only losses are to Virginia Tech's No. 7 Zach Zavatsky (3-1) on Nov. 17, N.C. State's No. 3 Pete Renda (2-1) on Dec. 2, Ohio State's No. 2 Myles Martin (10-4) on Dec. 17 and Northern Iowa's No. 8 Drew Foster in the quarterfinals at the Scuffle and at the Virginia Duals. 
 
Carr won both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite and placed third at the Scuffle for the second year in a row.  He is currently 4-0 in SoCon matches. 
 
197:  Senior Scottie Boykin is 21-5 with titles at both the Hokie Open and the Black Knight Invite.  He was ranked as high as No. 9 in 2015-16 before redshirting last season and is up to No. 14 this week. His only losses are to Virginia Tech's No. 2 Jared Haught (10-6), N.C. State's No. 8 Michael Macchiavello (8-2), Ohio State's No. 1 Kollin Moore (18-8), Penn State's Shakur Rasheed (Fall - 0:27) and Penn State's No. 9 Anthony Cassas (9-7 SV1). 
 
Boykin placed fifth at the Scuffle behind an 8-6 win over No. 11 Matt Williams from Cal State Bakersfield.  He is on a seven-match winning streak after going 4-0 at the Virginia Duals and 2-0 in his last two SoCon duals.  
 
Boykin is 89-40 in his career and is one win shy of tying Tom Sell (1986-89) on the Mocs' all-time wins list.  
 
The probable opponent from Appalachian State's side is junior Randall Diabe.  He carries a 13-7 mark and a 5-0 tally in SoCon action.
 
These two have met twice before, with Boykin taking both matches.  He posted a 13-2 major decision in the 2016 dual, but had a much tougher 6-4 win in the semifinals of the 2016 SoCon Tournament. 
 
285: Junior Connor Tolley is back in the lineup at heavyweight for the first time since the Black Knight Invite in November.  He is currently 7-5 overall and 1-0 in SoCon matches. 
 
He is likely to face sophomore Cary Miller, who has a 15-7 mark and 4-1 in league matches.  Tolley beat Miller 3-2 at the Newberry Open last season. 
 
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 3-38 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.
 
UTC has faced five ranked teams this season.  The Mocs have faced at least four ranked teams in seven of Eslinger's nine campaigns at UTC. 
 
BOYKIN NAMED WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Senior Scottie Boykin was the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for all competition from Jan. 10-16.  This is the league-high third Moc to win the honor this season.  It is the second career award for Boykin.  He went 4-0 in the Virginia Duals. Wrestling at 197 pounds, scored a technical fall over Kent State's Kyle Conel before edging out Northern Iowa's 19th-ranked Jacob Holschlag 8-7.  After picking up a win via forfeit, Boykin capped off the weekend with a 17-6 major decision over Old Dominion's Noah Bushman. 
 
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.
 
CARR IS A TWO-TIME WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Senior Bryce Carr has twice earned the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week honor.  His first award came after winning the Hokie Open on the first weekend of competition in November.  Most recently, he won the award after placing third at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2. 
 
MOCS GETTING THE JOB DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
UTC topped the 3.0 mark as a team for the third time with a 3.03 GPA in the Fall of 2017.  The Mocs put a program record 17 on the Dean's List, while 21 on the A.D. Honor Roll is second only to the 22 in the Fall of 2015.