The Chattanooga Mocs hit the road this weekend for the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va.  Action takes place on Jan. 11-12 at the Hampton Coliseum.
 
Founded in January of 1981, the Virginia Duals was an innovator in college wrestling, bringing the dual-meet advancement format into widespread usage. The tournament grew from eight college teams in 1981 to its current arrangement of 16 collegiate programs in two divisions.
 
What started out with just four mats on the floor of the Hampton Coliseum has evolved into a 10-mat festival of wrestling, powered by hundreds of volunteers from around the country.
 
UTC is competing in the national college division that includes No. 13 Virginia Tech (2-2), No. 20 Lock Haven (2-0), No. 16 Arizona State (1-4), Kent State (6-7), Oklahoma (2-2), Old Dominion (3-2) and Virginia (7-5). 
 
The Mocs are matched up against the Hokies in the bottom half of the eight-team bracket, with match time set for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 11.  Also on this side of the draw are Old Dominion and Kent State.  Teams are guaranteed at least three duals in the two-day event, so be sure to check back to the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com for updates.     
 
Live video for the tournament is available via pay-per-view through TrackWrestling.  There is also live scoring via TrackWrestling and links for both are on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.  Live updates are posted on the UTC twitter page @UTCWrestling.
 
Chattanooga is 16-16 in nine appearances at the Virginia Duals.  The Mocs were 1-3 at last year's event, opening with a 23-15 win over Kent State.  UTC lost its last three to No. 11 Northern Iowa (7-33), No. 20 Lock Haven (18-22) and Old Dominion (17-20).
 
UTC is currently 1-2 overall, including a 23-15 win at Edinboro on Dec. 18.  The losses came against No. 21 UNC (10-23) on Nov. 11 and Ohio (19-22) on Dec. 20. 
 
Chattanooga Probable Lineup
125: Alonzo Allen (Sr.- 16-4) or Fabian Gutierrez (So. – 15-4)
133: Jake Huffine (Jr. – 14-6)
141: Chris Debien (Jr. – 14-8)
149: Tanner Smith (Fr. – 3-3) or Mason Wallace (Fr. – 12-7)
157: Ryan Resnick (Fr. – 5-9)
165: Drew Nicholson (Fr. – 4-5) or Trey Watson (Sr. – 0-6)
174: Hunter Fortner (Fr. – 5-9)
184: Dominic Lampe (Jr. – 11-8) or Ben Stacey (Jr. – 4-5)
197: Rodney Jones (Sr. – 11-11)
285: Connor Tolley – (Sr. – 9-10)
 
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT NOTES
125: Senior Alonzo Allen is the returning starter and defending SoCon Champion at 125.  He is battling sophomore Fabian Gutierrez for the starting role.  Allen is the reigning SoCon Wrestler of the Week after placing fifth at the Scuffle.  He is 16-4 overall and has also placed at the Hokie Open (2nd), the Wolfpack Open (6th) and the Cougar Clash (3rd). 
 
Gutierrez beat Allen in the finals of the Hokie Open and is 15-4 overall.  He climbed into the Intermat Top-20 at 125 prior to the Scuffle, where he went 3-2. 
 
133: Jake Huffine is having a strong junior season.  He is 14-6 overall with two SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week honors and another SoCon Wrestler of the Week recognition.  He has a runner-up showing at the Cougar Clash and a sixth place finish at the Wolfpack Open. 
 
141:  Junior Chris Debien is coming off a strong sixth place finish at the Southern Scuffle.  He also was runner-up at the Cougar Clash and two wins in dual action.  He is 14-8 overall, including a fourth place finish at the Wolfpack Open.  The 2016 SoCon Champion has won seven of his last 10 matches. 
 
149:  Freshman Mason Wallace is 12-7 overall after placing fifth at the Wolfpack Open and holding down the starting spot in the last two duals.  Couple that with a fifth place showing in the underclassmen competition at the Hokie Open and he is off to a solid start.  Freshman Tanner Smith is 3-3 and could be back in action for the first time since the Wolfpack Open. 
 
157:  Freshman Ryan Resnick went 3-4 with a third place showing at 157 in the Hokie Open Fr/So bracket.  He is 5-9 overall with a 9-4 decision at Edinboro and a 2-2 mark at the Scuffle.   
 
165:  Freshman Drew Nicholson is 4-5 overall and has not competed since withdrawing from the Cougar Clash.  He could be back in the lineup for this weekend's action.  Senior Trey Watson stepped in for the Mocs last two dual meets.  He is looking for his first win of the year after six matches. 
 
174:  Freshman Hunter Fortner is 5-9 overall.  He scored one win at the Southern Scuffle to snap a two-match slide. 
 
184:  Dominic Lampe is back in the lineup after missing the last two seasons of competition.  He redshirted in 2016-17 and was out last year with an injury.  He is 11-9 overall, including a third place finish at the Cougar Clash.  Junior Ben Stacey has dropped down to 184 for the first time in his career.  He was 4-3 at 197 and went 0-2 at the Scuffle at 184.
 
197:  Senior Rodney Jones has a third place finish at the Cougar Clash and a pair of sixth place showings at the Wolfpack Open and the Hokie Open.  He is 11-11 overall. 
 
285: Senior Connor Tolley was runner-up in the Wolfpack Open, falling to former NAIA All-American Ceron Francisco in the finals.  He also has a third place at the Cougar Clash and a sixth place finish at the Hokie Open with a 9-10 overall mark.
 
VIRGINIA TECH PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Joey Prata (So. - 7-8) or Kyle Norstrem (So. - 4-3)
133: #15 Korbin Myers (Jr. - 8-4)
141: Mitch Moore (Fr. - 9-3)
149: Ryan Blees (Sr. - 7-9)
157: B.C. LaPrade (So. - 8-5)
165: Jordan Florence (Fr. - 0-0) or #8 Mekhi Lewis (Fr. - 11-2)
174: Cody Hughes (Jr. - 4-6) or #6 David McFadden (Jr. - 7-1)
184: #8 Zack Zavatsky (Sr. - 13-2)
197: #9 Tom Sleigh (Sr. - 12-4)
285: #17 Billy Miller (Sr. - 6-3)
 
ALL-TIME VS. VIRGINIA TECH (7-8)
Home: 5-2, 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
11/17/17 - Chattanooga - L - 7-28
 
LAST TIME: No. 8 Virginia Tech 28 - Chattanooga 7 -  NOV. 17, 2017
125: Kyle Norstrem (VT) - MD 17-6 - Alonzo Allen (UTC) - VT 4-0
133: No. 18 Dennis Gustafson (VT) - Tech. Fall 17-1 (4:39) - Wade Cummings (UTC) – VT 9-0
141: Mike Pongracz (UTC) - MD 10-2 - Brent Moore (VT) - VT 9-4
149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko (VT) - Dec. 3-1 - Roman Boylen (UTC) – VT 12-4
157: B.C. LaPrade (VT) - MD 16-7 - Dylan Forzani (UTC) – VT 16-4
165: No. 5 David McFadden (VT) - Dec. 9-5 - Chad Pyke (UTC) – VT 19-4
174: Justin Lampe (UTC) - Dec. 6-4 (SV1) - Hunter Bolen (VT) – VT 19-7
184: No. 7 Zachary Zavatsky (VT) - Dec. 3-1 (SV1) - No. 12 Bryce Carr (UTC) - VT 22-7
197: No. 2 Jared Haught (VT) - Dec. 10-8 - Scottie Boykin (UTC) – VT 25-7
285: Andrew Dunn (VT) - Dec. 5-2 - Connor Tolley (UTC) - VT 28-7
 
MOCS VS. VIRGINIA TECH - INDIVIDUALS
125:  Neither Allen nor Gutierrez have faced off against Joey Prata, but both have gone against Kyle Norstrom.  Allen split matches with him, winning 6-4 at the Hokie Open last season before losing 17-6 in a dual on Nov. 17.  Gutierrez lost to Norstrom 8-1 on Jan. 28, 2017 at the Appalachian Open. 
 
133:  Huffine lost to Korbin Meyers (15-0) at the 2017 Southern Scuffle.
 
157:  Resnick dropped a 15-0 tech fall to B.C. LaPrade at last week's Scuffle.
 
165: Nicholson lost to Mekhi Lewis (15-0) at the 2018 Appalachian Open.
 
ALL-TIME VS. REMAINING VIRGINIA DUALS TEAMS
No. 16 Arizona State - 2-1 with all three matches at the Virginia Duals.
 
No. 20 Lock Haven - 1-2 with all three matches at the Virginia Duals.  LHU won last year's match 22-18 and 19-18 in the 2017 meeting.
 
Kent State - 6-10 all time, including four straight wins in the series.  Won 23-18 at last year's Virginia Duals.  
Oklahoma - 1-4, including a 34-6 Sooner win at the 2017 Virginia Duals.
 
Old Dominion - 1-5, including a 20-17 Monarch win at last year's Virginia Duals.
 
Virginia - 1-4, including a 34-11 UTC loss in Maclellan Gym on Dec. 4, 2016.
 
MOCS AS A TEAM IN 2018-19
UTC is 1-2 in dual matches this season.  They defeated Edinboro (23-15) on Dec. 18, and lost to No. 21 North Carolina (10-23) on Nov. 11 and at Ohio (19-22) on Dec. 20.
 
Chattanooga won three matches against the Tar Heels and actually held a 10-0 lead early in the match in Maclellan Gym.  UTC battled back from a 15-6 deficit at Edinboro and nearly pulled off another comeback at Ohio. 
 
The Mocs have also had a number of placers at the Hokie Open, the Wolfpack Open and the Cougar Clash in the first half of the season. 
 
HEAD COACH KYLE RUSCHELL
Kyle Ruschell was named head coach of the Mocs on Aug. 10, 2018.  He replaced Heath Eslinger, who stepped down to pursue other interests on July 19.  Ruschell joined the Mocs staff in June as assistant coach.  He spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin.  A former member of the U.S. National Team (2014-15), he was a two-time All-American for the Badgers (2007-10).
 
ALLEN NAMED SOCON WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Senior Alonzo Allen was the SoCon Wrestler of the Week for all competition from Jan. 2 - Jan. 8.  He defeated 18th-ranked Gabriel Townsell at day two of the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, by a 9-7 decision. He then fell to Lock Haven's Luke Werner by a 9-7 decision before taking down Alex Mackall of Iowa State by an 8-5 decision en route to a fifth place finish.
 
Huffine Nabs Two SoCon Weekly Honors
Junior Jake Huffine earned both the SoCon Wrestler of the Week and the Student-Athlete of the Week for all competition from Dec. 19-25.  The Cartersville, Georgia, native went 2-0 at 133 pounds.  He defeated Edinboro's Richie Gomez by a pin at the 2:07 mark to give the Mocs a 17-15 lead in Tuesday's competition. The Mocs went on to win that match 23-15.  On Thursday against Ohio, Huffine's 13-1 major decision over Trevor Giallombardo gave the Mocs a 16-13 lead after trailing 13-6.  UTC could not hold on to that lead, falling 22-19.  The wrestling honor is an on-the-mat award, while the student-athlete recognition goes to the top winter sports participant with at least a 3.3 GPA.  Huffine carries a 4.0 as an Accounting major.  It is Huffine's first career wrestling honor and the second for a Moc this season, after sophomore Fabian Gutierrez took the award on Nov. 7.  Huffine is one of three in the league to win multiple student-athlete honors this season and joins football sophomore Bryce Nunnelly as the two from UTC to be recognized for their success in competition and in the classroom.
 
HUFFINE NAMED SOCON STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
UTC junior wrestler Jake Huffine was the General Shale Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for competition held Nov. 7-13.  The Cartersville, Georgia, native scored his first career win in a dual meet on Sunday. After trailing 6-4 against No. 21 North Carolina's James Szymanski late in the third period, Huffine scored a reversal before the buzzer to force overtime. He kept the pressure on in the sudden-victory period to score the final takedown and earn an 8-6 win. Huffine's win brings him to a 4-2 overall record and 1-0 in duals.  The redshirt junior is an accounting major and currently holds a 4.0 grade point average.
 
GUTIERREZ NAMED SOCON WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
UTC sophomore Fabian Gutierrez is the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for the first weekend of competition.  Gutierrez opened the season by winning the 125-pound Open Division at the Hokie Open this weekend.  The Commerce City, Colorado, product picked up four victories on the way to his first open division title.  He earned a 6-4 decision win over Campbell's Korbin Meink, a 6-1 decision win over Elijah Oliver of Indiana University and a pin against Joey Melendez of North Carolina.  He then went on to beat teammate and preseason All-SoCon selection, Alonzo Allen by a pin to win the 125-weight class.