The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling teams opens the 2019-20 season with two events this weekend.  The Mocs host Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Friday, Nov. 1, before traveling to the Southeast Open on Sunday, Nov. 3. 

Friday's match against the Cougars takes place at Miller Park in Chattanooga, Tenn.  Action begins at 4:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) and fans are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and enjoy some great collegiate wrestling to cap off the work week. 

If the weather isn't favorable for the outdoor match, it will take place at the same time at Maclellan Gym.  Regardless of location, admission is FREE for Friday's action.
 
There is live scoring for the SIUE match through TrackWrestling.  A link is available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.  There is not a live stream for the SIUE match.
 
UTC then gets on a bus for a trip to Roanoke, Va., for the Southeast Open on Sunday, Nov. 3.  Formerly the Hokie Open, the Southeast Open takes place at the Berglund Center.  Follow all of Sunday's action on FloWrestling through links on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
PROBABLE LINEUP VS. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS-EDWARDSVILLE
125: Fabian Gutierrez (Jr.)
133: Franco Valdes (So.) or Colton Landers (So.)
141: No. 20 Chris Debien (Sr.)
149: Mason Wallace (So.) or Tanner Smith (So.)
157: George Carpenter (Sr.) or Tyler Shilson (So.)
165: Drew Nicholson (So.)
174: Hunter Fortner (So.)
184: Matthew Waddell (So.)
197: Rodney Jones (Sr.)
HWT: Grayson Walthall (So.)
 
IT'S ALL IN THE NAME
On first reference, it is acceptable to refer to us as the "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga". After that, we prefer to be called "Chattanooga" or "UTC". Our nickname is "Mocs". Please do not use UT-Chattanooga, Tennessee-Chattanooga or the Moccasins.
 
HEAD COACH KYLE RUSCHELL
Kyle Ruschell was named head coach of the Mocs on Aug. 10, 2018, and is in his second season guiding the UTC program. He posted a 7-7 record with a 5-1 SoCon tally to share the regular season league title in his first year.  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).
 
SCOUTING THE MOCS
UTC returns seven of 10 starters to the lineup from last year's team.  Senior Chris Debien leads the way at 141, where he is ranked No. 20 in the preseason Intermat listings.  2019 SoCon Freshman of the Year Tanner Smith is back at 149, while junior Fabian Gutierrez takes over as the starter at 125. 
 
Other returning starters include sophomores Drew Nicholson and Hunter Fortner at 165 and 174, and seniors Dominic Lampe and Rodney Jones at 184 and 197.
 
Some new faces in the lineup include a pair of transfers in senior George Carpenter and sophomore Matthew Waddell.  Carpenter is a graduate transfer from Penn State, while Waddell started his career at Oklahoma.  Look for Carpenter to compete at 157, while Waddell is listed at 184. 
 
SIUE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Gage Datlovsky (Sr.)
133: Aaron Schulist (Fr.)/Honor Nguyen (Fr.)
141: Saul Ervin (Fr.)
149: Tyshawn Williams (Sr.)/Max Kristoff (Fr.)
157: Justin Ruffin (So.)
165: Nick Bleise (Fr.)/Chase Diehl (Fr.)
174: Kevin Gschwendtner (Jr.)
184: Ryan Yarnell (So.)
197: Austin Andres (Fr.)/Aric Bohn (Fr.)
285: No. 17 Colton McKiernan (Jr.)
 
SCOUTING SIUE
The Cougars were affiliate members of the Southern Conference in wrestling only from 2013-18.  The Cougars are tied for 12th in the November MAC coaches rankings. Individually, Tyshawn Williams is tied for sixth at 149 and Colton McKiernan is second at heavyweight.  McKiernan is also No. 17 in the country, based on the preseason Intermat listings. 
 
HEAD TO HEAD
125: SIUE's Gage Datlovsky beat Fabian Gutierrez (Dec. 8-6) at the Lindenwood Open on Nov. 19, 2016.  That was Gutierrez's redshirt season.
 
174: UTC's Hunter Fortner defeated SIUE's Kevin Gschwendtner (Dec. 4-3) in the fifth place match at last year's Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Ill.
 
ALL-TIME VS. SIU-EDWARDSVILLE
The Mocs own a 10-5 lead in the all-time series, including a run of nine consecutive wins that dates back to 1987.  UTC is also 5-2 at home in matches against SIUE.  The last time these two teams met was a 29-15 win in Maclellan Gym on Jan. 19, 2018. 
 
MOCS PICKED THIRD IN THE SOCON PRESEASON
Chattanooga was picked to finish third in the Southern Conference race with 39 points, including one first-place vote. The Mocs also went 5-1 in the conference last year, finishing with a 7-7 record overall. Campbell received seven first-place votes and 49 points to top the 2019-20 preseason poll. Last season, the Camels went 5-1 in conference matchups, sharing the regular season title with the Mocs and Appalachian State.  The Mountaineers were second with 41 votes.  The Citadel (28), Gardner-Webb (26), VMI (20), Davidson (14) and Presbyterian (7) rounded out the listings. 
 
SMITH & JONES MAKE PRESEASON ALL-SOCON TEAM
The Mocs were represented by sophomore Tanner Smith at 149 and senior Rodney Jones at 197 on the preseason All-SoCon team.  Smith was the 2019 SoCon Freshman of the Year after posting a 12-9 record and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.  He was also a member of the SoCon All-Freshman team and was runner-up at the SoCon Tournament.  Jones qualified for the NCAAs at 197 pounds last year by taking the SoCon's second automatic bid at that weight.  He defeated The Citadel's Sawyer Root on a last second reversal in the second place match to secure his first trip to the national tournament.
 
MOCS GETTING THE JOB DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
UTC topped the 3.0 mark as a team for the fourth and fifth times in 2018-19.  The Mocs had a 3.02 GPA in the fall and a 3.1 in the spring.  The Mocs put 13 on the Dean's List and 16 on the A.D. Honor Roll in the fall.  There were 14 on the Dean's List and 17 on the A.D. Honor Roll in the spring.  Huffine, Jacob Murphy and Chris Debien all had 4.0s in the spring.
 
SEASON & SCUFFLE TICKETS ON SALE
Season tickets and Southern Scuffle tickets are both on sale now on GoMocs.com.  The season begins with the Blue-Gold match on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 4:30 p.m. at McKenzie Arena.  It is part of the Ball and Brawl with the men's basketball team who hosts Covenant in an exhibition game at 2:00 p.m.
 
ATTENTION ALL WRESTLING ALUMNI
We need all UTC wrestling alumni to take the C Club Challenge for $100.  Joining the C Club directly benefits Mocs wrestling, and the program with the highest percentage of alumni who join get an extra $5,000 added to their budget.  Visit www.gomocs.com/cclub to join.