The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team hosts Ohio on Sunday, Dec. 1.  Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Maclellan Gym.
 
UTC is offering special Black Friday ticket deals throughout the weekend that include Sunday's wrestling action.  Fans can purchase $3 tickets for the Ohio match and the Jan. 12 Southern Conference dual against Gardner-Webb.  Details are available on GoMocs.com.
 
Chattanooga brings a 2-4 overall after splitting last weekend's road trip through North Carolina.  The Mocs scored a 47-0 shutout at Davidson on Friday before dropping a tight 22-15 loss at No. 19 North Carolina on Sunday. 
 
"We are excited to be back at home after being on the road the last couple weeks," stated head coach Kyle Ruschell. "Ohio is a tough team top to bottom and we need to be ready. We just need to continue to compete hard and fight for each of our positions."
 
The Bobcats are coming off a sixth place showing at the Navy Classic last weekend.  They are 1-2 in dual matches, including a 46-0 win over Long Island.  Their two losses were to Campbell (24-16) and Edinboro (25-7).
 
Follow the match online via TrackWrestling or watch through the MocsVision SoCon Digital Network broadcast on GoMocs.com.  Travis Jarrard has the play-by-play call. Links for both are on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
PROBABLE LINEUP VS. OHIO
125: Fabian Gutierrez (Jr. - 6-3)
133: Franco Valdes (So. - 2-6) or Wade Cummings (Jr. - 3-3)
141: Aidan Murphy (So. - 1-6)
149: Mason Wallace (So. - 3-3) or Tanner Smith (So. - 6-3)
157: George Carpenter (Sr. - 4-7) or Tyler Shilson (So. - 3-2)
165: Drew Nicholson (So. - 5-6)
174: Hunter Fortner (So. - 3-6)
184: Matthew Waddell (So. - 6-2)
197: Rodney Jones (Sr. - 5-4)
HWT: Grayson Walthall (So. - 3-7)
 
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 has an 9-11 dual record overall that includes sharing the SoCon Regular Season Title last season with a 7-7 mark and a 5-1 league tally.  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
The Mocs are led by junior Fabian Gutierrez at 125 and sophomore Matthew Waddell at 184.  Both are just outside the indiviudal rankings, with Gutierrez owning a 6-3 mark.  Waddell carries a 6-2 ledger and both went 2-0 on last week's road trip. 
 
Senior Rodney Jones (197) and sophomore Tanner Smith (149) also went 2-0 last week.  Jones is up to 5-4 overall while Smith is 6-3. 
 
OHIO PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Giovanni DiSabato (Fr. - 3-4) or Trevor Giallombardo (Jr. - 0-6)
133: Mario Guillen (Jr. - 5-3)
141: Shakur Laney (Sr. - 6-3)
149: Alec Hagan (So. - 11-3)
157: No. 18 Zac Carson (Sr. - 8-5)
165: Joe Terry (Jr. - 3-4)
174: Logan Stanley (So. - 8-4)
184: Mason Kroening (So. - 2-6)
197: Jake Walker (Jr. - 10-5)
285: Jordan Earnest (Jr. - 9-4)
 
SCOUTING OHIO
The Bobcats are led by senior Zac Carson, who carries an 8-5 mark at 157.  He is currently ranked No. 18 in this week's Intermat Top 20 individual rankings.  Carson and Alec Hagan (149) both earned runner-up finishes at the Navy Classic last weekend.  Senior Shakur Laney (141) finished third, while freshman heavyweight Jordan Earnest placed fifth and junior Jake Walker placed sixth at 197.
 
LAST TIME VS. OHIO
Ohio 22, Chattanooga 19
Athens, Ohio - Dec. 20, 2018
165: Colt Yinger (Ohio) def. Trey Watson (Chattanooga), 12-4 maj. dec. (4-0)
174: Joe Terry (Ohio) def. Hunter Fortner (Chattanooga), 8-5 dec. (7-0)
184: Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) for. (7-6)
197: Nathan Hall (Ohio) def. Rodney Jones (Chattanooga), 8-3 dec. (10-6)
285: Zach Parker (Ohio) def. Connor Tolley (Chattanooga), 3-1 dec. (13-6)
125: Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) def. Shakur Laney (Ohio), pin, 6:55 (13-12)
133: Jake Huffine (Chattanooga) def. Trevor Giallombardo (Ohio), 13-1 maj. dec. (13-16)
141: Chris Debien (Chattanooga) def. Kyran Hagan (Ohio), 4-3 dec. (13-19)
149: Alec Hagan (Ohio) def. Mason Wallace (Chattanooga), pin, 0:45 (19-19)
157: Zac Carson (Ohio) def. Ryan Resnick (Chattanooga), 10-8 dec. (22-19)
 
ALL-TIME VS. OHIO
This is the 17th meeting in the series that dates back to 1986.  It has been a fairly even rivalry with Ohio holding a 9-7 advantage.  This is the fifth year in a row these two teams meet in December and the Bobcats have won three of the last four.  UTC won the last match in Maclellan (22-19) on Dec. 18, 2017.  
 
All-Time Against Ohio (7-9)
Home: 3-4, 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 - Charlotteville, Va. - W 21-12
12-18-15 - Chattanooga - L - 14-18
12-16-16 - Athens, Ohio - L - 12-26
12-18-17 - Chattanooga - W - 22-19
12-20-18 - Athens, Ohio - L - 19-22
 
HEAD TO HEAD VS. DAVIDSON
Below are past matchups between wrestlers in the probable lineups.  Despite having met each of the last four years, there is only one rematch that could happen from last year's dual.  Alec Hagan pinned Mason Wallace at 149 to tie the match at 19-19 last year.  The Bobcats took the final bout to secure the 22-19 win.
 
MOCS HAVE A BRUTAL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
UTC has definitely scheduled up in non-conference action this season. The Mocs have already taken on Army (L, 18-12) and Illinois (L, 22-10). The Black Knights are off to a 4-1 start and have climbed into the rankings at No. 21 this week.  UTC also traveled to No. 2 Iowa (L, 39-0) and No. 19 North Carolina (L, 22-15).  Other ranked teams on the schedule include at No. 11 Iowa State on Dec.14, at No. 5 Virginia Tech on Dec. 21 and at No. 24 Virginia on Jan. 17.  UTC closes out the season with its third Big 10 opponent Indiana on Feb. 21. 
 
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.
 
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.
 
UTC ATHLETICS DRIVE FOR 25
The Mocs Club is kicking off its second annual Drive for 25 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 9.  The goal of this initiative is to raise $25,000 in unrestricted gifts to the Mocs Club to help support the 300 student-athletes at UTC.  Your participation enhances the academic and athletic success of all our programs and is vital to the continued growth of Chattanooga Athletics.  Any gift is helpful, so be sure to visit utc.edu/Drivefor25 and help support the Chattanooga Mocs.