The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team closes out the 2019 calendar year at No. 5 Virginia Tech this weekend.  The Mocs face the Hokies on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.
 
Fans can catch the match on the ACC Network Xtra or follow live stats via Trackwrestling.  Links for both are available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. 
 
The Mocs are coming off a closer-than-the-score showing at No. 11 Iowa State last weekend.  UTC dropped the dual 26-7 in Ames, Iowa, but were in tight on a number of losses. 
 
The Mocs got wins from sophomore Tanner Smith at 149 and senior Rodney Jones at 197. They were also close with a one-point loss at 133, two-point losses at 165 and 174 and an overtime defeat at 184. 
 
Chattanooga brings a 3-5 overall record, including wins over Ohio (19-15), Davidson (47-0) and SIU-Edwardsville (29-14).
 
The Hokies have climbed into the top five in the national rankings behind a 3-0 start in dual matches.  They opened with a 29-10 win over Missouri on Nov. 2, followed by a 21-18 victory against No. 21 Northwestern on Nov. 10.  Their last dual was a 21-15 win at No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 17.   
 
Over the last month, Virginia Tech has competed in the Navy Classic on Nov. 23 and the Cliff Keen Invite on Dec. 6-7.
 
PROBABLE LINEUP AT NO. 5 VIRGINIA TECH
125: Fabian Gutierrez (Jr. - 7-4)
133: Franco Valdes (So. - 3-7) or Wade Cummings (Jr. - 3-3)
141: Aidan Murphy (So. - 1-7) or Mason Wallace (So. - 3-4)
149: No. 21 Tanner Smith (So. - 8-3)
157: Tyler Shilson (So. - 3-4)
165: Drew Nicholson (So. - 6-7)
174: Hunter Fortner (So. - 3-8) or Dominic Lampe (Sr. - 0-0)
184: No. 20 Matthew Waddell (So. - 8-3)
197: Rodney Jones (Sr. - 7-4)
HWT: Grayson Walthall (So. - 3-9)
 
SCUFFLE TICKETS ON SALE NOW
The lower bowl is filling up fast so be sure to get your 2020 Southern Scuffle tickets now.  Both the Mocs and Virginia Tech are among the teams competing at this year's tournament. To purchase tickets or passes to the VIP room, click the Tickets tab on GoMocs.com.

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 10-12 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, sophomore Tanner Smith at 149 and sophomore Matthew Waddell at 184.  Smith is in the Flo rankings at No. 21 this week, while Waddell is No. 20.  Gutierrez is 7-4, while Smith and Waddell are both 8-3. 
 
NO. 5 VIRGINIA TECH PROBABLE LINEUP
125: No. 14 Joey Prata (Jr. - 12-4)
133: Collin Gerardi (Fr. - 6-5)
141: No. 18 Mitch Moore (So. - 8-6)
149: Brent Moore (Jr. - 8-5) or Jake Hart (Fr. - 5-0)
        or Bryce Andonian (Fr. - 0-0)
157: B.C. LaPrade (Jr. - 5-3)
165: No. 6 David McFadden (Sr. - 7-1)
174: Cody Hughes (Sr. - 5-6)
184: No. 3 Hunter Bolen (So. - 13-1)
197: Stan Smeltzer (So. - 7-8)
285: No. 16 John Borst (So. - 11-4)
 
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
The Hokies have five of their 10 starters ranked in this week's Intermat top-20.  Senior David McFadden is coming off an All-American campaign at 174 last year and is No. 6 at 165 with a 7-1 mark.  Sophomore Hunter Bolen is No. 3 at 184 with a 13-1 record. 
 
ALL-TIME VS. VIRGINIA TECH
UTC is looking to snap an eight-match slide against Virginia Tech.  The Mocs are 7-9 in the all-time series that dates back to 1979.  This is the fourth year in a row these two teams meet in a dual match.  Last season, the 13th-ranked Hokies posted a 35-4 win at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. on Jan. 11, 2019.  The last win for the Mocs was a 26-10 victory in Blacksburg on Feb. 9, 2008.  Chattanooga was ranked No. 19 in nation in that dual.     
 
All-Time vs. Virginia Tech (7-9)
Home: 5-2, Away: 2-4, Neutral 0-3
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
1-11-19 - Hampton, Va. - L - 4 - 35
 
LAST TIME VS. VIRGINIA TECH
No. 13 Virginia Tech 35 – Chattanooga 4
Friday – Jan. 11, 2019 – Virginia Duals – Hampton, Va.
125: Alonzo Allen (UTC) over Joey Prata (Va. Tech) – MD, 10-2 – UTC 4-0
133: No. 15 Korbin Myers (Va. Tech) over Jake Huffine (UTC) – D, 6-1 – UTC 4-3
141: Mitch Moore (Va. Tech) over Chris Debien (UTC) - Fall (1:32) – Va. Tech 9-4
149: Ryan Blees (Va. Tech) over Mason Wallace (UTC) – D, 4-1 – Va. Tech 12-4
157: BC LaPrade (Va. Tech) over Ryan Resnick (UTC) – D, 7-0 – Va. Tech 15-4
165: No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (Va. Tech) over Trey Watson (UTC) – TF, 18-2 -     Va. Tech 20-4
174: No. 6 David McFadden (Va. Tech) over Hunter Fortner (UTC) – D, 10-3 – Va. Tech 23-4
184: No. 8 Zack Zavatsky (Va. Tech) over Dominic Lampe (UTC) - Fall (5:56) – Va. Tech 29-4
197: No. 9 Tom Sleigh (Va. Tech) over Rod Jones (UTC) – D, 4-2 – Va. Tech 32-4
285: No. 17 Billy Miller (Va. Tech) over Connor Tolley (UTC) – D, 8-1 – Va. Tech 35-4
 
HEAD TO HEAD VS. VIRGINIA TECH
Despite having just wrestled in a dual last season, there are not projected rematches based on the probable lineups.  At 197, UTC's Rodney Jones and VT's Stanley Smeltzer will meet for the third time.  Smeltzer took the previous two matches, beginning with a 10-6 win at the 2018 Appalachian Open.  He also defeated Jones 11-7 at the 2019 Hokie Open in November. 
 
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), No. 19 North Carolina (L, 22-15) and No. 11 Iowa State (L, 7-26).  Other ranked teams on the schedule include the No. 5 Hokies and at No. 23 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.