The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team fell on the road to Appalachian State today. The Mocs dropped a 21-14 match in Southern Conference action in Boone, N.C. The loss moves UTC to 5-6 overall and 3-1 in SoCon action. The Mountaineers improved to 5-6 and 3-1 in league duals.
Action began at 174 with App. State taking an early 4-0 lead. Junior
Dominic Lampe was back in the lineup for the first time since the Virginia Duals and was impressive in his return. He scored a 3-2 decision over Alan Clothier. Clothier was the preseason All-SoCon pick at 184 and currently ranked No. 32 in the NCAA Coaches Panel.
The Mountaineers built an 11-3 lead with wins at 197 and heavyweight. UTC sophomore
Fabian Gutierrez got the nod at 125 and posted an 11-6 decision over De'Andre Swinson-Barr. Both benches were hit with warnings during the 125 bout, which would play a big role later in the dual.
A four-point major decision at 133 pushed the ASU lead back to 15-6, but junior
Chris Debien responded with a win at 141. It was his fourth win in a row, improving to 19-10 on the year.
During Debien's match, the UTC bench threw a challenge block on a potential takedown that he was awarded before action was stopped for the review. The review resulted in no takedown at the time of the challenge and returned the action to neutral. Instead of Debien leading 8-1 and heading towards bonus points, he was now up just 6-1.
When the Mocs bench protested the takedown not being awarded, they were hit with a team penalty. Instead of potentially being down 15-10 with three matches left, the Mocs now trailed 15-8 after Debien's win.
App. State increased its lead to 18-8 with a win at 149. Chattanooga got right back in the match when freshman
Ryan Resnick scored a fall over Angel Najar at 157. Najar came into the match with a 3-0 record in SoCon duals, but Resnick improved to 7-11 overall and 1-1 in league action.
UTC trailed 18-14 with one match left between freshman
Drew Nicholson and ASU junior Michael Elliott. Elliott brought a 17-9 overall record and a No. 32 ranking in the coaches panel while Nicholson is 7-8 overall.
Elliott scored a takedown in the first frame and went up 3-0 with an escape in the second. Nicholson closed the gap with a takedown before the end of the second.
Nicholson went up 4-3 with a takedown with 26 second left in the match, but the score evened when he was hit with a locking hands penalty with 10 seconds left. Elliott eventually won with a takedown in overtime.
UTC closes out its SoCon slate at home next weekend. The Mocs host The Citadel on Friday, Feb. 8, and league leading Campbell on Sunday, Feb. 10.
Appalachian State 21, Chattanooga 14
Sunday – Feb. 3, 2019 – Boone, N.C.
174: Thomas Flitz (APP) def.
Hunter Fortner (UTC), 13-4 maj. dec.
184:
Dominic Lampe (UTC) def. #32 Alan Clothier (APP), 3-2 dec.
197: #17 Randall Diabe (APP) def.
Rodney Jones (UTC), 4-1 dec.
HWT: #26 Cary Miller (APP) def.
Connor Tolley (UTC), 10-2 maj. dec.
125: #23
Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) def. De'Andre Swinson-Barr (APP), 11-6 dec.
133: #31 Codi Russell (APP) def.
Jake Huffine (UTC), 11-3 maj. dec.
141: #33
Chris Debien (UTC) def. Irvin Enriquez (APP), 9-4 dec.
149: #25 Matt Zovistoski (APP) def.
Tanner Smith (UTC), 3-1 dec.
157:
Ryan Resnick (UTC) def. Angel Najar (APP), fall, 1:12
165: #32 Michael Elliott (APP) def.
Drew Nicholson (UTC), 6-4 dec. (SV-1)
* Chattanooga penalized one team point for a second misconduct call
