The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team competes in the 89th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 21-23, 2019.  Action takes place in the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is covered live by the ESPN family of networks.
 
UTC posted a 7-7 dual match record and earned a share of the Southern Conference regular season title with a 5-1 league mark. The Mocs were third at the SoCon Tournament and had four individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships. 
 
Historically, UTC has won 17 SoCon regular season titles since the league began recognizing a season champ in 1992.  The Mocs have also won 29 SoCon Tournament titles since joining the league in 1978.  Chattanooga has had nine individuals earn 12 All-American honors since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1978.  The last to do so was Cody Cleveland, who placed eighth at 141 pounds in 2008.  UTC's highest placer at the Division I Tournament was Charlie Heard, who was runner-up at 118 pounds in 1983. 
 
The four representing Chattanooga at the NCAA Championships are senior Alonzo Allen, junior Chris Debien (141), freshman Tyler Smith (149) and junior Rodney Jones (197).  Debien, Smith and Jones earned automatic bids, while Allen was an at-large qualifier.  Debien won the SoCon title at 141, with Smith and Jones advancing by placing second.  This is the second career trip for Allen and Debien and the first for Smith and Jones. 
 
CHATTANOOGA MOCS LINEUP
125: No. 26 Alonzo Allen (Sr. - 23-8)
141: No. 28 Chris Debien (Jr. - 24-11)
149: No. 32 Tanner Smith (Fr. - 11-7)
197: No. 33 Rodney Jones (Jr. - 20-18)
(No. = NCAA Tournament Seed)
Head Coach:  Kyle Ruschell (7-7 - 1st Year)
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, March 21
Session 1 - 1st Round - ESPNU/ESPN3 - Noon (E.D.T.)
Session 2 - 2nd Round and Consolation Rounds - ESPN/ESPN3 - 7:00 p.m.
 
Friday, March 22
Session 3 - Quarters and Consolation Rounds - ESPNU/ESPN3 - 11:00 a.m.
Session 4 - Semifinals - ESPN/ESPN3 - 8:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 23
Session 5 - Medal Rounds - ESPNU/ESPN3 - 11:00 a.m.
Session 6 - Finals - ESPN/ESPN3 - 7:00 p.m.
 
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.
 
All Prime-Time Sessions on ESPN
ESPN's prime-time coverage begins with the second round Thursday, March 21, at 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) As in years past, the semifinals and finals will air on ESPN on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, respectively, beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.  
 
ESPNU will carry all the championships' earlier sessions each day, beginning with the first round on March 21 (Noon), continuing with the quarterfinals on March 22 (11:00 a.m.) and the concluding with the medal round on March 23 (11:00 a.m.)
 
Throughout the entire three days, during all six sessions, ESPN3 streams every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school. During the finals ESPN3 will once again offer Off the Mat -- a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions.
 
Tim Johnson, ESPN's "Voice of College Wrestling" is UTC head coach Kyle Ruschell's father-in-law.
 
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT PREVIEW
A complete breakdown of each individual Moc at the NCAA Championships is available in the .pdf of the notes which are attached to this story.
 
Alonzo Allen - Senior - 125
• Making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships after earning an at-large bid at 125 pounds.
• 23-8 overall record ... 74-44 in his career.
• Seeded 26th and opens against Princeton's No. 7 Pat Glory.
• Member of the All-SoCon team who was upset by Campbell's Korbin Meink in the finals of the SoCon Tournament where he placed second.
• Has four wins against the field, including a 9-7 decision over Stanford's Gabriel Townsell at the Southern Scuffle.  Also posted an 8-5 win over Iowa State's Alex Mackall in the fifth-place match at the Scuffle and a 6-4 decision over Army's Trey Chalifoux at the Cougar Clash. Defeated Campbell's Korbin Meink 7-2 in the dual on Feb. 10.  Mocs won that dual 18-12 against the 25th-ranked Camels to clinch a share of the 2019 SoCon Regular Season title.
• 4-5 against the field in 2018-19, including a one-point loss to Old Dominion's Michael McGee at the Virginia Duals.
• 5-12 all-time against the field.
• Battled teammate Fabian Gutierrez all year long for the starting position, winning the spot in a wrestle-off in late February.  Gutierrez is No. 23 in the last regular season coaches rankings. 
• SoCon Wrestler of the Week after placing fifth at the Scuffle. 
• Finished third at the Cougar Clash.
• Finished sixth at the Wolfpack Open.
• Finished second at the Hokie Open.
• 2018 SoCon Champion and went 1-2 at the NCAAs.
• Earned a degree in Health & Human Performance in May 2018 ... currently working on a second degree in Communications.
• Two-time state champion at Rockdale County High School in Conyers, Ga.
 
Chris Debien- Junior - 141
• Making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships after winning the Southern Conference title at 141 pounds.
• 24-11 overall record ... 66-37 in his career.
• Seeded 28th and opens against Missouri's No. 5 Jaydin Eierman.
• Has three wins against the field, although one was a medical forfeit by Iowa State's Ian Parker at the Southern Scuffle.  Defeated North Carolina's Austin Headlee (10-5) in the dual on Nov. 11.  Headlee had beaten Debien at the Hokie Open (3-8) and the 2017 Hokie Open (3-4).  Defeated Northern Colorado's Chris Sandoval with a pin (5:13) in the first round of the Southern Scuffle.
• 3-7 against the field in 2018-19, including one-point losses to N.C. State's Jamel Morris (2-3) at the Wolfpack Open and Navy's Nick Gil (1-2) at the Southern Scuffle.
• 3-10 all-time against the field.
• Made the All-SoCon team for the second time in his career. 
• Won 17 of his last 23 matches. 
• Sixth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle
• Runner-up at the Cougar Clash ... lost in the finals to Wisconsin's Tristan Moran (6-15).
• Fourth-place finish at the Wolfpack Open.
• 2017 SoCon Champion at 133 pounds and went 1-2 at the NCAAs.
• Four-time state champion at Cleveland (Tenn.) High School … high school national champion.
• Father, Eric Phillips, wrestled at UTC in the 1980s ... sister, Sam, plays soccer at MTSU.  
 
Tanner Smith - Freshman - 149
• Making his first appearance at the NCAA Championships by finishing second at the SoCon Tournament as the No. 3 seed at 149 pounds.
• 11-7 overall ... missed a large part of the season with an injury.
• Seeded 32nd and opens against Michigan's Malik Amine in the pigtail match.
• 2019 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.
• Won seven of his last 10 matches.
• Has two wins against the field, including a 3-2 decision over Appalachian State's Matt Zovistoski in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament.  Also defetaed Arizona State's Joshua Maruca (7-5) at the Virginia Duals.
• Also has a win over Zovistoski at the Cleveland State Open when he was a true freshman at Eastern Michigan. 
• Transferred to UTC from Eastern Michigan after the Eagles cut their program.
• State champion with a 54-1 mark as a senior at Mechanicsburg (Ohio) High School.
• One of a triplet, with sisters Brittany and Sierra.
 
Rodney Jones - Junior - 197
• Making his first appearance at the NCAA Championships after a last-second reversal in overtime of the true-second place match at 197 pounds at the SoCon Tournament ... was the fourth-seed in the tournament.
• Defeated Sawyer Root 8-7 (TB2) in that match ... Root had beaten him three times during the season.
• 20-18 overall record ... 31-30 in his career.
• Seeded 33rd and opens against Rider's Ethan Laird in the pigtail match ... lost to Laird (5-13) at the Southern Scuffle. 
• One win in 10 matches against the field this season was the victory over Root to qualify.
• Sixth-place finish at the Hokie Open.
• Sixth-place showing at the Wolfpack Open.
• Third-place finish at the Cougar Clash.
• Four-year letterwinner at Duluth (Ga.) High School … finished third in the state as a junior … first state placer at Duluth in 15 years … runner-up as a senior.
• One of seven brothers. 
 
MOCS GETTING THE JOB DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
UTC topped the 3.0 mark as a team for the fourth time with a 3.02 GPA in the Fall of 2018.  The Mocs put 13 on the Dean's List and 16 on the A.D. Honor Roll.  Tanner Smith made both the A.D. Honor Roll and the Dean's List in the fall. 
 
SOCON REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS
UTC clinched a share of the SoCon regular season title with an 18-12 win over No. 25 Campbell on Feb. 10.  It marks Chattanooga's 17th SoCon regular season title since the league began recognizing a season winner in 1994. 
 
During that time the Mocs have won the regular season outright 12 times and shared the title five.  Appalachian State is the only other school with more than three, winning the regular season outright six times and sharing the title on five occasions. 
 
Head Coach Kyle Ruschell is the fourth straight first-year head coach at UTC to win the SoCon regular season, joining Heath Eslinger (2010), Chris Bono (2007) and Joe Seay (2006).
 
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).
 
SMITH NAMED SOCON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
UTC's Tanner Smith is the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, the league office announced Thursday, March 7.  Smith posted an 11-7 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in league matches, at 149 pounds.  He is the ninth Moc to earn SoCon Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Kamaal Shakur in 2016.  That is the most in the league by one school since the conference began the award in 1992.  UNCG and VMI are tied for second-most with five.
 
ALLEN & DEBIEN NAMED ALL-SOCON
Senior Alonzo Allen and junior Chris Debein made the All-SoCon Team.  Allen made the squad for the first time at 125 pounds.  He is 23-8 overall and 4-0 in league duals.  He was the 2018 SoCon Champion at 125 pounds and was the SoCon Wrestler of the Week after placing fifth at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2.  He also placed at the Hokie Open (2nd), the Wolfpack Open (6th) and the Cougar Clash (3rd).
 
Debien earned his second All-SoCon honor, having made the team in 2017 when he was the league champ at 133 pounds.  He went 24-11 and 6-0 in the SoCon at 141 this season.  This includes a SoCon title, a sixth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle, runner-up at the Cougar Clash and a fourth place finish at the Wolfpack Open.
 
The Mocs have placed 96 individuals on the All-SoCon teams since the award began in 1993.  Appalachian State is second with 62, while The Citadel is third with 31.
 
SMITH, RESNICK, NICHOLSON NAMED ALL-FROSH
Tanner Smith, Ryan Resnick and Drew Nicholson made the  SoCon All-Freshman squad. Smith posted an 11-7 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in league matches, at 149 pounds.  Resnick won seven of his last 10 matches to move to 12-13, while Nicholson was 10-12 overall. Resnick was 3-2 in league duals and Nicholson posted a 4-2 conference record.
 
The Mocs tied The Citadel for most in the conference this year. UTC leads the league with 26 all-freshman honorees since the team began in 2009. Appalachian State is second with 23, followed by Campbell with 16.