The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team welcomes Appalachian State for a Southern Conference match on Sunday, Feb. 2.  Action takes place in McKenzie Arena at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).
 
Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com and Gate 1 and 3 at McKenzie Arena open t 1:00 p.m. on match day.  The dual broadcasts on ESPN+ with live scoring on TrackWrestling.  Links for both are on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
The Mocs and Mountaineers are tied atop the SoCon standings at 3-0 in league action.  ASU is coming off a 45-0 shutout against Duke on Jan. 23 and is 6-2 overall.  The Mountaineers are receiving votes in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll. 
 
Chattanooga owns a 5-7 record against one of the toughest schedules in the country.  The Mocs defeated VMI 29-9 in their last dual on Jan. 21.
 
FREE FOOD/WHITE OUT
Sunday's match is a WHITE OUT in McKenzie Arena and all fans are encouraged to wear their white Mocs gear.  The first 100 students get a FREE white Mocs t-shirt.  The first 100 students also get free food from Taziki's Mediterranean Grill. 
 
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 Tennessee-Chattanooga or the Moccasins.
 
ALUMNI WEEKEND COMING UP
The Alumni Party is set for the Holiday Inn Downtown on Saturday, Feb. 1 (434 Chestnut Street).  The party begins at 7:00 p.m. and features a performance by former Moc J.R. Ward.  Admission is $40 per person.  For questions and to RSVP contact Allie Ruschell at allie.ruschell@gmail.com.
 
CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP
125: No. 19 Fabian Gutierrez (Jr. – 13-7, 3-0 SoCon)
133: Colton Landers (So. – 10-5, 1-0 SoCon)     
        Wade Cummings (Jr. – 6-7, 1-0 SoCon)
141: Mason Wallace (So. – 6-6, 1-0 SoCon)
        Aiden Murphy (So. – 4-12, 1-1 SoCon)
149: No. 24 Tanner Smith (So. – 20-6, 3-0 SoCon)
157: Tyler Shilson (So. – 8-10, 2-1 SoCon)
165: Drew Nicholson (So. – 13-12, 2-1 SoCon)
174: Hunter Fortner (So. – 8-13, 2-1 SoCon)
184: No. 20 Matthew Waddell (So. – 18-7, 3-0 SoCon)
197: Rodney Jones (Sr. – 13-9, 3-0 SoCon)
285: Grayson Walthall (So. – 6-16, 2-1 SoCon)
* Rankings are Flo Jan. 28.
 
LAST MATCH IN MCKENZIE ARENA
UTC's final home match is in McKenzie Arena when the Mocs host Indiana on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).
 
SCOUTING THE MOCS
• UTC is led by its three ranked wrestlers in No. 19 Fabian Gutierrez (Jr. - 125 - 13-7), No. 20 Matthew Waddell (So. - 184 - 18-6) and No. 24 Tanner Smith (So. - 149 - 20-6).
• Five of Waddell's six losses have come against ranked opponents. 
• Sophomore Colton Landers had a breakout performance at the Southern Scuffle at 133.  He went 4-1 on the opening day, but had to pull out of Day 2 due to illness.  He is 9-3 in 2020 after four more wins at the Appalachian Open last weekend. 
• Senior Rodney Jones is 13-9 at 197 and looking to make a return to the NCAA Chapionships. 
• Mason Wallace dropped down to 141 where he went 2-2 at the Scuffle and is 6-6 overall.
• Sophomore Hunter Fortner is coming off a first place showing at 174 at last weekend's Appalachian Open.  
 
MOCS HAVE A BRUTAL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
UTC has definitely scheduled up in non-conference action this season. The Mocs hosted Army (L, 18-12) and Illinois (L, 22-10) earlier in the season.  UTC also traveled to No. 2 Iowa (L, 39-0), No. 19 North Carolina (L, 22-15), No. 11 Iowa State (L, 7-26), No. 5 Virginia Tech (L, 28-3), Virginia (L, 9-29).  UTC still has the regular season finale with its third Big 10 opponent Indiana on Feb. 21 in McKenzie Arena.
 
APPALACHIAN STATE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Sean Carter (Fr. - 22-12, 3-0 SoCon)
133: Codi Russell (Jr. - 21-8, 2-1 SoCon)
141: Bradley Irwin (Sr. - 17-11, 3-0 SoCon)
149: No. 21 Jonathan Millner (So. - 24-4, 3-0 SoCon)
157: No. 18 Matt Zovistoski (Sr. - 22-7, 3-0 SoCon)
165: Will Formato (Fr. - 19-12, 1-2 SoCon)
174: Thomas Flitz (Jr. - 24-10, 3-0 SoCon)
184: Julian Gorring (Fr. - 17-12, 1-0 SoCon)
197: Paul Carson (So. - 16-10, 3-0 SoCon)
285: No. 24 Cary Miller (Sr. - 25-4, 3-0 SoCon)
 
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE
• Mountaineers were picked second in the preseason SoCon poll with 41 points, behind Campbell (49) and ahead of UTC (39).
• Junior Codi Russell (133) and senior Matt Zovistoski (157) were on the preseason All-SoCon team.
• ASU's two losses were to teams currently in the NWCA Top-10, including a 19-13 loss at current No. 8 UNC on Dec. 1 and a 24-12 home loss in Boone to current No. 4 N.C. State. 
• ASU is 3-0 in the SoCon with wins over Gardner-Webb (40-9), Presbyterian (48-0) and Davidson (41-3).
• Signature non-conference victories include 29-10 over Lock Haven and last week's 45-0 shutout against Duke.   
 
ALL-TIME VS. APPALACHIAN STATE
Chattanooga is 29-17-1 all time against ASU, but enters Sunday trying to snap a four-match slide in the series.  UTC lost the last one 21-14 in Boone and dropped the 2018 meeting 18-16 in Chattanooga.  UTC also lost 17-16 on criteria in the 2017 meeting in Boone.  Appalachian State stayed in the SoCon as an affiliate member in wrestling when the rest of the Mountaineer program moved to the Sun Belt in 2015.
 
Match-by-Match vs. Appalachian State (29-17-1)
Home: 16-6, Away: 11-11-1, Neutral 2-0
Last 10 Meetings
1-24-09 - Boone, N.C. - W - 25-12
2-6-10 - Chattanooga - W - 30-9
2-6-11 - Boone, N.C. - W - 27-10
2-5-12 - Chattanooga - L - 17-21
2-3-13 - Boone, N.C. - W - 29-9
2-2-14 - Chattanooga - W - 35-8
2-8-15 - Boone, N.C. - W - 19-17
2-5-16 - Chattanooga - L - 15-22
2-5-17 - Boone, N.C. - L - 16-17^TB
2-4-18 - Chattanooga - L - 16-18
2-3-19 - Boone, N.C. - L - 14-21
 
LAST TIME VS. APPALACHIAN STATE
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
 
HEAD TO HEAD VS. VMI
• 125 - Fabian Gutierrez scored a pin over ASU's Sean Carter at last week's Appalachian Open.
• 133 - ASU's Codi Russell has two wins over Wade Cummings, 7-2 at the 2020 Scuffle and 7-4 at the 2018 Hokie Open.
• 149 - ASU's No. 21 John Millner beat No. 24 Tanner Smith 6-2 at the Scuffle. 
• 165 - ASU's Will Formato beat Drew Nicholson 5-2 at last week's Appalachian Open.
• 174 - ASU's Thomas Flitz had two wins over Hunter Fortner, including 3-1 at last year's SoCon Tournament and a 15-4 major decision in last year's dual.
197 - ASU's Paul Carson beat Rodney Jones 8-2 at the 2018 Wolfpack Open.
285 - ASU's Cary Miller posted a tech fall over Grayson Walthall at last week's Appalachian Open.