The 2019-20 athletics season was a very unusual one with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the winter sports championships and the majority of the spring season.  The Mocs were still able to keep their focus in the classroom, setting a number of academic records.  Performance on the field remained strong, despite a number of seasons ending early. 

Men’s Basketball (Lamont Paris, head coach) • 20-13, 10-8 SoCon/T5th
• 20th 20-win season in school history. COVID-19 crisis ended any postseason hopes for the squad.
• Matt Ryan (2nd team) & Ramon Vila (3rd team) earned all-conference honors.
• Ryan posted the 25th 500-point season in school history. His 507 points tied for 22nd with Wayne Golden’s 1974 total and are the most by Moc since Z. Mason in 2014 (561).
• Ryan (507), Vila (441) and David Jean-Baptiste (417) became just the fifth trio to score 400+ points each and first since 1992 (LeVert Threats-472, Keith Nelson-467 & Tim Brooks-427).
• School records for defensive rebound percentage (.764) and fewest turnovers per game (11.97).
• Program-record 3.36 team GPA in the spring.

Women’s Basketball (Katie Burrows, head coach) • 11-18, 10-4 SoCon/T1st
• Claimed a share of its 22nd Southern Conference regular season title after posting a 1-13 mark in non-conference action. 
• Senior Lakelyn Bouldin and junior Bria Dial named to SoCon Media’s All-Conference Third Team.
• Lakelyn Bouldin named William V. Moore Graduate Scholar and earned the Ann Lashley Inspiration Award.
• Senior NaKeia Burks named to SoCon Coaches’ All-Defensive Team.
• Dena Jarrells named to SoCon Coaches’ All-Freshman Team.
• Sophomore Eboni Williams earned SoCon Player of the Week honors.
• Williams, Dial and sophomore Abbey Cornelius were all named SoCon Player of the Week by College Sports Madness.
• Mocs took on two teams from the AP Top 25. Louisville went on to win the ACC regular season and NC State claimed the ACC Tournament title.
• Beat ETSU in triple overtime! Only the third 3OT game in UTC women’s basketball history. Mocs are 3-0.
• Dial sank a buzzer-beater (assisted by Abbey Cornelius) to beat Wofford on the Terriers’ home court.
• Swept Furman and Wofford who were picked to win the league.
• Program-record 3.64 team GPA in the spring.

Cross Country (Andy Meyer, head coach) • Women (6th SoCon/20th Regional) • Men (6th SoCon/21st NCAA Regional)
• The Mocs “signed” Team IMPACT’s seven-year old Levi Smith.
• Men placed sixth at the Southern Conference Championships and finished 21st at the NCAA South Region Championship meet.
• Women placed sixth at the Southern Conference Championships and 20th at the NCAA Regional.
• Senior Makenzie Jones was named All-Conference Second Team.
• Lesley Green and Mattie Parker named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
• Claimed title at home Twilight meet.
• Abby Bateman received the Dayle May Award for senior with highest GPA.  She was also named CoSIDA Academic All-District and repeated on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team.
• Jonathan Boyd and Nathan Watson both made the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.

Football (Rusty Wright, head coach) • 6-6, 5-3 SoCon/3rd
• Mocs go 6-6 and finish third in the SoCon at 5-3 under first year head coach Rusty Wright. Six overall wins and five SoCon wins for Coach Wright tied Buddy Nix (6-5, 5-1 in 1984) and Bill Oliver (8-3, 5-2) for most SoCon wins in a debut season at UTC. Wright also tied Nix and Russ Huesman (6-5, 4-4 in 2009) for second-most overall wins in a debut at UTC over the last 40 years.
• Ailym Ford led all freshmen in the FCS & FBS with 1,081 rushing yards, fifth in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award and named SoCon Freshman of the Year.
• Strength of schedule was No. 2 in the nation coming into the season.
• WR Bryce Nunnelly was on the Payton Award preseason watch list, first team All-SoCon, and Academic All-American.
• Senior quarterback Nick Tiano capped off his career 174-329 (53.4%) passing for 2,242 yards, 14 TDs and 10 INTs. He went on to earn MVP honors at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl after the season and sign with the Houston Texans.
• Senior Chris James moved from backup quarterback to starting tight end, catching 23 passes for 257 yards and leading the team with seven touchdown receptions. Those numbers earned him a spot on the All-SoCon first team.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell made the All-SoCon first team after tying for the league lead with 7.0 sacks. He was also second in the SoCon with 13.0 TFLs.
• Senior linebacker Marshall Cooper led the Mocs with 105 tackles. He was also fifth in the SoCon in total stops and made the league’s first team in the postseason honors.
• 12 on the Academic All-SoCon team is a program record.
• Program-record 3.14 team GPA in the spring.

Men’s Golf (Mark Guhne, head coach) • Season Cancelled
• Season ended prematurely due to COVID-19 crisis. Played eight tournaments, 24 rounds, with  a 294.33 scoring average.
• A.J. Lintunen and Leon Bader earned Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar status.
• 838 at the Alister Mackenzie is the 4th-lowest score for the program & best shot outside Chattanooga. 
• Senior Will Porter’s 73.13 average led the team. His 206 total at the Alister Mackenzie ties for the 8th-best tourney score in school history and is the best number west of the Mississippi River.
• Lintunen ranked second on the squad with a 73.42 stroke average setting new career bests in virtually every statistical category. That included his first top 10 in February at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate while playing his final 14 cards at 1 under.

Women’s Golf (Colette Murray, head coach) • Season Cancelled
• Season ended prematurely due to COVID-19 crisis. Played seven tournaments, 21 rounds, with  a 296.95 scoring average.
• Esme Hamilton and Kirsty Beckwith earned WGCA All-American Scholar honors.
• Hamilton’s 73.33 strokes per round edges Emily McLennan’s 73.34 in 2016 for a new school mark by total.
• 856 at the Princess Anne was 2nd-best 54-hole total in school history behind 852 winning the 2015 Fall Invite. Opening 280 (E) tied for 2nd behind the school-record 278 (-10) completing the 2011 JMU Eagle Landing win and is lowest 1st round total.
• Hamilton set the program record for 18-hole score with an opening-round 65 at the Princess Anne. Her 54-hole total of 205 ties the mark set by McLennan winning the 2015 Fall Invite.

Soccer (Gavin McKinney, head coach) • 9-6-4, 4-4-1 SoCon/6th
• Set a school record for shutouts (9) and goals allowed (15).
• Recorded second-best goals-against average in school history (0.75).
• Tied Alabama 1-1 in home match.
• Junior Hollie Massey earned a spot on the All-SoCon second team.
• McKenzie Smith earned a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
• Abbey Saddler was twice named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week.  She also set a school record with a 0.46 goals-against-average.
• McKinney recorded his 100th career victory in the Mocs’ 3-0 win over Wofford.

Softball (Frank Reed, head coach) • 7-14, 0-0 SoCon • Season Cancelled
• 2020 season canceled after 21 games due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• After capturing its 14th SoCon Tournament title and appearing in its 11th NCAA Tournament in 2019, Chattanooga was selected as the preseason league favorites entering the 2020 season.
• Senior outfielder Aly Walker earned SoCon preseason Player of the Year honors for the second-straight season. Senior pitcher Celie Hudson was tabbed the preseason Pitcher of the Year.
• Junior pitcher Allison Swinford and sophomore shortstop Emily Coltharp joined Hudson and Walker on the league’s preseason first team All-SoCon. Seniors Emma Sturdivant (IF) and Hayleigh Weissenbach (OF) landed as preseason Second Team All-SoCon representatives.
• Emily Coltharp finished the shortened season as the SoCon’s batting leader by posting a .415 (27-for-65) average at the plate while reaching base at a .519% clip, also a league best. 
• Celie Hudson went 3-7 with one save over 12 appearances in the circle despite holding a league-leading 1.92 ERA. She ranked second in the SoCon in opposing batting average (.213) and strikeouts (66), and fourth in innings pitched (69.1).
• Celie Hudson was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Week on February 10 and March 16. It marked her fifth and sixth POTW selections of her career, second most in program history.
• Allison Swinford was tabbed the league’s Pitcher of the Week on March 9 after going 1-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work. It was the first weekly award of her career.
• Aly Walker was named a Senior CLASS Award National Candidate, landing among the nation’s final 30 softball-student athlete nominees in Division I. 
• Celie Hudson and fellow senior Morgan Kazerooni earned CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team laurels following the season. 

Men’s Tennis (Chuck Merzbacher, head coach) • 12-6, 1-1 SoCon • Season Cancelled
• 2020 season canceled after 18 matches due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• UTC had an eight-match winning streak, its longest since 2007. 
• Senior Niklas Gerdes led the team with a 22-5 singles record, including 15-2 at No. 2. 
• Sophomore Tomas Rodriguez was 23-8 in singles and 14-2 at No. 1. 
• Gerdes and Rodriguez teamed up for an 11-0 mark at No. 2 doubles. 
• Set a school-record with eight individuals earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. 
• Named ITA All-Academic Team for the sixth year in a row. 
• Program record 3.65 team GPA in the spring.

Women’s Tennis (Chad Camper, head coach) • 8-5, 1-1 SoCon • Season Cancelled
• 2020 season canceled after 13 matches due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Junior Emma Van Hee led the team with a 16-7 singles record, including a 5-0 mark at No. 4.
• Freshman Jessie Young was 7-5 at No. 1, and posted a 10-2 mark at No. 2 doubles with junior Bogdana Zaporozhets. 
• Set a school-record with six individuals earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. 
• Named ITA All-Academic Team for the 10th year in a row.
• Program-record 3.78 team GPA in the spring.

Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field (Andy Meyer, head coach) • 7th SoCon Indoor • SoCon Outdoor Cancelled
• Outdoor season was cancelled due to the CoVID-19 pandemic.
• Team recorded the second-highest GPA in the nation by the USTFCCCA.
• Madelyn Thompson named SoCon All-Freshman in the indoor long jump.
• Lesley Green earned SoCon All-Freshman honors in the indoor 5000M.
• Abby Bateman received the Dayle May Award for senior with highest GPA.  She was also named CoSIDA Academic All-District and repeated on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team.
• Program-record 3.79 team GPA in the spring.

Volleyball (Travis Filar, head coach) • 7-23, 2-14 SoCon/9th
• Chattanooga captured its second-straight Chattanooga Classic title after earning victories over Tennessee Tech, Manhattan and North Alabama. UTC moved to a combined 15-3 in Classic matches since 2014. 
• Junior Maddie Halsey was named the Chattanooga Classic Most Outstanding Player while junior Megan Kaufman and sophomore Gylian Finch earned All-Tournament Team honors.
• Junior Bailey Bennett was named to the Troy Classic All-Tournament Team after notching her first career double-double with 33 assists and 11 digs against Jacksonville.
• Megan Kaufman earned back-to-back CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honors following another perfect 4.0 GPA academic year as a Nursing major.
• Chattanooga was awarded the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Excellence Award for the eighth-straight year, marking the longest active streak among all SoCon schools and DI programs in the state of Tennessee. 
• Program-record 3.80 team GPA in the spring.

Wrestling (Kyle Ruschell, head coach) • 7-9, 4-2 SoCon/3rd
• The Mocs posted a 7-9 overall record and placed this in the SoCon regular season standings at 4-2.
• UTC finished third at the SoCon Championships.
• Junior Fabian Gutierrez (125 - At Large) and sophomores Tanner Smith (149 - At Large) and Matthew Waddell (184 - Automatic) were set to represent UTC at the NCAA Championships before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• UTC scored a 26-19 win over Indiana in the regular season finale. 
• Gutierrez and senior Rodney Jones (197) made the All-SoCon team.
• Smith earned NWCA Scholar All-American honors.
• Program-record 3.23 team GPA in the spring.