The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team hits the road for three matches in Stillwater, Okla., this weekend.  UTC is set to face host Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Little Rock on Sunday, Jan. 10.
 
The opening match of the day is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) against the sixth-ranked Cowboys (0-0) in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. Action follows immediately with a dual against the Beavers (0-3) and concludes with the finale against the Trojans (0-1).  Live scoring links from Track Wrestling are posted on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
 
This will be the first match of the season for the Cowboys.  Oregon State lost to North Dakota State (19-15), South Dakota State (20-12) and No. 10 Missouri (43-0) at the North Dakota State Quadrangular on Sunday in Fargo, N.D.  Fellow PAC-12 wrestling member Little Rock opened its season on Saturday with a 39-3 loss at No. 11 Arizona State.  
 
PROBABLE LINEUP FOR SUNDAY'S MATCHES
125: No. 18 Fabian Gutierrez (Sr. - 2-0)
133: Colton Landers (Jr. - 1-0)
141: Franco Valdes (Jr. - 1-0)
149: No. 22 Tanner Smith (Jr. - 1-0)
157: Weston Wichman (Fr. - 2-0)
165: Drew Nicholson (Jr.- 1-0)
174: Hunter Fortner (Jr. - 2-0)
184: No. 12 Matthew Waddell (Jr. - 1-0)
197: Logan Andrew (Fr. - 1-0)
285: Grayson Walthall (Jr. - 1-0)
* Rankings are Flo (Jan. 4, 2021)
 
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 is in his third season as head coach of the Mocs and owns a 15-16 dual meet record. The Mocs were 7-9 last season, with three qualifying for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  His first year was an impressive one that included a share of the 2019 Southern Conference regular season title and four individuals advancing to the NCAA Championships. 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
UTC returns six of 10 starters to the lineup from last year's team that went 7-9 and placed third at the Southern Conference Tournament.  The Mocs are off to a 1-0 start after Saturday's 48-0 win over Emmanuel in Maclellan Gym.
 
Senior Fabian Gutierrez and junior Matthew Waddell represented the Mocs on the preseason All-SoCon team.  Both qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Gutierrez, a senior from Commerce City, Colo., went 17-9 last season, including a 6-0 mark in SoCon dual action.  He was runner-up at the SoCon Tournament before earning an at-large bid to the NCAAs.  He is currently No. 18 in the nation in the Flo rankings. 
 
Waddell, a junior from Gilmer, Ga., was 22-9 at 184 pounds last season.  He was ranked throughout the year and earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs with a second place showing at the SoCon Tournament.  He also won the Appalachian Open and placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle. Flo ranks him No. 12 in the country at 184 this week. 
 
Junior Tanner Smith is another returning NCAA Qualifier.  He went 25-9 last year and is No. 22 at 149 pounds. 
 
Other returning starters include juniors Drew Nicholson (165), Hunter Fortner (174) and Grayson Walthall (285).  Nicholson was 16-16 last season, while Fortner posted a 12-17 record.  Walthall had six pins with an 8-12 record at heavyweight. 
 
OKLAHOMA STATE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Fr. - 0-0)
133: Andrew Nieman (Sr. - 0-0)
141: No. 7 Kaid Brock (Sr. - 0-0)
149: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Sr. - 0-0)
157: No. 8 Wyatt Sheets (Jr. - 0-0) or Jalin Harper (So. - 0-0)
165: No. 6 Travis Wittlake (So. - 0-0)
174: Dustin Plott (Fr. - 0-0)
184: No. 7 Dakota Geer (Sr. - 0-0)
197: AJ Ferrari (Fr. - 0-0)
HWT: Austin Harris (Jr. - 0-0)
* Rankings are Flo (Jan. 4, 2021)
 
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
• Oklahoma State head coach John Smith is entering his 29th season with the Cowboys. He has led his alma mater to five NCAA team titles in 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and he has coached 32 NCAA individual champions and five Olympians.
• This will be the first match of the season for the Cowboys, who are ranked No. 6 in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll.
• Five individuals in the lineup are in the top 10 of the Jan. 4 Flo Wrestling rankings.  This does not include Daton Fix, who is No. 2 at 133, but not listed among the probable starters.  Also not in the probables is Reece Witcraft who is No. 16 at 125.
• Trevor Mastrogiovanni (125), Dustin Plott (174) and AJ Ferrari (197) are part of the Cowboys' No. 1 ranked recruiting class.  Ferrari was the No. 1 overall recruit for the class of 2020 when he committed to OK State. 
• Kaid Brock is a two-time All-American, while both Dakota Geer and Boo Llewallen have earned one All-American honor in their careers.
• OK State heavyweight Connor Webb and UTC 184-pounder Matthew Waddell were both teammates at Oklahoma in 2017-18. 
 
HEAD TO HEAD
184: Dakota Geer posted a 10-2 major decision over Matthew Waddell at the 2018 Oklahoma City University Open when Waddell was still at Oklahoma.
 
ALL-TIME VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
UTC is winless in seven tries against Oklahoma State.  The series dates back to 1950, with the most recent match coming at the 2012 Grapple in the Garden in New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Cowboys have twice won the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga (2017 & 2020).  
 
2-10-50 - Chattanooga - L - 0-36
11-16-96 - Chattanooga - L - 9-39
11-18-01 - Stillwater, Okla. - L - 0-49
11-16-03 - Stillwater, Okla. - L - 6-41
11-14-03 - Stillwater, Okla. - L - 9-29
11-14-04 - Stillwater, Okla. - L - 6-37
12-16-12 - New York, N.Y. - L - 9-41
 
LITTLE ROCK PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Khyler Brewer (Fr. - 0-0) or Jayden Carson (So. - 0-1)
133: Paul Bianchi (Sr. - 0-1) or Jaylen Carson (Fr. - 0-1)
141: Conner Ward (So. - 0-1)
149: Kyle Prewitt (Fr. - 1-1) or Joseph Bianchi (Fr. - 0-2)
157: Noah Aziere (Sr. - 0-1) or Thomas Lisher (Sr. - 0-0)
165: Alex Hernandez (Fr. - 0-1) or Zeke Beach (Fr. - 0-1)
174: Triston Wills (Fr. - 2-0) or Tanner Mendoza (Fr. - 2-0)
184: Zane Davis (Fr. - 0-1) or Tanner Mendoza (Fr. - 0-0)
197: Dylan Johnson (Sr. - 1-1) or Brooks Sacharczyk (Fr. - 1-1)
HWT: Gabe Beyer (Fr. - 1-1) or Josiah Hill (Fr. - 1-1)
 
SCOUTING LITTLE ROCK
• Little Rock head coach Neil Erisman is in his third season with the Trojans.  He started the Trojans' program in 2018-19 and they are now in their second full season of competition.
• Little Rock was 1-8 in duals last season and also placed 25th at the 2020 Southern Scuffle.  
• The Trojans opened the season with a 39-3 loss at No. 11 Arizona State last weekend. 
• Triston Wills scored a 7-1 decision over ASU's Zane Coleman at 174 pounds for Little Rock's lone win in the dual.  Wills and Tanner Mendoza (174) also won bouts in the extra matches against the Sun Devils. 
• Little Rock assistant coach Javier Maldanado was a three-time Southern Conference champion for the Mocs from 2006-08. 
 
HEAD TO HEAD
125: Fabian Gutierrez beat Jayden Carson (14-0, MD) at the 2020 Southern Scuffle.
 
ALL-TIME VS. LITTLE ROCK
This is the first dual meet between these two teams.
 
OREGON STATE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Brandon Kaylor (So. - 2-1)
133: No. 18 Devan Turner (Sr. - 0-3) or Jason Shaner (Jr. - 1-0)
141: No. 18 Grant Willits (Jr. - 2-1)
149: Lane Stigall (Jr. - 0-3) or Riley Gurr (So. - 1-0)
157: No. 17 Hunter Willits (Jr. - 1-2)
165: Mateo Olmos (Sr. - 0-0) or Matt Olguin (Fr. - 0-0)
174: Colton Beisley (Jr. - 1-2)
184: Ryan Reyes (So. - 2-1) or Jackson McKinney (So. - 1-0)
197: J.J. Dixon (So. - 1-2)
HWT: Brian Barnes (Jr. - 0-2)
* Rankings are Flo (Jan. 4, 2021)
 
SCOUTING OREGON STATE
• The Beavers are under the guidance of first-year head coach Chris Pendleton. 
• OSU went 8-6 last season, finishing fourth at the PAC-12 Tournament. 
• Competed at the 2020 Southern Scuffle, placing 18th overall.  Devan Turner (133) and Hunter Willits (157) were both sixth at last year's Scuffle. 
• Senior Devan Turner is the defending PAC-12 champion at 133, and entered the season ranked in the top 10.  He went 0-3 in last weekend's duals against North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Missouri. He is currently No. 18 in the Flo Wrestling rankings. 
• Junior Grant Willits was runner-up at the 2020 PAC-12 Championships at 141. He is currently No. 18 in the Flo Wrestling rankings.
• Junior Hunter Willits is No. 17 in the Flo Wrestling rankings.
• The Beavers dropped all three duals at North Dakota State last weekend, falling to the Bison (19-15), SDSU (20-12) and No. 10 Missouri (43-0).
• Oregon State freshman Mason Reiniche is from Soddy Daisy, Tenn., and prepped at Chattanooga's Baylor School along with current Moc Noah Horst. 
 
HEAD TO HEAD
There are no head-to-head results available for this dual.
 
ALL-TIME VS. OREGON STATE
The Mocs are 2-1 all-time against Oregon State.  The last meeting was a 21-12 UTC win on Jan. 7, 2007 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The other two meetings were a double-header split on Nov. 24, 1989 in Chattanooga
 
11-24-89 - Chattanooga - W - 25-9
11-24-89 - Chattanooga - L - 12-23
1-7-07 - Cedar Falls, Iowa - W - 21-12
 
MOCS PICKED THIRD IN THE SOCON PRESEASON
Chattanooga was picked to finish third in the Southern Conference race with 53 points, including one first-place vote. The Mocs also went 4-2 in the conference last year, finishing with a 7-9 record overall. Appalachian State received six first-place votes and 61 points to top the 2020-21 preseason poll. Campbell was second with 57 votes.  Gardner-Webb (40), Davidson (32), The Citadel (29), VMI (21), Bellarmine (17) and Presbyterian (7) rounded out the listings.
 
MOCS GETTING THE JOB DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
UTC topped the 3.0 mark as a team for the eighth time in the fall of 2020.  The Mocs had a 3.094 GPA in the fall and had a program-record 22 on the A.D. Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA.  UTC has posted a 3.0 in each of the last five semesters.