The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team closes out the 2020-21 dual season at home this weekend.  The Mocs are still alive for a share of the Southern Conference title when they host Campbell and Bellarmine in McKenzie Arena on Friday, Feb. 5. 
 
Doors open at 11:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) for a limited number of fans, with action beginning at Noon. Bellarmine faces Campbell in the first match, followed by the Camels and the Mocs at 2:30 p.m. UTC closes out the tri-meet against the Knights at 5:00 p.m.
 
Campbell sits atop the SoCon standings with a 5-0 league record, 6-1 overall.  The Mocs (7-3, 5-1 SoCon) and Appalachian State (5-2, 5-1 SoCon) are tied for second.  A UTC sweep on the day would clinch at least a share of the regular season title for Chattanooga.  Bellarmine enters with a 1-7 overall mark and a 1-5 record in league duals.
 
TICKETS – CLICK HERE
Tickets are available on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).  There is an attendance limit of 1,000 fans for the event.  All three matches broadcast on ESPN+, with Chris Goforth (pxp) and Heath Eslinger (analyst) on the call. 
 
PARKING
Those coming to the match should park in the Fifth Street Garage or Lot 7 next to Maclellan Gym and pay the $5 rate.  Since the majority of the matches take place during the day while classes are in session, the lots around McKenzie Arena are ticketed.  Gates 1 and 3 are open for spectators on the day of the match. 
 
CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP FOR FRIDAY'S MATCHES
125: No. 21 Fabian Gutierrez (Sr. - 8-2, 5-1 SoCon)
133: Colton Landers (Jr. - 6-4, 4-2 SoCon)
141: Franco Valdes (Jr. - 7-0, 6-0 SoCon) or Matthew Williams (Fr. - 1-2, 0-0 SoCon)
149: Aidan Murphy (Jr. - 5-2, 3-2 SoCon) or George Coleman (So. - 2-5, 0-0 SoCon)
157: Weston Wichman (Fr. - 7-3, 3-2 SoCon) or Grant Lundy (Fr. - 2-2, 0-0 SoCon)
165: Drew Nicholson (Jr.- 7-3, 3-2 SoCon)
174: Carial Tarter (So. - 5-3, 3-3 SoCon)
184: No. 24 Matthew Waddell (Jr. – 8-2, 4-1 SoCon)
197: Logan Andrew (Fr. - 6-4, 4-2 SoCon)
285: Grayson Walthall (Jr. – 5-5, 4-2 SoCon)
* Rankings are Flo (Feb. 1, 2021)
 
SCOUTING THE MOCS
The Mocs are 7-3, including a 5-1 mark in Southern Conference action.  UTC is coming off a split of matches at Appalachian State last weekend.  The Mocs lost to the league-favorite Mountaineers (20-13) and defeated Presbyterian [43-(-1)]. 
 
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. 
 
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. 21 in the nation in the Flo rankings with an 8-2 record.
 
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. 24 in the country at 184 this week, with an 8-2 mark
 
Junior Tanner Smith is another returning NCAA Qualifier.  He went 25-9 last year, but only competed in one match at 149 pounds this season. 
 
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.
 
STARTERS OUT
Normal starters for the Mocs, juniors Tanner Smith and Hunter Fortner, are out for the season with injuries.  Smith was ranked No. 22 at 149 according to FloWrestling on Jan. 19.  His only action of the season was a major decision in the opener against Emmanuel.  Fortner was 3-2 at 174 before ending his 2020-21 campaign.   
 
CAMPBELL PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Zurich Storm (Jr. - 5-3, 4-1 SoCon)
      or Dom Zaccone (Fr. - 2-0, 0-0 SoCon)
133: Gabriel Hixenbaugh (Fr. - 5-3, 3-2 SoCon)
       or Korbin Meink (Sr. - 1-0, 0-0 SoCon)
141: Shannon Hanna (So. - 3-2, 1-1 SoCon)
       or Justin Rivera (Fr. - 4-0, 2-0 SoCon)
149: No. 17 Josh Heil (Sr. - 3-1, 2-0 SoCon)
       or Jason Kraisser (So. - 3-2, 2-1 SoCon)
157: Benjamin Barton (Sr. - 8-0, 5-0 SoCon)
165: Bilal Bailey (Fr. - 3-2, 3-0 SoCon)
      or Austin Kraisser (Sr. - 1-3, 0-2 SoCon)
174: No. 12 Austin Murphy (Jr. - 8-0, 5-0 SoCon)
184: Caleb Hopkins (So. - 7-1, 5-0 SoCon)
197: Levi Hopkins (Fr. - 4-2, 3-0 SoCon)
      or Chris Kober (Sr. - 2-0, 2-0 SoCon)
285: Taye Ghadiali (Fr. - 3-4, 3-2 SoCon)
      or Luke Davis (Fr. - 0-3, 0-0 SoCon)
* Rankings are Flo (Feb. 1, 2021)
 
SCOUTING CAMPBELL
• Campbell is under the guidance of first-year head coach Scotti Sentes.
• Campbell comes into the weekend with a 6-1 overall mark and 5-0 in SoCon duals.
• Only loss on the year was to No. 8 Virginia Tech (28-6) on Jan. 2. 
• Receiving votes in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. 
• Camels were picked second in the preseason SoCon poll but scored a 21-17 win over league-favorite Appalachian State on Jan. 23. 
• Ben Barton (157) and Austin Krassier (165) represented the Camels on the preseason All-SoCon team.
• Barton is 8-0 overall and 5-0 in SoCon action.
• Josh Heil is No. 17 at 149 in this week's Flo rankings.  He is 3-1 overall and 2-0 in league matches.
• Austin Murphy is No. 12 at 174 according to Flo.  He is 8-0 overall and unbeaten in SoCon matches at 5-0. 
• Caleb Hopkins also bring a perfect league mark into the weekend with a 5-0 SoCon record, 7-1 overall.
• The Camels joined the SoCon in 2011-12 as an affiliate member in wrestling.
• Campbell has won three-straight SoCon Tournament titles. 
 
HEAD TO HEAD
Despite these two teams meeting every year in SoCon action, there is only one case of a previous match based on the probable lineups.
125: Fabian Gutierrez dropped an 8-3 decision to Zurich Storm at the 2017 Hokie Open.
 
ALL-TIME VS. CAMPBELL
All-time: 10-2, Home: 5-1, Away: 4-1, Neutral 1-0
Chattanooga is 10-2 in the all-time series against Campbell.
The Mocs dropped a 26-11 match at Campbell in last year's meeting.  The Mocs scored an 18-12 win over the Camels in their last visit to Chattanooga.  The win over the 25th-ranked Camels gave the Mocs a share of the Southern Conference regular season title.  
 
LAST FIVE MATCHES VS. CAMPBELL
12-12-15 - Buies Creek, N.C. - W - 31-12
1-28-17 - Chattanooga - L - 19-21
2-17-18 - Buies Creek, N.C. - W - 27-6
2-10-19 - Chattanooga - W - 18-12
2-8-20 - Buies Creek, N.C. - L - 11-26
 
LAST TIME VS. CAMPBELL
No. 20 Campbell 26 – Chattanooga 11
Buies Creek, N.C.
Saturday – Feb. 8, 2020
125: No. 17 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) over Korbin Meink (Campbell) SV-1 7-5 (0-3)
133: No. 9 Noah Gonser (Campbell) over Wade Cummings (UTC) Fall (4:26) (6-3)
141: No. 10 Josh Heil (Campbell) over Mason Wallace (UTC) Dec 5-4 (9-3)
149: No. 23 Tanner Smith (UTC) over Jason Kraisser (Campbell) MD 9-1 (9-7)
157: Matthew Dallara (Campbell) over Tyler Shilson (UTC) Dec 14-7 (12-7)
165: No. 17 Quentin Perez (Campbell) over Drew Nicholson (UTC) Dec 9-3 (15-7)
174: Austin Kraisser (Campbell) over Hunter Fortner (UTC) Dec 4-0 (18-7)
184: No. 6 Andrew Morgan (Campbell) over No. 14 Matthew Waddell (UTC) Dec 5-0 (21-7)
197: Rodney Jones (UTC) over Chris Kober (Campbell) MD 9-1 (21-11)
285: No. 14 Jere Heino (Campbell) over Grayson Walthall (UTC) TF 16-0 (26-11)
 
BELLARMINE PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Brandon Lucas (Jr. - 0-7, 0-5 SoCon)
      or Adonis Boyd (Fr. - 2-2, 1-0 SoCon)
133: Max Dansereau (So. - 0-7, 0-5 SoCon)
141: Chase Yost (Fr. - 2-4, 2-3 SoCon)
      or Zach Schultz (Fr. - 0-4, 0-1 SoCon)
149: Mitch Collica (So. - 2-5, 1-4 SoCon)
      or Logan Hoskins (Fr. - 3-1, 1-0 SoCon)
157: Alex Rhine (Sr. - 2-6, 2-4 SoCon)
      or Clayton Catanzarite (Sr. - 0-3, 0-0 SoCon)
165: Eric Beck (Sr. - 5-3, 4-2 SoCon)
      or Zane Brown (So. - 0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
174: Devan Hendricks (So. - 6-2, 5-1 SoCon)
184: Sam Schroeder (Fr. - 0-5, 0-3 SoCon)
      or Easton Tobia (Fr. - 2-4, 1-3 SoCon)
197: Gavin Grime (Jr. - 1-6, 1-5 SoCon)
      or Darian Huff (Fr. - 0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
285: Charlie Cadell (Jr. - 0-7, 0-5 SoCon)
      or Josh McCorkle (Sr. - 0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
 
SCOUTING BELLARMINE
• The Knights are in their first season as an affiliate member of the Southern Conference.
• Head coach Spencer Adams is in his fifth season at Bellarmine. 
• The Knights are 1-7 overall and 1-5 in SoCon action. Their lone win was a 32-18 victory against Presbyterian on Jan. 24. 
• Sophomore Devan Hendricks leads the team with a 6-2 mark, 5-1 in SoCon action, at 174. 
• Senior Eric Beck is 5-3 overall and 4-2 in SoCon duals at 165.
 
HEAD TO HEAD
There are no previous head-to-head matches based on the probable lineups. 
 
ALL-TIME VS. BELLARMINE
This is the first meeting in the series between these two teams.