Score: Chattanooga 22, Gardner-Webb 17
Location: Maclellan Gym; Chattanooga, Tenn. | Att.: 138
Records: Chattanooga (5-9/4-3) | Gardner-Webb (5-10/2-5)
 
Quick Recap: A slow start led to a fast, dominating finish for the Chattanooga Mocs in Maclellan Gym. The Mocs came back from two 14-point deficits, 0-14 through 149 and 3-17 through 165, to power to a 22-17 triumph.
 
First Thought: "We had a lot of guys sick or hurt and out of our lineup. But it shouldn't matter who we put in there, we should be moving forward, and I didn't see that out of our lower weights. But what a turnaround in the second half. It was a great job by our 74 and 84 to kind of start to flip the momentum and then a true freshman stepping up wrestling 97 for the team, and man that was just awesome to see a young guy go out there with that kind of spunk and fire and that led into heavyweight." – Coach Kyle Ruschell
 
Resources: Results
 
First Takedown

• Ethan Vergara got a major decision at 285 to seal the match win for the Mocs. It was the fourth time in the Southern Conference schedule that 285 had a chance at the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. Today, Vergara was all thrills with his 12-2 performance.
• Three straight tech falls set the stage for Vergara's heroics. It began with No. 8 Sergio Desiante at 174. He teched Andrew Wilson with 1:12 remaining to get the train rolling. He allowed only five escapes earning two takedowns per period to turn the tide.
• Kamdyn Munro followed with a similar performance. His 18-3 final included six takedowns as well with just three escapes and was over just 14 seconds into the third.
• True freshman 174 Landon Jones wrestled two weights up at 197. The Bulldogs own starter at that weight was unavailable so they chose to elevate regular starter at 184 Jackson Potts after Munro was announced to get an edge. "Bones" dominated his counterpart in the third. Leading 6-2 entering the period, he chose neutral and proceeded to earn his squad five points with two takedowns, four near fall points, a stalling point and riding time for a 12-1 flurry to the finish.
• Gardner-Webb got off to a strong start with a major at 125 and upset win at 133 with No. 26 TK Davis eking out a 4-2 decision over No. 18 Blake Boarman.
• No. 22 Todd Carter gave them four more points with a major at 141 over Ethan Lipsey. Yuta Otero, making his first dual start, went the distance and then some with Joseph Giordano. Giordano claimed three points with a sudden victory takedown.
• Noah Castillo stopped the skid at 157. He was the dominant figure in a 13-7 decision over Drew Pepin just missing the added bonus point. Jackson Hurst followed at 165 with a decision loss to Grant Kress who used a strong burst in the middle of the match to hold off Hurst.

 
The Rundown
125: Tyson Lane (GW) 11-1 maj. dec. over Ty Tice (UTC) – 0-4
133: #26 TK Davis (GW) 4-2 dec. over #18 Blake Boarman (UTC) – 0-7
141: #22 Todd Carter (GW) 20-6 maj. dec. over Ethan Lipsey (UTC) – 0-11
149: Joseph Giordano (GW) 4-1 dec. (SV-1) over Yuta Otero (UTC) – 0-14
157: Noah Castillo (UTC) 13-7 dec. over Drew Pepin (GW) – 3-14
165: Grant Kress (GW) 10-7 dec. over Jackson Hurst (UTC) – 3-17
174: #8 Sergio Desiante (UTC) 21-5 (5:48) TF over Andrew Wilson (GW) – 8-17
184: Kamdyn Munro (UTC) 18-3 TF (5:14) over Edison Flores (GW) – 13-17
197: Landon Jones (UTC) 18-3 TF (7:00) over Jackson Potts (GW) – 18-17
285: Ethan Vergara (UTC) 12-2 maj. dec. over Mason Blue (GW) – 22-17
 
Notable

• Chattanooga leads the series 21-0 | History
• Current winning streaks: Castillo (9), Munro (7) and Eli Knight (5).
• Munro has scored 37 of a possible 42 points in SoCon matches. He and Castillo are both undefeated in the conference at 7-0.
• Vergara's three SoCon wins have all resulted in bonus points with two majors and a fall.
• Castillo has won his last 12 SoCon duals dating back to spring of 2023. He's 19-3 (.864) all-time in league tilts.
• Desiante earned his 25th career dual win. He's won 18 of his last 21.
• Jones is redshirting the 2024-25 campaign. He's now 2-4, 2-0 in duals including a 20-4 tech fall against Southeast Community College in the Norman Duals.

 
Final Thoughts
"I think that's the heart of our lineup right now. The guys that have been probably the most consistent are at 74 & 84. So, going out there and not just looking to win but to dominate for the team. They needed to do that for us to catch up." – Ruschell on Desiante and Munro getting the tech train going
 
"It feels really good. I've been struggling a lot with that. The past four or five duals have come down to me, and I haven't pulled through. I think this time around, I thought a lot more about my team than myself. I feel like I get in my own head a lot, so I thought maybe I might just think about only my brothers and my coaches in this program. It goes way beyond just myself and my matches, although it is my match out there, I gotta put it all on for my family, so it feels really good."– Vergara on clinching the match win
 
"It's kind of getting the monkey off his back, right? It came down to him, and he wins one. It was nice to have him do that and let him see some success from all that he's been doing. To give that confidence that he can do it when the match is on the line." – Ruschell on Vergara win
 
Next Up
The Mocs close the regular season at home next weekend with visits from Indiana (Friday) and Bellarmine (Sunday). Tickets are available here on GoMocs.com.
 
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