The Chattanooga Mocs got back on the winning track with an impressive Southern Conference wrestling win over the Davidson Wildcats Saturday night at Maclellan Gym.
The Mocs, now 5-8 overall and 2-0 in conference action, had lost a tough dual meet to 24th ranked West Virginia last Friday, but they bounced back in impressive fashion by winning all but one match in a 39-3 romp.
The win is Chattanooga’s 33rd in a row against the Wildcats without a loss.
Chattanooga coach Kyle Ruschell is always looking for ways to get better. He is often pleased with his team’s overall performance, but he’s never satisfied as he knows there is still a world of potential for getting better.
He couldn’t help but be happy following Saturday’s romp.
“I just know we can get better as we can score more takedowns,” he said after a short chat with his team following the match.
“We’re building confidence with each match, but we just want to be able to smell the blood in the water and to be able to take full advantage.
“It’s always a good thing when you beat a conference opponent 39-3, but we still have plenty of room for getting better. I don’t think we were greedy enough when we were on top, so we have to find more offense if we hope to be able to compete for a conference title in March,” he added.
Davidson coach Nate Carr was just hoping the match would be a little bit closer, but he was generally pleased with the effort his guys put forth.
“I thought we fought hard and I liked our effort, but Chattanooga has a great team,” Carr began after all the matches ended.
“We’re still a young team, but we just want a complete effort for everyone. There were a couple of matches I was hoping for a different result, but we had four or five who really put forth a strong effort,” he added.
The Mocs won nine of the 10 matches and scored bonus points in five with two pins, one major decision, one technical fall and one forfeit.
Logan Andrew picked up a forfeit in the first match at 285 before Logan Ashton recorded a first-period pin at 125 for a quick 12-0 lead.
14th-ranked Brayden Palmer was never able to get his offense unfolded as his opponent wrestled a totally defensive match, but Palmer was able to improve to 15-3 with the 5-0 decision at 133.
Franco Valdes won his second match of the season with an 8-2 decision at 141 before Grant Lundy posted a 19-7 major decision at 149 after scoring six takedowns in the third period.
March Koch posted Davidson’s only win with a 3-1 decision over Matthew Williams at 157 before a 3-1 decision from Weston Wichman at 165 extended the lead to 25-3.
Rocky Jordan, ranked 14th nationally at 174, posted a second-period technical fall before Matthew Waddell earned Chattanooga’s second pin with a 3:23 fall at 184.
Then in the final match of the evening, Chattanooga’s Jake Boyd scored a 5-4 decision over Gavin Henry.
Boyd had taken a 2-1 lead after the first period and increased it to 3-1 with a second-period escape. Henry made it 3-2 with an escape to start the third period and then a takedown with six seconds to go before Boyd scored a reversal at the buzzer for the win.
The Mocs also won the three exhibition matches as Eli Knight (141) and Jackson Hurst (165) both posted 12-0 major decisions before Thomas Sell finished the day on a positive note with a pin in 4:30 at 184.
The Mocs will be on the road next Friday for their next match at Presbyterian and stay on the road for matches at The Citadel on Jan. 29 and at Appalachian State on Feb. 5 before coming back home to face Gardner-Webb on Feb. 10.
CHATTANOOGA 39, DAVIDSON 3
(Match began at 285 pounds)
125 – Logan Ashton (UTC) pinned Hale Robinson, 2:11;
133 – Brayden Palmer (UTC) dec. Jackson Sichelstein, 5-0;
141 – Franco Valdes (UTC) dec. Joshua Viarengo, 8-2;
149 – Grant Lundy (UTC) major dec. Matt McLaughlin, 19-7;
157 – Marc Koch (Davidson) dec. Matthew Williams, 3-1;
165 – Weston Wichman (UTC) dec. Bryce Sanderlin, 3-1;
174 – Rocky Jordan (UTC) won by technical fall over Jaden Hardrick, 4:35;
184 – Matthew Waddell (UTC) pinned Oliver Tipton, 3:23;
197 – Jake Boyd (UTC) dec. Gavin Henry, 5-4;
285 – Logan Andrew (UTC) won by forfeit.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)