What's the reward for posting one of the biggest wins in school history over the weekend? A date with the No. 1 ranked and undefeated team in the nation.
That's exactly what the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is getting after advancing to the quarterfinals of the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA National Duals.
The Mocs scored a huge 19-16 win over Oklahoma on Sunday in Maclellan Gym and are now paired against top-ranked and top-seeded Iowa in the quarterfinals. Chattanooga takes on the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa, at 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Once all of the excitement from the Iowa match is over, UTC has to refocus for its last Southern Conference dual of the season at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Action takes place against the Cougars on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2:00 p.m. in Edwardsville, Ill.
UTC has already locked up at least a tie for its third-straight regular season Southern Conference title and the 10th in the last 11 years. Chattanooga is 12-5 overall and 6-0 in the SoCon. The Mocs are winners in each of their last nine outings.
Iowa is 15-0 overall, while SIUE is 5-17 and 2-4 in SoCon action. Check the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to live scoring and live broadcasts of both matches. Fans can also follow results on twitter @UTCWrestling.
CHATTANOOGA MOCS PROBABLE LINEUP
125: No. 10 Sean Boyle (Sr. – 25-5, 5-0 SoCon)
133: No. 13 Nick Soto (Sr. – 24-8, 5-0 SoCon)
141: Michael Pongracz (So. – 17-12, 4-1 SoCon)
149: Shawn Greevy (Sr. – 15-10, 2-1 SoCon)
Jacob Murphy (Fr. - 12-8, 2-0 SoCon)
157: Austin Sams (Jr. – 15-14, 4-2 SoCon)
165: Justin Lampe (Fr. - 3-10, 3-3 SoCon)
174: Sean Mappes (So. – 14-8, 4-1 SoCon)
184: John Shrader (So. – 12-6, 3-0 SoCon)
McCoy Newberg (So. - 20-5, 2-0 SoCon)
John Lampe (Jr. - 11-8, 0-1 SoCon)
197: Scottie Boykin (So. – 20-9, 6-0 SoCon)
Clay Dent (Jr. - 7-8, 0-1 SoCon)
285: Jared Johnson (So. – 26-6, 5-0 SoCon)
INDIVIDUALLY
Seniors Sean Boyle and Nick Soto lead the team at 125 and 133, respectively. Boyle is No. 10, while Soto is No. 13 in this week's InterMat individual rankings.
Boyle is 25-5 on the year while Soto has a 24-8 mark. A three-time SoCon Champion, Soto is 24-0 in his career against league opponents.
Sophomores McCoy Newberg and Scottie Boykin have both won seven matches in a row. Boykin has done his work as a starter at 197. Newberg has moved up to 184 for dual wins over Campbell, Appalachian State and Oklahoma, and the 174 title at the Cumberland Open. Sophomore John Shrader has also won five straight at 184.
Sophomore Jared Johnson is a three-time SoCon Wrestler of the Week and a two-time SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week. He has a team-best 26-6 overall record at heavyweight and is also unbeaten in SoCon matches at 5-0. He missed the Appalachian State match with an illness, but was back in the lineup last week against Oklahoma.
IOWA HAWKEYES PROBABLE LINEUP (15-0, 5-0 BIG 10)
125: No. 5 Thomas Gilman (So. - 23-1)
133: No. 6 Cory Clark (So. - 19-4)
141: No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Sr. - 22-5)
149: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Fr. - 29-2)
157: No. 15 Michael Kelly (Sr. - 19-6)
165: No. 9 Nick Moore (Sr. - 18-6)
174: No. 3 Mike Evans (Sr. - 21-1)
Alex Meyer (So. - 18-2)
184: No. 8 Sammy Brooks (So. - 22-3)
197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Jr. - 15-2)
285: No. 4 Bobby Telford (Sr. - 21-2)
KEY MATCHES WITH IOWA
Iowa has ranked wrestlers at all 10 weights, so each is a key match for the Mocs. Both 125 and 133 features a pair of ranked competitors.
ALL-TIME VS. IOWA
The Mocs are 0-2 all-time against Iowa. They lost to the second-ranked Hawkeyes 37-6 at home in their last meeting on Nov. 16, 2012. UTC also lost to No. 7 Iowa (47-0) on Nov. 26, 2010 in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Previous Matches
Nov. 16, 2012 - No. 2 Iowa 37, Chattanooga* 6
Nov. 26, 2010 - No. 7 Iowa 47, Chattanooga 0
LAST TIME VS. IOWA
A sold out, record crowd of 2,639 squeazed into UTC's Maclellan Gym for the second-ranked Hawkeyes' 37-6 win over Chattanooga on Nov. 16, 2012. It was the largest home crowd for a dual meet on record at UTC. Current Chattanooga assistant coach Niko Brown (197) had one of two wins for the Mocs in that match.
No. 2 Iowa 37 - Chattanooga 3
Nov. 16, 2012 - Maclellan Gym
125: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) - Fall 1:45 - No. 9 Nick Soto (UTC) - Iowa 6-0
133: No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa) - Fall 6:13 - Marvin Lopez (UTC) - Iowa 10-0
141: No. 15 Mark Ballweg (Iowa) - MD 9-0 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Iowa 16-0
149: Alex Hudson (UTC) - Dec. 8-2 - Brody Grothus (Iowa) - Iowa 16-3
157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) - Maj. Dec. 19-6 - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - Iowa 20-3
165: Nick Moore (Iowa) - Maj. Dec. 12-3 - John Lampe (UTC) - Iowa 24-3
174: Grant Gambrell (Iowa) - Dec. 7-5 - Jake Young (UTC) - Iowa 27-3
184: Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) - Maj. Dec. 20-8 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Iowa 31-3
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 10-7 - Tomas Kira (Iowa) - Iowa 31-6
285: No. 6 Bobby Telford (Iowa) - Fall 2:48 - Kevin Malone (UTC) - Iowa 37-6
NATIONAL DUALS FORMAT
This year's format melds a regional concept born a few seasons ago with a championship weekend site to fully expand the reach of the event. Eight regional sites hosted matches on Feb. 14-15, with the winners advancing to Iowa City on Feb. 21-22 for the championship rounds. The eight teams advancing are seeded according to ranking in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll. No draws are pre-determined based on first-round matches. Quarterfinals and Semifinals will take place in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on February 21 with the finals and third-place dual on February 22. The semifinals and finals will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
MORE ON THE NATIONAL DUALS
The Division I National Duals was founded as part of the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia in 1989 as the National Dual Meet Championships. In 1991, the event began to rotate around the country with the oversight of the National Duals handled by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Since 1989, 10 different cities have hosted the championships entirely or served as a championship finals site. Cedar Falls, Iowa had the longest consecutive run of hosting championships, with six straight years from 2006-2011. This year's final host, Iowa City, has hosted the event previously in 1998 and 1999.
Over the past 26 years, the team championship trophy has only been hoisted by six programs – Oklahoma State (8 titles), Minnesota (8), Iowa (6), Penn State (2), Cornell (1) and Iowa State (1). Iowa, Minnesota and Cornell all look to win another dual team championship this season.
COACHING TIES
Iowa assistant coach Terry Brands was the head coach of the Mocs from 2003-05. He posted a 31-33 overall record in three seasons, including winning the SoCon title in 2005. He also guided Chattanooga to a No. 21 finish at the NCAA Championships in 2005. UTC head coach Heath Eslinger served as his assistant coach for two of those seasons.
CLOSE LOSSES
All five of the Mocs losses have been very close matches. Four have been by four points or less and only at No. 22 Old Dominion did UTC not win at least five individual matches.
MOCS VS. THE SOCON
The Mocs are 34-1 in SoCon action in six seasons under current head coach Heath Eslinger. The lone loss was a 17-25 setback at home to Appalachian State on Feb. 5, 2012. Since then, UTC has won 20-straight league matches.
SIUE COUGARS PROBABLE LINEUP (5-17, 2-4 SoCon)
125: Nathan Day (Fr. - 5-3, 3-2 SoCon)
133: Dakota Leach (So. - 5-4, 0-1 SoCon)
141: Angelo Silvestro (Fr. - 17-11, 5-1 SoCon)
149: Karsten Van Velsor (So. - 13-19, 3-3 SoCon)
157: Clayton Bass (Fr. - 1-1, 1-0 SoCon)
165: Connor McMahon (Jr. - 12-12, 3-3 SoCon)
174: Jake Residori (Jr. - 24-12, 5-1 SoCon)
184: Derek Nagel (Jr. - 16-14, 3-3 SoCon)
197: Jake Tindle (So. - 8-8, 4-2 SoCon)
285: Chris Johnson (Jr. - 17-16, 1-5 SoCon)
KEY MATCHES WITH SIUE
There are a couple of matches that could impact seeding at the Southern Conference tournament. 141 features UTC sophomore Michael Pongracz with a 4-1 league record against freshman Angelo Silvestro who is 5-1 in SoCon bouts. At 174, Chattanooga sophomore Sean Mappes is 4-1 in the league while SIUE junior Jake Residori is 5-1.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE COUGARS
The Mocs are 6-5 all-time against SIUE, including wins in each of the last five meetings. These two teams met eight times between 1979 and 1989 with the Cougars holding a 5-3 advantage. UTC won a 35-10 bout in Columbia, Mo., on Jan. 15, 2011, and 40-3 on Feb. 23, 2013, in Chattanooga. Last year's meeting was a 35-6 win for UTC on Jan. 19.
Last Five Matches
Jan. 19, 2014 - No. 23 Chattanooga 35 - SIUE* 6
Feb. 23, 2013 - Chattanooga* 40 - SIUE 3
Jan. 15, 2011 - Chattanooga 25 - SIUE 10
Jan. 29, 2989 - Chattanooga 26 - SIU* 12
Feb. 6, 1988 - Chattanooga* 31 - SIUE 11
LAST TIME AGAINST SIUE
The Cougars won two individual matches in last years meeting. Dakota Leach and David Devine both posted decisions at 125 and 285 respectively.
No. 23 Chattanooga 35 – Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 6
Jan. 19, 2014 - Edwardsville, Ill.
125: Dakota Leach (SIUE) – Dec. 9-6 - Byron Smith (UTC) – SIUE 3-0
133: No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – MD 15-2 - Patrick Myers (SIUE) – UTC 4-3
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – MD 8-0 - Drew Vrbenec (SIUE) – UTC 8-3
149: Austin Sams (UTC) – Dec. 14-10 - Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) – UTC 11-3
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 13-0 - Logun Taylor (SIUE) – UTC 15-3
165: No. 6 Corey Mock (UTC) – Tech. Fall 16-0 (5:58) - Matthew Lester (SIUE) – UTC 20-3
174: Levi Clemons (UTC) – Fall 6:46 - Jake Residori (SIUE) – UTC 26-3
184: John Lampe (UTC) – Fall 4:24 - Derek Nagel (SIUE) – UTC 32-3
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Dec. 12-6 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) – UTC 35-3
285: David Devine (SIUE) – Dec. 7-5 (SV1) - Dawson Peck (UTC) – UTC 35-6
SOTO CLIMBING CAREER WINS CHART
Senior Nick Soto is 110-35 in his career at UTC. He is currently sixth on UTC's all-time wins. He is two behind Charlie Buckshaw (1986-89) and three behind Charlie Heard (1982-84). He will have to go on a strong run to end the season to catch head coach Heath Eslinger who was 120-18 from 1996-00. Michael Keefe (2002-07) has the school record with a 134-40 career tally.
