Chattanooga 36, The Citadel 6
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The 15th-ranked University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team began Wednesday’s dual match against The Citadel with three consecutive major decisions and were never threatened, defeating its Southern Conference rival 36-6.
Six of the Mocs’ nine wins came with extra points. Javier Maldonado started the scoring at the outset of the match, earning a 13-5 major decision over Tyler Sim at 125 pounds. Matt Keller ran his record to 24-2 overall and 12-0 in duals with a 17-3 major over Matthew Leach at 133 for a quick 8-0 UTC lead.
“I was pleased with everyone in the lineup tonight,” UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. “We wrestled well as a team. I can’t think of one negative thing to say right now. I am proud of them.
“We were coming off two duals this past weekend, but our guys showed me more tonight than they did in the last two. We will recover from this and get ready for our final SoCon match (against VMI) and then the finale at Missouri.”
For the second time in a week, Josh Keefe stepped in for his twin brother, Michael, in the 141-pound match. Keefe shut out Matt Bullwinkel, 9-0 for the team’s third straight major decision. Michael has missed the last three duals with an injury.
The Citadel, now 3-5 and 0-1 in the league, claimed a victory at only one weight class on the evening. Levi Duyn pinned UTC’s Cody Cleveland at 149 pounds to get the Bulldogs to as close as 12-6 after the fourth match. Cleveland, a redshirt freshman, was wrestling for senior Aaron Martin who missed a start because of an injury. Martin is undefeated in 14 duals and ranked 10th nationally.
UTC got right back on track after Duyn’s win as Jake Yost outpointed Travis Piccard at 157, 12-1 to give the Mocs a 16-6 cushion. A 16-0 technical fall by 165-pounder T.J. Sayers over Zachary Filter pushed the margin to 21-6.
The Mocs closed out the match winning the last four. Lloyd Rogers, ranked 17th, edged Darius Caldwell, 5-2 at 174, and Josh Edmondson pinned Griffen Greene at 184 for a 30-6 advantage.
Nick Lorenzano defeated John Dickerson, 11-7 at 197 pounds, and 18th-ranked Matt Koz got the better of Bulldogs’ heavyweight John Buck, 6-2 for the final margin.
The Mocs, 14-1 and 4-0 in the SoCon, assured themselves of at least a share of the league’s regular-season title. They can claim it outright Feb. 11 in the home finale when they host VMI. Match time is 2 p.m. at Maclellan Gym.
On that day, Bono will honor the seniors in their final home match and host a reunion for all of UTC’s former All-Americas. A reception following the dual will be open to the public.
No. 15 Chattanooga 36, The Citadel 6
125 - No. 18 Javier Maldonado (UTC) maj. dec. Tyler Sim (CIT), 13-5 4-0
133 - No. 7 Matt Keller (UTC) maj. dec. Matthew Leach (CIT), 17-3 8-0
141 - Josh Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. Matt Bullwinkel (CIT), 9-0 12-0
149 ? Levi Duyn (CIT) pinned Cody Cleveland (UTC), 4:27 12-6
157 - Jake Yost (UTC) maj. dec. Travis Piccard (CIT), 12-1 16-6
165 - T.J. Sayers (UTC) tech. fall Zachary Filter (CIT), 16-0, 4:02 21-6
174 - Lloyd Rogers (UTC) dec. Darius Caldwell (CIT), 5-2 24-6
184 - Josh Edmondson (UTC) pinned Griffen Greene (CIT), 2:41 30-6
197 - Nick Lorenzano (UTC) dec. John Dickerson (CIT), 11-7 33-6
285 - No. 18 Matt Koz (UTC) dec. John Back (CIT), 6-2 36-6
UNCG 27, Virginia Tech 15
GREENSBORO, NC ? The UNC Greensboro wrestling squad recorded three fall victories and picked up the 27-15 win over Virginia Tech in Fleming Gymnasium on Wednesday night to improve to 6-3 overall.
Virginia Tech (5-9) jumped out to a 6-0 advantage as the Hokies took both
184 and 197 lbs. weight classes. UNCG answered back with a fall victory at
286 lbs as junior Joe Sheffield recorded the pin in 5:41 over the Hokies’
Jim Powers. The Spartans were awarded a forfeit at 125 lbs. to extend their lead, 12-5.
Freshman Mitchell Johnson added to the Spartan lead as the Laurinburg, NC native picked up the fall victory in 1:33 over Sheridan Moran at 133 lbs.
Junior Chris Bencivenga picked up his 18th win of the season with the 9-8 decision over Matt Rosen at 141 lbs. to put UNCG up 21-5.
The Hokies went on to record a decision victory at a 149 lbs. and a four-point technical fall at 157 lbs. to close the gap, 21-12. Virginia Tech’s Eric Decker then took the 5-0 decision at 165 lbs. to make it 21-15.
However, UNCG’s Joe Lowe closed out the night when he recorded his 18th win of the year with a fall victory in 6:26 over Eddie Baughn at 175 lbs. to give the Spartans the 27-15 victory.
Up next for UNCG is a non-conference match up with George Mason on Saturday at 1 pm in Fleming Gymnasium.
UNCG ? 27, Virginia Tech ? 15
184 ? Steve Borja (VT) def. Scott Snyder (UNCG) by decision, 9-4
197 ? Kevin O’Connor (VT) def. Nick Clark (UNCG) by decision, 5-3
285 ? Joe Sheffield (UNCG) def. Jim Powers (VT) by fall, 5:41
125 ? Jeff Hedges (UNCG) wins by forfeit
133 ? Mitchell Johnson (UNCG) def. Sheridan Moran (VT) by fall, 1:33
141 ? Chris Bencivenga (UNCG) def. Matt Rosen (VT) by decision, 9-8
149 ? AJ Johnson (VT) def. Marcus Hannah (UNCG) by decision, 2-1
157 ? Jon Bonilla-Bowman (VT) def. Nate Berryman (UNCG) by technical fall,
27-12
165 ? Eric Decker (VT) def. Mark Ring (UNCG) by decision, 5-0
174 ? Joe Lowe (UNCG) def. Eddie Baughn (VT) by fall; 6:26