No. 16 Virginia Tech 22, No. 19 Chattanooga 17
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 19th-ranked University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team wrapped up competition at the NWCA National Duals with a 22-17 loss to No. 16 Virginia Tech on Monday. The Mocs scored four wins in the dual, including two against ranked opponents, but could not overcome giving up bonus points in four losses.
The Mocs fell behind 15-0 after four matches, thanks in part to three major-decision wins by Virginia Tech. Chattanooga finally got on the board with senior Alex Hudson’s 11-0 major decision at 157. Junior Corey Mock followed with another major decision at 165, and junior Levi Clemons added a decision at 174 to pull Chattanooga to within four at 15-11.
Chattanooga lost the next two, including a major decision at 184 to put the match out of reach. Freshman Dawson Peck had the win of the match. The Virginia Tech transfer beat former teammate and No. 16-ranked Ty Walz with a pin at heavyweight.
This is the Mocs’ second loss of the season to the Hokies but a much better showing than the 27-10 defeat at the Hokie Duals in November.
UTC looks to wrap up sole possession of the Southern Conference regular-season championship with a trip to VMI next weekend. The Mocs are 15-7 overall, 6-0 in SoCon action, and face the Keydets on Sunday, Feb. 23. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
No. 16 Virginia Tech 22 – No. 19 Chattanooga 17
125: No. 20 Joey Dance (Va. Tech) – MD 16-3 - Byron Smith (UTC) – Va. Tech 4-0
133: Dennis Gustafson (Va. Tech) – MD 14-5 - No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – Va. Tech 8-0
141: Erik Spjut (Va. Tech) – Dec. 2-0 - Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Va. Tech 11-0
149: No. 17 Zach Neibert (Va. Tech) – MD 10-0 - Austin Sams (UTC) – Va. Tech 15-0
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 11-0 - Sal Mastriani (Va. Tech) – Va. Tech 15-4
165: No. 9 Corey Mock (UTC) – MD 8-0 – No. 18 Chris Moon (Va. Tech) – Va. Tech 15-8
174: Levi Clemons (UTC) – Dec. 10-4 - John Dickson (Va. Tech) – Va. Tech 15-11
184: No. 15 Nick Vetterlein (Va. Tech) – MD 10-2 - John Lampe (UTC) – Va. Tech 19-11
197: No. 20 Chris Penny (Va. Tech) – Dec. 8-2 - Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Va. Tech 22-11
285: Dawson Peck (UTC) – Fall 2:10 – No. 16 Ty Walz (Va. Tech) – Va. Tech 22-17