Chattanooga remains atop standings with win at Davidson
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team remained in first place in the Southern Conference race with a 37-9 win at Davidson on Sunday. The Mocs won the last eight matches of the dual to improve to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in SoCon action.
Chattanooga was without starter Alonzo Allen, who could not make the trip due to an illness. The Wildcats took advantage with a pin at 125 to open the dual. Davidson scored an overtime win at 133 and suddenly had its largest ever lead over Chattanooga in the 24-match history of the rivalry.
The Mocs didn't get rattled, thanks to a first-period pin by junior Michael Pongracz at 141. Sophomore Chase Zemenak followed with a major decision at 149 to put UTC on top for good with a 10-9 lead.
Freshman Kamaal Shakur scored his team-leading 20th win of the season with a 5-3 decision at 157. Freshman Dominic Lampe then added his fourth pin of the year at 165. Junior Sean Mappes posted a major at 174 and senior John Lampe was back in the lineup with a 9-4 decision at 184.
UTC closed out the match with more bonus points, led by junior Scottie Boykin's tech fall at 197. No. 11 Jared Johnson ended the day with a pin at heavyweight.
Sunday's win was the 26th league dual victory in a row for UTC. The Mocs’ last loss was a 21-17 home defeat against Appalachian State on Feb. 5, 2012.
Chattanooga can clinch the SoCon title with a win over App State on Senior Day on Friday. It will be a tough task for the Mocs against the 25th-ranked Mountaineers, who are 9-3 overall and 4-1 in SoCon action. Match time has been moved back one hour to 7 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.
The Wildcats return to the mat Wednesday with a trip to Lexington, Va., to take on SoCon rival VMI. The dual is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Chattanooga 37, Davidson 9
125: Camden Bertucci (DAV) – Fall 2:01 - Toribbio Navarro (UTC) – Davidson 6-0
133: Dustin Runzo (DAV) – Dec. 5-3 (SV1) - Cody Hill (UTC) – Davidson 9-0
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Fall 2:22 - Billy McClelland (DAV) – Davidson 9-6
149: Chase Zemenak (UTC) – MD 8-0 - Aidan Conroy (DAV) – UTC 10-9
157: Kamaal Shakur (UTC) – Dec. 5-3 - Tony Palumbo (DAV) – UTC 13-9
165: Dominic Lampe (UTC) – Fall 6:52 - Adam Flatt (DAV) – UTC 19-9
174: Sean Mappes (UTC) – MD 10-2 - Nathaniel Powers (DAV) – UTC 23-9
184: John Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 9-4 - Konner Pritchard (DAV) – UTC 26-9
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – TF 16-1 (5:00) - Michael Moore (DAV) – UTC 31-9
285: No. 11 Jared Johnson (UTC) – Fall 2:09 - Will Cooley (DAV) – UTC 37-9
Gardner-Webb moves to 4-1 in league action
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb won seven matches in a row after falling behind early and rolled to a 31-10 win over Campbell for its second consecutive Southern Conference wrestling victory.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-5, 4-1 SoCon) remained undefeated on the mats at Paul Porter Arena and remained within striking distance of first place in the league standings.
Cortez Starkes started the day well for GWU, darting to a major-decision victory over Collin Stewart at 125 pounds (13-5) for an early lead.
Campbell (2-12, 2-3 SoCon) rallied quickly, as Nathan Kraisser pinned Tyler Ziegler (4:28) in the third period and Luke Stewart blanked Ryan Hull (8-0) for a major decision and a 10-4 lead for the Camels.
Chris Vassar dominated at 149 pounds, posting a technical fall over Kaleb Warner (19-0) on the strength of several four-point near falls. Ryan Mosley and Austin Trott followed with decisions at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively, to give Gardner-Webb the lead for good.
Brett Stein was impressive at 174 pounds, pinning Alex Vosburgh in the third period (5:41) to put GWU in a comfortable 21-10 team lead. Hunter Gamble's major decision over Ville Heino at 184 pounds put the match out of reach as GWU led 25-10 heading into the final two weight classes of the day.
Gray Jones kept the streak going with a 10-3 decision at 197 pounds, narrowly missing his own major decision. Boyce Cornwell capped the win with a 3-1 decision in the final match of the day, scoring a late takedown for the final margin.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will travel to Duke for a nonconference match on Tuesday before returning home to face The Citadel on Friday at 6 p.m.
Campbell has a short break before it returns to the mat. The Camels wrestle again on Feb. 13 in Edwardsville, Ill., as they take on the Cougars from SIUE in a SoCon dual.
Gardner-Webb 31, Campbell 10
125 – Cortez Starkes (GWU) major dec. Collin Stewart (CAM), 13-5 – 4-0
133 – Nathan Kraisser (CAM) pinned Tyler Ziegler (GWU), 4:28 – 4-6
141 – Luke Stewart (CAM) major dec. Ryan Hull (GWU), 8-0 – 4-10
149 – Chris Vassar (GWU) tech. fall Kaleb Warner (CAM), 19-0 – 9-10
157 – Ryan Mosley (GWU) dec. Quintin Perez (CAM), 5-0 – 12-10
165 – Austin Trott (GWU) dec. Paul Duggan (CAM), 8-3 – 15-10
174 – Brett Stein (GWU) pinned Alex Vosburgh (CAM), 5:41 – 21-10
184 – Hunter Gamble (GWU) major dec. Ville Heino (CAM), 9-0 – 25-10
197 – Gray Jones (GWU) dec. Austin McNeil (CAM), – 10-3 – 28-10
285 – Boyce Cornwell (GWU) Jere Heino (CAM), 3-1 – 31-10