Mocs take down Bulldogs on Senior Day

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team capped off the 2016-17 regular season with a 36-11 win over The Citadel on Sundaytoday. The Mocs won seven of the 10 matches and posted three pins and two tech falls against The Bulldogs.

Chattanooga ran out to a quick 12-0 lead after pins at 125 and 133. Sophomore Alonzo Allen scored his in the third period (6:08) over Patrick Kearney, while sophomore Chris Debien put Andrew Szalwinski on his back in the first period (1:33).

Debien improved to 14-9 overall and 7-0 in Southern Conference action while Allen moved to 14-11 and 6-1 in league matches.

Sophomore Chase Zemenak gave UTC a 16-0 lead with a major decision. He ends the league schedule with a 5-1 mark.

The Citadel won at 141 and 149 to close the team gap to 16-7. However, junior Justin Lampe extended the Mocs’ lead to 22-7 with a pin just before the second-period buzzer (4:59). He is 13-10 overall and 6-1 in league bouts.

Before the match, the Mocs honored six seniors in Austin Gould, Barrett Walthall, D.J. FranklinSmith, Sean Mappes, Clay Dent and Jared Johnson. Mappes was the first of three to see the mat, scoring a tech fall at 174.

Junior Bryce Carr followed with a tech fall of his own at 184, but the Bulldogs scored a win at 197. Carr, ranked No. 19 in this week’s polls, has a 22-4 overall record and 6-1 league mark heading into the postseason.

Johnson brought a No. 10 national ranking at heavyweight into today’s match and scored a 9-0 major decision over former Bremen High School state champion Joe Bexley. That left the final score at 36-11 in favor of the Mocs.