Mat 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. Franklin-Smith, 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.