The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team extended several of its matches to overtime, but the eight Mocs in the NCAA tournament in St. Louis were shut out in today’s first round.
Steve Hromada, the Mocs senior hoping for a hardship year next season, went nine overtimes before falling to Hofstra’s Lou Ruggirello, 3-2. Junior 157-pounder Seth Garvin went overtime with third-seeded Dan Vallimont of Penn State, tying the match with a late-third-period takedown. Vallimont got a takedown 38 seconds into overtime for an 8-6 win.
Senior 197-pound Matt Koz also lost in overtime, 3-1 to George Mason’s Cayle Byers.
Tenth-seeded Cody Cleveland, the only Moc to receive a seed, was upset by Army’s Matthew Kyler, 5-2. Josh Edmondson gave eighth-seeded 184-pounder Roger Kish of Minnesota a tough match before falling 6-3, and Javier Maldonado (125), Joey Knox (149) and Lloyd Rogers (174) lost by major decisions. Knox lost to the No. 3 seed, Maldonado to the No. 11 seed and Rogers to the No. 4 seed.
All are scheduled to wrestle again this evening.
See more coverage in Friday’s Times Free Press.
