2012-13 UTC wrestling schedule
(Home meets at Maclellan Gym)Oct. 27 Blue-Gold meet, noonNov. 3 Virginia, Ohio, Anderson at Charlottesville, Va.Nov. 4 Virginia Tech Hokie Open at Salem, Va.Nov. 11 Wolfpack Open at Raleigh, N.C.Nov. 16 Iowa, Cumberland, Virginia, 4 p.m.Dec. 14 at PrincetonDec. 16 Oklahoma State, Rutgers at Madison Square GardenJan. 1-2 Southern Scuffle at McKenzie ArenaJan. 6 Illinois, 2 p.m.Jan. 20 at Cleveland StateJan. 27 The Citadel, 2 p.m.Feb. 1 at Gardner-WebbFeb. 3 at Appalachian StateFeb. 10 Davidson, 2 p.m.Feb. 23 VMI, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 2Feb. 25 Campbell University, 7March 9 Southern Conference at Lexington, Va.March 21 NCAA tournament at Des Moines, Iowa
The Southern Scuffle will again be a highlight on the home wrestling schedule for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but the Mocs also will have home matches with Virginia, Iowa and Illinois.
The Scuffle, in its second year with the Mocs hosting, will feature such national powers as Penn State, Michigan, Cornell, Oklahoma, American and Arizona State on Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena.
"We have a great home schedule, and two of the teams coming in for dual meets should be ranked among the nation's top seven," Mocs coach Heath Eslinger said. "The Scuffle is the big home event and it's another change for us to wrestle against the best in the country and a chance for our fans to watch the elite level of college wrestling."
The Mocs' road schedule will include Virginia Tech's Hokie Open and the Wolfpack Open at North Carolina State. They also will be competing in "Grappling at the Garden," the first collegiate wrestling event to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York. There UTC is scheduled to wrestle Oklahoma State and Rutgers.
"I guess it was just treating people the right way," Eslinger said when asked how the Mocs wrangled an invitation to such a prestigious event.
Their Southern Conference schedule includes home meets with The Citadel, VMI, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Campbell University, but the top league encounter will take place on Feb. 3 at Appalachian State. The conference tournament is scheduled for March 9 at Lexington, Va.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.