While many of their fans dined by candlelight Monday evening in Maclellan Gymnasium, the wrestling Mocs of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga feasted on Gardner-Webb.
The Running' Bulldogs are a Southern Conference member for wrestling, so the Mocs (5-4) won 35-3 in their league opener with a 17-0 margin after five matches. The first one was at 184 pounds, where UTC sophomore John Lampe won 5-2. Freshman Scottie Boykin then recorded an 11-3 major decision and heavyweight Kevin Malone and 125-pound freshman Campbell Lewis added decisions before junior Nick Soto turned into another major, 13-4.
Michael Hooker's decision at 149 made it 20-3, and Alex Hudson, Corey Mock and Levi Clemons closed out the night with bonus points: a major for Hudson, a 17-0 technical fall for nationally fourth-ranked Mock and a pin by Clemons.
The Mocs will wrestle at Stanford this Friday and at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday and then will host the Southern Scuffle Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena.
UTC 35, GARDNER-WEBB 3
(Meet started at 184 pounds)
125--Campbell Lewis dec. William Anderson, 5-0; 133--Nick Soto major dec. Robert Golde, 13-4; 141--Ryan Mosley (GW) dec. Austin Sams, 6-1; 149--Michael Hooker dec. Tyler Ziegler, 4-2; 157--Alex Hudson major dec. Kyle Ash, 8-0; 165--Corey Mock tech. fall over Austin Trott, 17-0, 4:50; 174--Levi Clemons pinned Brett Stein, 2:22; 184--John Lampe dec. Gray Jones, 5-2; 197--Scottie Boykin major dec. Boyce Cornwell, 7-0; 285--Kevin Malone dec. Justin Lozera, 7-4.
Records: UTC 5-4, 1-0 SoCon; Gardner-Webb 4-8, 1-1.