OLD DOMINION 25, UTC 12
125--Brandon Jeske (ODU) pinned Sean Boyle, 5:58; 133--Nick Soto (UTC) dec. Michael Hayes, 8-3; 141--Chris Mecate (ODU) dec. Michael Pongracz, 4-0; 149--Lenny Richardson (ODU) major dec. Shawn Greevy, 14-1; 157--T.C. Warner (ODU) dec. Austin Sams, 2-1; 165--Tristan Warner (ODU) pinned Garrett Alexander, 1:30; 174--Levi Clemons (UTC) dec. Austin Coburn, 6-3; 184--Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. John Lampe, 6-4 SV1; 197--Scottie Boykin (UTC) dec. Kevin Beazley, 9-6; 285--Jared Johnson (UTC) dec. Jacob Henderson, 2-0. Records: Old Dominion 3-2; UTC 3-3.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is beginning to wonder if it should go back to Michigan or perhaps Annapolis, Md., to do its wrestling.
The Mocs opened the season with three wins at the Eastern Michigan Duals and followed that showing by winning the Navy Classic. Since, though, they've run into three brick walls -- Purdue, North Carolina and, on Saturday, 22nd-ranked Old Dominion.
The Mocs suffered their worst defeat of the season at ODU, falling 25-12 to the Monarchs.
"The guys hate losing, but I'm proud of the fact that they're continuing to fight through it," coach Heath Eslinger said in the midst of a 10-hour bus ride home from Norfolk, Va. "We're neither mentally nor emotionally worn out, but the break will be good for them. It's been a tough month."
Once they got home in the wee hours this morning, Eslinger planned to turn the team loose until Saturday, when they'll resume workouts in preparation to host the South Scuffle Jan. 1-2.
While they came out on the short end and suffered their fourth loss in five meetings with Old Dominion, there were some bright spots including heavyweight Jared Johnson's first win over a ranked opponent. Johnson, who moved up to heavyweight this season, defeated No. 18 Jacob Henderson 2-0.
"A good win for him," Eslinger said. "He rode him out the entire second period and then got an escape in the third."
Too, Levi Clemons, who missed the early portion of the season while recovering from knee surgery, got his first win of the season, 3-1 over Austin Coburn, and 133-pound Nick Soto broke a three-match losing streak with an 8-3 decision of Michael Hayes.
Rebounding nicely from a disappointing showing at the Navy Classic, 197-pound Scottie Boykin extended his win streak to three with an 8-6 decision over Kevin Beazley, and while he lost, John Lampe had one of his best performances of the season by taking Jack Dechow, the nation's fourth-ranked 184-pounder, into overtime before falling 6-4.
Ranked No. 19, 125-pound Sean Boyle was winning over No. 20 Brandon Jeske in the third period when he got caught and pinned.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.