Heath Eslinger was frustrated Sunday afternoon.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling coach believed his team had done enough to earn a victory in a big Southern Conference dual against Appalachian State.
The scoreboard at Maclellan Gymnasium said otherwise.
UTC lost 18-16 as the Mountaineers earned at least a share of the SoCon regular-season title. Appalachian State (8-3) is 6-0 in the SoCon, with its only remaining league match at The Citadel on Feb. 18. Still on the schedule for the Mocs (6-7, 4-1) is a visit from Gardner-Webb next Sunday and a trip to Campbell on Feb. 17.
Eslinger was frustrated with how he thought the Mountaineers wrestled, believing there were some spots where they weren't very active. When an opponent responds that way, it can cut down on a wrestler's opportunities to score points or even a pin. Wrestling's rules are designed to discourage being passive on the mat.
"I love my team," Eslinger said. "I think I've got the 10 best guys in the Southern Conference. We'll go back to work tomorrow, but I'm going to fight for my guys. You know why? They fight for me. There's accountability; we're going to continue to hold ourselves accountable. I guess there's some things we can't hold accountable, but it's part of it.
"We've got to score more points than they do. I thought we could win eight out of 10 (weight classes) - I thought we could win all 10 - but we didn't."
The Mocs received a major-decision victory from Michael Pongracz at 141 pounds, and decisions from Alonzo Allen (125), Roman Boylen (149), Chad Pyke (165) and Bryce Carr (184). Boylen's 4-2 overtime win against Gavin Londoff was the Appalachian State sophomore's first loss against SoCon competition.
The Mocs led 16-12 after Carr's 8-4 win, but Scottie Boykin (197) and Connor Tolley (285) - who was returning from injury - dropped close decisions, giving the Mountaineers three team points in each case.
"We're going to do what's right because it's the right thing to do," Eslinger said. "You don't do what's right because you get calls to go your way or you get your starting spot. You do the right thing because it's who you are. This team is about that; those 10 guys you just saw are studs in every capacity.
"That's what hurts, because they went out to earn it."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.