University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 125-pounder Fabian Gutierrez was chosen the Southern Conference wrestler of the week for defeating Virginia Tech’s 14th-ranked Joey Prata in the dual meet last Saturday in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Mocs lost 29-3 to the fifth-ranked Hokies, but Gutierrez gave his team a 3-0 lead with an 8-5 decision. UTC will host the prestigious Southern Scuffle next week, Jan. 1-2.
Baseball
* Tennessee Wesleyan University recently hired Lee Bryant as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for its reigning NAIA champion and No. 1-ranked baseball program. Bryant, who played for TWU head coach Billy Berry at Bluefield College, spent the last two years working for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Synergy Sports Tech, watching some of the best amateur baseball in the country. Before that, he was the pitching coach and recruiting overseer for Southeastern University’s school-best 50-11 season and the associate head coach and pitching coach for New Orleans’ turnaround season from 14 to 31 wins. He was in charge of recruiting and the pitching staff at Shorter from 2009 to 2015 and at Volunteer State the year before that. “I have known Lee for a long time and have a great relationship with him, one that started as a player back in 2005,” Berry said in TWU’s announcement. “He has worked at many levels of baseball and brings a great background as a pitching coach and a great network as a recruiter.”