Costly suspensions coupled with the virulent flu bug knocked the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to its knees Saturday in the Southern Conference wrestling tournament at Davidson College.
The Mocs advanced just one wrestler — redshirt freshman 149-pounder Dean Pavlou — to the NCAA tournament and definitely missed suspended all-conference member 165-pound Brandon Wright, conference freshman of the year Jake Young (174) and Ben Johnson (141).
First-year UTC coach Heath Eslinger had remained confident despite the setback and flulike symptoms that had circulated through the team last week.
“We’ve had a long week and this was a rough day,” Eslinger said Saturday evening without alluding to the team’s health problems. “The biggest shock to me this weekend was our inconsistency. We had been consistent all year and I had bragged on it. We knew we had some adversity, but we didn’t respond to it well.”
The wheels began wobbling when the suspended starters’ replacements — Jeremy Sandoval (141), Bond Davis (165), Alex Hudson (174) — suffered quarterfinal losses and then all but fell off when three Mocs expected to reach the finals were upset in the semifinals. Two of those were top-seeded.
Bucky Johnson, one of the No. 1 seeds, became the only one of the group to rebound for a third-place medal. However, he was taken to the hospital at the tournament’s conclusion for fluid replenishment via IVs. Top-seeded 197-pounder Niko Brown was pinned twice and top-seeded 157-pounder Josh Condon went winless in two matches. Condon was knocked unconscious in his semifinal. He finished the match although he lost. He was then forced by physicians on site to default out of the tournament.
Heavyweight Tom Minwell, a No. 2 seed, won just one of three matches, a consolation semifinal.
UTC’s one champion — former Bradley Central standout Pavlou — represents the fewest number of conference tournament winners in recent history.
“Dean didn’t look great but he found a way to win,” Eslinger said. “He’s another one who was sick all week. He had a fever of 102 and 103 Monday and Tuesday.”
The Mocs’ runners-up were Josh Statum (133) and Jason McCroskey (184). They finished with seven medalists. Brown, Condon and Minwell took fourths.
UTC does expect to return nine of this year’s starters, including former All-American 141-pound Cody Cleveland, who was lost to the team with a pre-Christmas knee injury. The Mocs are expected to file a sixth-year hardship appeal for the former McCallie star once the season is over. The roster also will include Dan Waddell, a 2009 conference champion at 149 pounds who sat out this season with shoulder and knee injuries.
Eslinger’s initial reaction was one of disappointment, but he has an eternal optimist reputation.
“This was the one that counts, but there are 365 days in a year and we can’t base our season on one day,” he said by phone from Davidson. “I thought we had a great year. Maybe the scary part was that we exceeded some expectations during the season and then had to try and live up to them here.
“In the long run it’s going to help us. This is a maturing process, and while it’s a dang hard one right now, we have to go through it.”
SOCON WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Team scores (unofficial): 1. UNC Greensboro 81.5, 2. The Citadel 74, 3. Appalachian State 71.5, 4. UTC 43, 5. VMI 37, 6. Davidson 21.
Matches involving UTC wrestlers
Championship Finals
133–Alex Radsky (Dav) dec. Josh Statum, 3-2; 149–Dean Pavlou dec. dec. Savva Kostis (ASU), 14-9; 184–Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Jason McCroskey, 7-22.
Consolation Finals
125–Bucky Johnson dec. John Pope (VMI), 5-3 OT; 157–Joe Munno (VMI) won by forfeit over Josh Condon; 197–Ryan Sughrue (UNCG) pinned Niko Brown, 4:01; 285–Josh Wine (VMI) dec. Tom Minwell (UTC), 9-2.
Consolation Semifinals
125–Bucky Johnson dec. Ben Altman (Dav), 7-6; 141–David Yost (VMI) dec. Jeremy Sandoval, 8-6; 157–Josh Condon received bye; 165–Pierre Frazille (Cit) dec. Bond Davis, 5-2; 174–Evan Dill (VMI) dec. Alex Hudson, 7-6; 197–Niko Brown received bye; 285–Tom Minwell dec. Ken Altarac (ASU), 3-2.
Championship Semifinals
125–Tony Gravely (ASU) dec. Bucky Johnson, 6-4, OT; 133–Josh Statum dec. Jordan Dix (Cit), 9-3; 149–Dean Pavlou dec. Derek Royster (Cit), 12-9; 157–Chip Powell (ASU) dec. Josh Condon, 10-6; 184–Jason McCroskey dec. Andrew Saunders (UNCG), 7-1; 197–Justin Sparrow (Cit) pinned Niko Brown, 2:07; 285–Odie Delaney (Cit) dec. Tom Minwell, 7-0.
Quarterfinals
125–Bucky Johnson received bye; 133–Josh Statum received bye; 141–Nick LaFevre (Cit) dec. Jeremy Sandoval, 5-0; 149–Dean Pavlou received bye; 157–Josh Condon received bye; 165–Victor Hojilla (UNCG) pinned Bond Davis, 5:15; 174–Carter Downs (ASU) major dec. Alex Hudson, 12-2; 184–Jason McCroskey pinned Ike Crews (Dav), 1:32; 197–Niko Brown received bye; 285–Tom Minwell received bye.