NORTH CAROLINA 18, CHATTANOOGA 17
125—Sean Boyle (C) won by tech. fall over Cody Karns, 11-0; 133—Troy Heillman (UNC) dec. Nick Soto, 7-5; 141—Joey Ward (UNC) dec. Michael Pongracz, 11-6; 149—Sean Greevy (C) dec. Christian Barber, 6-5; 157—Austin Sams (C) dec. Chris Mears, 5-2; 165—Ethan Ramos (UNC) tech. fall over Garrett Alexander, 24-8; 174—John Michael Staudenmayer (UNC) dec. Levi Clemons, 6-1; 184—Alex Utley (UNC) major dec. Sean Mappes, 11-0; 197—Scottie Boykin (C) dec. Chip Ness, 6-4; 285—Jared Johnson (C) dec. Frank Abbondanza, 2-0.Records: North Carolina 2-2; UTC 3-2.
For the second straight dual meet, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga won half of the battles but lost the war.
On the heels of a 19-16 home loss on Friday, the Mocs got closer but still fell 18-17 to North Carolina in Atlanta.
UTC Mocs logo“We split 5-5 with the last two teams and lost by bonus points. Maybe we need to go get more bonus points,” said coach Heath Eslinger, whose team has now lost two straight following a 3-0 start and a Navy Classic tournament championship.
The Mocs, possibly still reeling following the loss of senior teammate Corey Mock, who was dismissed after being accused of sexual misconduct, got their extra points from 125-pound Sean Boyle, who earned a technical fall. Coming on the heels of wins from Scottie Boykin (197) and Hared Johnson (285), the senior transfer’s win boosted UTC to an 11-0 lead.
“Yes, we’ve had some obstacles thrown at us, but a thing here or there and we win both of these matches. We have a lot of opportunities ahead of us,” Eslinger said.
Following 133-pound Nick Soto’s third straight loss and Michael Pongracz’s 10-4 loss to 14th-ranked Joey Ward, UTC extended its lead to 17-6 on back-to-back wins by Shawn Greevy and Austin Sams. However, they lost the last three matches – one by technical fall and another by major decision – that provided the Tar Heels with 12 points.
“Obviously we have one of our better guys struggling. That’s on me,” Eslinger said. “Great leaders figure a way to get them over or through the rough spots.
Looking back and knowing that hindsight is perfect I tried to make some things happen, and I think I have to do a better job of coaching.”
The Mocs’ next meet is Saturday at Old Dominion, and they’ll then be off until hosting the Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena Jan. 1-2.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.