UTC’s Scottie Boykin faces his opponent as UTC defeats VMI by a team score of 35-3 on Jan. 25, 2015, at the Maclellan Gym at UTC.For the first time in years, perhaps in program history, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is competing in a lunchtime dual meet at home.
The Mocs, 9-5 overall, will be after their fifth Southern Conference win without a loss when they host Davidson at Maclellan Gym at noon today.
“I’m looking forward to doing a lunchtime match,” UTC coach Heath Eslinger said. “It’s an opportunity for people that don’t normally get the chance to see the team.”
Davidson is 4-9 overall and 0-2 in conference matchups, and UTC has never lost to the Wildcats. The Mocs host a 22-0 series record, including a 37-9 victory last year.
Scottie Boykin doesn’t care when or against whom, but the Mocs’ 197-pounder does enjoy wrestling at home.
“I like attention,” he said. “I guess it’s part of my nature. I like it when all eyes are on me and I feed off the crowd. It’s like my football days.”
Boykin, a linebacker with football scholarship offers at Murfreesboro Riverdale, stepped in as a freshman last year and became an immediate favorite for his free-wheeling, no-holds-barred wrestling style.
“He just goes,” said Mocs assistant Niko Brown, a former 197-pounder for UTC.
“Scottie is ahead of where he was last year,” Eslinger said. “He has two really good wins, including one against a kid ranked 14th in the country. When he figures out how to wrestle his match every match, he’s going to be really hard to beat.”
Boykin admitted that he likely has been a little more conservative this year, and the subject was one that neither he nor his coaches shied from.
“Sometimes he wrestles the other guy’s match. Scottie’s best when he presses the issue,” Eslinger said.
Brown indicated that Boykin had become a little shy.
“He has been waiting too long to shoot (for takedowns) in some of his matches, and he’s still learning to open up early and get into his offense,” Brown said. “He’s hesitant because he doesn’t want to mess up. I keep telling him that I was always told that you’re going to miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
Boykin is more confident this year but also knows at times he has been tentative.
“I feel more in sync this year and I’m more comfortable with my moves, but I haven’t been wrestling to my full potential,” he said. “I’ve been wrestling people to closer outcomes than I should have, and I’ve lost to a couple of guys I feel I should’ve beaten. Part of that is because I haven’t been wrestling like I know how or to my full potential.”
That realization is necessary for him to reach his goals.
“Short term is to win all my conference matches, then I want to win the (SoCon) tournament and go to the national tournament and win some matches when I get there. All-American is the goal,” he said.
It is attainable, Eslinger believes.
“He’s fun to watch when he’s wrestling Scottie-style. When he did he was a crowd favorite,” the coach said. “When he dictates the tempo and the action, I don’t know that there are very many that can beat him,”
Boykin (17-9) is one of six Mocs with 3-0 league starts, joining Sean Boyle (125), Nick Soto (133), Michael Pongracz (141), Sean Mappes (174) and John Shrader (184). Heavyweight Jared Johnson is 4-0.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.