Where the scoreboard was concerned, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team's season opener wasn't a challenge.
That distinction will be reserved for next weekend.
A 300-day gap between matches for the Mocs ended Saturday afternoon as Division II's Emmanuel College visited Maclellan Gym, and UTC won 48-0 as the Lions scored just 17 total points on the mat in the dual meet and were credited with only one takedown.
UTC, on the other hand, tallied a pin, two technical falls and two major decisions among its victories in the seven matches that were contested; the Lions from Franklin Springs in northeast Georgia forfeited at 157, 174 and 285 pounds. Mocs coach Kyle Ruschell, now in his third season leading the program, pointed out the efforts of 165-pound junior Drew Nicholson, who earned an 18-3 tech fall, and 197-pounder Logan Andrew, who won 14-7 in his collegiate debut.
UTC's season started two months later than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Mocs taking the mat to face another foe for the first time since the Southern Conference tournament. That event was completed in early March, just before the pandemic shut down sports, with the NCAA tournament among the events ultimately canceled.
The extra time gave the Mocs an opportunity to rest up, heal up and study up. It threw them off a normal schedule in terms of weight maintenance, but it gave the team a chance for additional training.
The Mocs' 184-pounder for Saturday's match, Matthew Waddell, had the pin in just 61 seconds.
"I think the extra time was good for us," said Waddell, a junior who battled some injuries in 2019-20, his debut season with the Mocs after transferring from the University of Oklahoma.
Saturday, though, was just about shaking off the rust. Next weekend is when the season really starts, as the Mocs travel to historic Gallagher-Iba Arena in Skillwater, Oklahoma, for the Oklahoma State Quad.
UTC and the host Cowboys, who have won 34 national championships as a team, will be joined in the four-way meet that Sunday by Oregon State and Arkansas-Little Rock. There will be opportunities for plenty of quality individual wins.
The Mocs have three wrestlers in the FloWrestling.com national rankings by weight class: No. 19 Fabian Gutierrez (125), who had a 16-0 tech fall against Emmanuel, No. 21 Tanner Smith (149) who won a 14-2 major decision, and No. 13 Waddell. Want to really prove you belong on a national scale? Fare well next weekend.
"We're going after some of the best teams in the country," Ruschell said. "That's what we preach to these guys: We're going after the best, and that's how we're going to be great."
After the Oklahoma State Quad, the Mocs' schedule is made up of eight matches against SoCon foes before the league tournament, which is set for Feb. 28 to allow extra time ahead of the NCAA postseason in case of coronavirus interruptions. The SoCon schedule is exclusively tri-meets, meaning the Mocs have just four league dates, and only one of those are at home: Feb. 5 against Bellarmine and Campbell, though, just as with Saturday's competition, fans will not be allowed that day at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs' other on-mat wins against Emmanuel came from Colton Landers (133) in a a 13-3 major decision and Franco Valdes (141), 6-1.
"Today was big in getting that first one in, but now it's behind us and we have to move on and attack the Division I competition," Ruschell said. "These guys have a special opportunity, but you have to take advantage of these opportunities. You can't just go there (to Oklahoma State) and be glad you wrestled there; you have to go there and be able to say after, 'I went there, I wrestled my tail off and I beat some good guys."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.