The Chattanooga Mocs wrestling squad is coming home. The Mocs open their 2024-25 Maclellan Gym ledger Saturday with a tri-dual featuring tough competition.
Princeton and Purdue make their way south to the Scenic City. It's another stern test for Coach Kyle Ruschell's group, but it's also a welcome return to Maclellan Gym.
"It's a great opportunity, right?," Ruschell replied. "Having two quality opponents come in here and really testing our guys seeing where we're at after two dual matches with top 10 programs. It's a chance to go out there and really show where we're at.
"It's always nice to be in front of our fans."
The Mocs enter 0-2 with losses to No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 5 Ohio State. While the former was a disappointing performance, the latter was a step forward even in defeat.
"Against Virginia Tech, we didn't have enough across the board," Ruschell continued. "We saw more aggression and more of who we want to be at Ohio State. That's why we saw offensive points. We saw takedowns, we saw reversals, we saw scoring at the end of the periods.
"So, we need to do those type of things against Princeton and Purdue to give ourselves as individuals, an opportunity to win. But also, as a team, to steal a couple of these dual meets against quality opponents.
"Both have high-ranked guys. We need to put our best foot forward, and it needs to be a complete team performance for us to come out on top."
The matches start at 10 a.m., with Princeton and Purdue squaring off. The Tigers stay on the mat at Noon to face the good guys before the Mocs pivot to the Boilermakers at 2 p.m. Tickets are available on GoMocs.com.
Upcoming Matches
Sat., Nov. 23 (Maclellan Gym)
Princeton (1-1) vs. Purdue (2-1), 10 am
Princeton (1-1) at Chattanooga (0-2), Noon
Purdue (2-1) at Chattanooga (0-2), 2 p.m.
Probable Lineup: Chattanooga
125: Ty Tice (2-4) or Elijah Lowe (2-2)
133: #26 Blake Boarman (4-2) or Bryce Luna (1-2)
141: #18 Isaiah Powe (0-2) or Eli Knight (0-0)
149: Dayne Dalrymple (4-3)
157: #28 Noah Castillo (0-1) or Cavarius Liddie (2-2)
165: Jackson Hurst (2-4)
174: #30 Sergio Desiante (2-0) or Landon Jones (0-2)
184: Kamdyn Munro (2-4)
197: David Harper (1-4) or Kendrick Curtis (2-2)
285: Ethan Vergara (2-4) or Kaleb Snodgrass (3-2)
Probable Lineup: Princeton
125: #28 Ethan Rivera
133: Dan Jones or Drew Heethuis
141: Jacob Mann or Joseph Davi
149: #9 Ty Whalen
157: Zander Silva
165: Cody Tavoso
174: Xavier Giles
184: #27 Mikey Squires
197: #18 Luke Stout
285: #33 Sebastian Garibaldi
Probable Lineup: Purdue
125: #4 Matt Ramos/Ashton Jackson
133: Dustin Norris
141: Greyson Clark/Cole Solomey
149: Isaac Ruble/Jaden Reynolds
157: #20 Joey Blaze
165: #22 Stoney Buell
174: #29 Brody Baumann/Orlando Cruz
184: #29 James Rowley
197: Ben Vanadia
285: Hayden Filipovich