Bobcat wrestlers aim to pin Mocs

by Joe Arnold
Staff Writer

Having been idle since a Dec. 15 match against Findlay, the Ohio wrestling team is looking forward to its match tonight against the Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs.

The Mocs (1-2) enter the match having won three consecutive Southern Conference Championships. At last year's NCAA championships, four out of their five SCC champions qualified and Tennessee-Chattanooga placed 47th as a team.

In addition to the three straight conference championships, Tennessee-Chattanooga has won the SCC 18 times in 23 years.

Ohio coach Joel Greenlee said despite the Mocs' record, he does not expect his team to take the Mocs lightly.

"Typically, year in and year out, they've been pretty good," he said. "This year I think they're in a little bit of the same boat we are because they're pretty young. They're going to wrestle hard, and they're not going to give us anything."

After a lackluster Dec. 15 win, the Bobcats are looking forward to regaining their early season momentum against the Mocs, Captain John Wervey said.

"I think all of us were let down with the way we wrestled against Findlay going in the holidays, but we definitely want to come back strong," he said.

Captain Dan Bednar also said the entire team is looking forward to facing the Mocs.

"I think our guys are pretty eager and excited to just get back on the mat and back into competition," he said. "This is a good time for pretty much everybody on our team to step it up and shine through. I think we'll be ready."

Many veterans on the team are looking to the younger members to step up and make a difference against Tennessee-Chattanooga, Wervey said.

"Anthony Carrizales and Brad Bauer always put in a good contribution because they've been stepping it up, and we like to have the young guys always get the wheel rolling," Wervey said.

The Bobcats are not treating Tennessee-Chattanooga any differently than any other team, Wervey said.

"We always go in with the same attitude to never take anyone lightly and treat every match the same," he said. "I think if we wrestle well, we shouldn't have a problem with them."

The Bobcats are concentrating on one match at a time while keeping their primary goal of winning a Mid-American Conference Championship in mind, Greenlee said.

"This is just a step on the way to our goal of being MAC champs," he said.

The match begins at 7 p.m. tonight at The Convo.