BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech wrestling team dropped a 26-10 decision to 19^th-ranked Tennessee Chattanooga Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum. Three Hokies picked up wins, but it wasn't enough as the Mocs improved to 9-5 on the year while Tech dropped to 6-7.

The match got started at 125 pounds, where UTC's Javier Maldonado, ranked 15^th in the country, picked up a fall over Justin Staylor at the 3:42 mark. Leading 7-0 in the second period, Maldonado caught Staylor in a cradle and picked up the fall 42 seconds into the period.

At 133 pounds, Jared Jones got a takedown in the second period and picked up back points later on in the period en route to an 8-4 decision over Steve Hromada.

At 141 pounds, No. 13 Cody Cleveland used a takedown and nearfall points early to spark him to an 8-3 win over Tech's Chris Diaz. At 149 pounds, 17^th-ranked Joey Knox picked up an early takedown and converted it to two back points to take a 4-0 lead into the second period over Tech's Matt Rosen. A takedown in the second period was the final scoring as Knox won 7-0.

Moving to 157 pounds, Seth Garvin picked up a 10-1 major decision over Andre Johnson to make it 15-3 heading to the intermission.

At 165 pounds, Tech got some more points on the board when Matt Epperly picked up a major decision over Nick Davis. Two second-period takedowns by Epperly stretched his lead to 8-4 heading to the final period. There, he picked up three nearfall points to pick up a 14-4 major decision.

At 174 pounds, Tech's Eric Decker took on No. 14 Lloyd Rogers. Rogers got a takedown at the buzzer ending the first period and then another one later in the match to pick up a 5-1 decision.

At 184 pounds, UTC's Josh Edmondson picked up a 5-4 decision over Tommy Spellman. Spellman rode Edmondson for the whole second period, picking up two nearfall points along the way. But Edmondson got a pair of takedowns in the third period to take the win.

At 197 pounds, 18^th-ranked Matt Koz picked up a 12-3 major decision over Tech's D.J. Bruce. The final match came at heavyweight where freshman David Marone picked up three points with a 4-2 win over Josh Lettner. Marone got an escape and a takedown in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Lettner got a pair of escapes, but Marone got a point for riding time to take the win.

After three straight non-conference matches, the Hokies will jump back into ACC action next weekend, traveling to North Carolina for a pair of matches. Tech will take on NC State Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and then will battle Duke Saturday at 1 p.m.

#19 Tennessee Chattanooga (9-5)   26
Virginia Tech (6-7)               10

125: #15 Javier Maldonado (UTC) fall Justin Staylor, 3:42
133: Jared Jones (VT) dec. Steve Hromada, 8-4
141: #13 Cody Cleveland (UTC) dec. Chris Diaz, 8-3
149: #17 Joey Knox (UTC) dec. Matt Rosen, 7-0
157: Seth Garvin (UTC) maj. dec. Andre Johnson, 10-1
165: Matt Epperly (VT) maj. dec. Nick Davis, 14-4
174: #14 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) dec. Eric Decker, 5-1
184: Josh Edmondson (UTC) dec. Tommy Spellman, 5-4
197: #18 Matt Koz (UTC) dec. D.J. Bruce, 12-3
285: David Marone (VT) dec. Matt Lettner, 4-2