Koz, an Ohio native ranked as high as No. 11 nationally, extended the 19th-ranked Mocs' lead from 15-10 to 19-10, an insurmountable lead with one match left.
"This is big, huge for us," UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. "But we can't look at it like this made our season. It's the first match of the year. I wish they would practice like they came out to wrestle tonight. I'm going to expect this from them every day."
UTC, which defeated the Buckeyes last year, 28-13 in Columbus, Ohio, earned victories in six of the 10 matches. Sophomore Joey Knox pulled off perhaps the surprise of the dual with a 6-3 victory over third-ranked Lance Palmer at 149.
Javier Maldonado, ranked as high as No. 8 at 125 pounds, got the scoring going for the Mocs, 3-0, with a 7-1 decision over Nikko Triggas. OSU, 3-1, took a 6-3 lead on the strength of back-to-back decisions by Reece Humphrey at 133 and No. 6 J Jaggers at 141.
After Knox tied the score, UTC strung together three consecutive wins. Seth Garvin edged Jason Johnstone 8-7 on a riding time point at 157, Nick Davis recorded a 16-6 major over Robel Campbell at 165 and No. 16 Lloyd Rogers defeated Alex Picazo 11-5 at 174.
Mike Pucillo held true to his No. 4 national ranking with an 18-2 technical fall over Josh Edmondson in the 184-pound match. Fourth-ranked J. D. Bergman closed out the match following Koz's win with a pin of UTC's Ben O'Neill in the heavyweight final.
Earlier in the day, the Mocs registered a 42-3 victory over Cumberland University and a 44-4 win over Anderson University. The Buckeyes defeated Anderson 44-3 and Cumberland 39-16.
UTC picked up three pins, two tech falls and two major decisions in the win over Cumberland and recorded the same amount of bonus wins over Anderson. Picking up pins in the first two matches were Koz and Rogers with two apiece, and Maldonado and Garvin.
The Mocs will compete at the Pennsylvania Open Nov. 18 in Philadelphia.
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