Wrestling: Down by 18, Pitt fights back to win by one

Friday’s dual match between No. 17 Pittsburgh wrestling team and No. 15 Edinboro could have gone worse for Pitt through the first four matches, but not by much.

The Panthers fell behind 18-0 after the first four weight classes before managing to rattle off six straight wins capped by an overtime decision to secure the 19-18 victory over the Fighting Scots.

“I think it shows the amount of heart this team has that we were able to come back and beat a team like Edinboro,” junior P.J. Tasser said. “Our team is filled with guys who are going to go out on the mat and give 100 percent, win or lose.”

Pitt hasn’t won at the 125-pound weight class in a dual match all season. That trend didn’t change Friday, as Derrick Nelson was pinned in the first period at 1:32 by Kory Mines.

In the 133-pound weight class, No. 17 Shelton Mack of Pitt and No. 3 A.J. Schopp of Edinboro know each other well. The two have now met four times, with Schopp taking three of those matchups, including his 2-0 decision over Mack on Friday. Mack wasn’t happy with the result, even though he wrestled close with the third-ranked wrestler.

“It’s frustrating to wrestle a match where I’m not able to get my offense going,” he said. “But that is something that is going to come wrestling top-ranked guys.”

Travis Shaffer, who returned in the Edinboro match after missing the Lehigh match because of a torn meniscus, was pinned with six seconds remaining in the match by No. 5 Mitchell Port.

While it looked like Shaffer was going to be able to steal a victory after picking up three near-fall points in the second period to take a 3-2 lead into the third period, Port was able to reverse him and pulled through with a last-second pin. Shaffer’s loss gave Edinboro six team points.

Pitt’s last loss of the night came when Edinboro’s No. 17 David Habat won by decision over Ronnie Garbinsky, 8-6.

Then, the comeback started.

Senior Donnie Tasser got the Panthers on the scoreboard at 157 pounds in his last regular-season match. Tasser’s 10-2 major decision gave Pitt its only team bonus point of the night — the point it needed to squeak the victory out.

No. 17 Tyler Wilps continued to build momentum for Pitt with a 9-6 decision at 165 pounds. His third-period single-leg takedown gave him the match lead.

Nick Bonaccorsi had a two-takedown first period, which propelled him to a 6-1 decision victory over his Edinboro opponent. With three matches to go, Pitt trailed by eight points, 18-10.

At 184 pounds, No. 14 Max Thomusseit looked shaky at first, surrendering a takedown to Vince Pickett. Those would be Pickett’s only points, though, as Thomusseit quickly turned the matchup around for a 7-2 decision.

Pitt’s best wrestler usually trots out at 197 pounds, but due to No. 7 heavyweight Zac Thomusseit’s illness, No. 3 Matt Wilps was forced to bump up to heavyweight. P.J. Tasser was called upon to replace Wilps.

“I knew that if the dual score was close, we were going to try some sort of movement around the lineup,” P.J. Tasser said. “There was some pressure wrestling 197, but I was just very excited about the opportunity and wanted to help my team any way possible.”

That he did. Tasser, who usually wrestles at 174 pounds, jumped up two weight classes and dominated for a 9-2 victory over Warren Bosch.

The performance drew praise from Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer.

“P.J. is the consummate team guy,” said Stottlemyer. “He stepped up for us again tonight and got us a big win to keep us in the match.”

Tasser kept the Panthers in the match, and it was then up to Matt Wilps to win it. Wilps was taking on No. 20 Ernest James at the 285-pound weight class.

“The coaches had warned me right before the match, but I didn’t know for certain until right before the 197 bout,” Wilps said.

After wrestling to a 2-2 tie during regulation, the wrestlers entered overtime. Neither was able to get a point in sudden victory before the overtime periods. Wilps began on top and was able to ride James out for 30 seconds, keeping him from scoring.

In his period down, Wilps quickly escaped for the eventual winning point. His 3-2 overtime victory earned Pitt the 19-18 triumph in its last-ever EWL dual match, as the Panthers will wrestle in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

Pitt returns to Edinboro in two weeks for the EWL Tournament.