Weekend Preview: Wrestling and Swimming and Diving amongst teams on the road
January 25, 2013
With the exception of the men’s basketball team, which faces DePaul at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday at 4 p.m., Pitt sports teams are traveling to take on their competitors this weekend.
Here’s a preview of all the teams in action.
1 p.m. — Women’s Tennis at Buffalo
On Saturday, the women’s tennis team is traveling to Buffalo to play an afternoon match against the Bulls. The Pitt team is coming off a strong 6-1 season-opening victory against St. Francis, which marked the 10th season-opening victory in the past 11 years for the program. With both teams possessing 1-0 records — Buffalo won its season opener against Niagara — the teams’ skills seem to match up well for both singles and doubles play. Pitt’s No. 1 doubles team of Taylor Washington and Jocelyn Lu is hoping to continue its hot start, having won every set this season.
4 p.m. — Women’s Basketball at Georgetown
The women’s basketball team will be traveling to Washington D.C. with the remaining hope of gaining its first conference win against the Hoyas on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers played a tough game Wednesday against No. 2 Notre Dame, losing 73-47. Asia Logan did not see action in the Notre Dame game and her return date to the lineup is unknown. She injured her shoulder last December against Georgetown and missed the rest of the season. Pitt is currently 9-9 overall and 0-5 against Big East Conference schools. Although their present record is an improvement from last year’s, the Panthers will face stiff competition against a strong opponent. The Hoyas are 11-7 overall and 2-3 in conference.
7 p.m. — Wrestling at Lock Haven
Following a loss at then-No. 2 Oklahoma State, the wrestling team will travel to Lock Haven, Pa., Saturday evening in an Eastern Wrestling League match. The team hopes to gain another win and pick up momentum against unranked Lock Haven. For its upcoming home matches, including hosting No. 1 Penn State on Feb 8., senior Zac Thomusseit, wrestling at the 285 weight class, will be looking to improve his 18-2 record this weekend along with fellow senior Matt Wilps (197 pounds, 14-1).
7 p.m. — Gymnastics
The gymnastics team will be venturing to State College this weekend to compete against Penn State, Iowa and Rutgers. This will be the team’s first competition since news broke of its national rank of 22nd. The Panthers’ opponents this weekend are ranked No. 30, 34 and 40, respectively. It’s Pitt’s first top-25 ranking of the season. Pitt also has a gymnast ranked in the top 10 in the conference for each individual event, making for a highly anticipated match all around.
5 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Saturday — Swimming and Diving
For the second week in a row, Pitt will face off against one of its rivals. Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel to the Philadelphia area to compete at Villanova for a two-day meet beginning today. Both Pitt squads are coming off a rivalry win against West Virginia that put the men’s and women’s record at 3-2 and 1-1 in conference matchups. Now they must prepare for in-state and conference rival Villanova, which has a record of 1-3 for men and 2-2 for women.