Wrestling: Pitt earns comeback victory

Pitt sophomore wrestler P.J. Tasser scored a takedown with 17 seconds remaining in the period… Pitt sophomore wrestler P.J. Tasser scored a takedown with 17 seconds remaining in the period and, to yells from his coaches and teammates, held on to Hofstra’s ninth-ranked Ben Clymer for the 2-1 victory.

His win gave Pitt a 15-12 lead, and the Pitt wrestling team ultimately finished with a 22-12 victory over No. 22 Hofstra on Friday. The win marked Pitt’s fourth over a ranked team this season and 10th straight overall.

Tasser was inserted into the lineup at 184 pounds on a late decision by Pitt wrestling head coach Rande Stottlemyer. Tasser wrestled at 174 pounds for a good portion of the season while senior Ethan Headlee was out with an injury. Tasser said he was just happy to help the team get another win.

“It means a lot to me to be able to contribute to the team in any way,” Tasser said. “I was nervous at first wrestling the ninth-ranked guy. Once I got out there on the mat and started wrestling, I got into a rhythm.”

Clymer moved into the top 10 in the rankings after defeating Cornell’s third-ranked wrestler a week before the match with Pitt.

“Getting that takedown late was huge,” Tasser said. “I was losing by a point but kept forcing the action. I finally got a good shot and did what I had to do to finish.”

The Pitt coaching staff moved No. 32 Andy Vaughan and No. 4 Matt Wilps up a weight class to give the team its best chance of winning.

“It was great for P.J. to get a win like that,” Pitt assistant coach Jason Peters said in a release on Pitt’s website. “It was an opportunity for him to help the team, and he came through.”

No. 22 Hofstra started hot against the No. 9 Panthers, winning the first three matches. Five of the first six weight classes featured ranked wrestlers for the Pride, and Pitt struggled early against Hofstra’s top wrestlers.

At 125 pounds, No. 12 Steve Bonanno knocked off Pitt’s No. 15 Anthony Zanetta 6-1. Zanetta entered Friday’s match at 12-0 in duals. The junior will need to bounce back strong next week to get the team off to a good start against Edinboro.

Pitt’s No. 20 Shelton Mack and Hofstra’s No. 26 Jamie Franco squared off in a marathon of a match. In the second tiebreaker, Franco was able to ride Mack out for his entire period on top. Franco then escaped in the next period. An exhausted Mack tried to shoot several times but came up short in the end with a 6-5 loss in the second tiebreaker.

Hofstra’s No. 23 Luke Vaith wrestled a technically solid match against Pitt’s freshman Travis Shaffer. The young wrestler had few scoring opportunities against Hofstra’s 141-pound wrestler.

In a must-win match for the Panthers, No. 13 Tyler Nauman delivered a close 4-3 victory over No. 17 Justin Accordino.

“I was definitely aware we were down 9-0 and knew I had a tough match,” Nauman said. “I had to get the win for the team. I feel I didn’t wrestle my best, but I was able to get the win. It was huge for the team to get going in the right direction.”

No. 33 Donnie Tasser quietly turned in a 9-3 win over Tyler Banks. With the score back to a three-point deficit, 9-6, the Panthers were back in the match with some of their top wrestlers coming up.

The match’s second tiebreaker occurred at 165 pounds. Another match-up of ranked wrestlers went the way of Hofstra as No. 17 P.J. Gillespie defeated Pitt’s No. 33 Tyler Wilps 5-4.

Hofstra forfeited at 174 pounds to No. 21 Ethan Headlee, awarding Pitt six team points and bringing the score to 12-12. Stottlemyer’s decision to insert P.J. Tasser at 184 pounds and bump Vaughan and Wilps up a weight class came into effect as Tasser’s win brought the score to 15-12.

Senior Vaughan dominated Hofstra’s Tim Murphy at 197 pounds. The 13-4 win got the Panthers an extra point, bringing the score to 19-12 and securing the victory for Pitt with one match remaining.

In the final match, No. 4 Matt Wilps — who usually wrestles at 197 pounds — took on Hofstra’s heavyweight Paul Snyder. Wilps outmuscled the Pride’s big man for a 5-2 win after initially falling behind when Snyder earned an early takedown.

“I wrestle our heavyweight in practice, so I knew how to handle the extra weight,” Wilps said. “Giving up the first takedown was nerve-wracking, but getting the quick comeback and win was exciting.”

With the victory, the Panthers earned their first comeback win this season. Pitt lost to No. 6 Ohio State earlier in the season after falling behind early.

“The comeback win was great and something we haven’t been used to,” Nauman said. “It’s great to know we are able to fight back when down. I attribute that to our hard work in the room.”

Pitt will face Edinboro Friday at the Fitzgerald Field House at 7 p.m. The match will determine the Eastern Wrestling League regular-season champion.

Donnie Tasser is a staff writer for The Pitt News.