Wrestling: Panthers keep rolling, defeat West Virginia

The Pitt wrestling team didn’t let rival West Virginia stop its winning streak as the Panthers… The Pitt wrestling team didn’t let rival West Virginia stop its winning streak as the Panthers defeated the Mountaineers 26-12 for their 17th consecutive Eastern Wrestling League dual victory.

The Panthers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with two victories over ranked opponents. Pitt won three out of four matches between ranked opponents on Saturday night.

At 125 pounds, No. 16 Anthony Zanetta won the first match 2-0 over No. 26 Shane Young. The two wrestlers hail from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League and often met on the mat in high school.

“I think this just gave the team another confidence booster,” Zanetta said. “Personally, for me, this match means it’s another step closer to the NCAA Tournament and just stay focused.”

No. 20 Shelton Mack followed with another three team points for Pitt, winning an 8-6 match over No. 24 Nate Pennesi at 133 pounds. Mack said that in the week leading up to the match, the Panthers worked on keeping pressure on their opponents and limiting mistakes.

“My victory helped me gain confidence,” Mack said. “We’re all really excited to have the opportunity to win the EWL three years in a row. It’s something that we have been working for since June.”

The Mountaineers climbed back into the match with a pin at 141 pounds. No. 32 Michael Morales pinned Travis Shaffer early, and West Virginia tied the match at 6-6.

Pitt then rattled off four straight victories, all but assuring a 12-1 overall record and 5-0 in the conference.

No. 13 Tyler Nauman rode a tough 1-0 victory over WVU’s Brutus Scheffel at 149 pounds, with the crowd clamoring for Nauman to be hit with a stalling penalty.

Donnie Tasser turned in one of the more dominating performances for the Panthers at 157 pounds with an 8-0 major decision over Dominic Prezzia.

In the night’s most thrilling match at 165 pounds, No. 33 Tyler Wilps scored a takedown early in sudden victory, winning 4-2 over Kyle Eason, whom Wilps defeated earlier in the year.

No. 26 Ethan Headlee picked up the third and final ranked win for Pitt over No. 22 Lance Bryson at 174 pounds. The 12-2 major decision pushed the lead to 20-6.

“We thought we could win every match, and we tried our best to do that,” Headlee said. “Personally, it was a big match for me. I just got back from injury, and the match reassured me that I’m ready to wrestle my best.”

With an upcoming forfeit for WVU, the Mountaineers needed pins in the three remaining matches to get the victory.

Pitt clinched the victory in the next match, despite the 3-1 loss by No. 32 Andy Vaughan to the Mountaineers’ No. 20 Matt Ryan at 184 pounds. Vaughan was the only ranked Panther to fall Saturday night, and it ended his personal 11-match winning streak.

The Panthers’ highest-ranked wrestler — No. 4 Matt Wilps — jogged to the center of the mat to receive the forfeit for his team at 197 pounds. Though West Virginia was forced to forfeit because of injuries, Wilps, with his top 10 ranking, would have been heavily favored against any of the lower-ranked wrestlers that the Mountaineers had available.

In the final match of the night, No. 24 Brandon Williamson of WVU defeated Pitt’s Joel Yahner 7-2 at 285 pounds, narrowing the final score to 26-12.

With the win, the Panthers move to 5-0 in the EWL this season and have assured themselves a shot at the league’s championship when No. 21 Edinboro comes to Pittsburgh in two weeks.

Pitt is approaching one of the hardest stretch runs in the country.

The Panthers’ wrestlers have back-to-back home weekends with No. 23 Hofstra on Friday followed by Edinboro the next Friday. Following the Edinboro match on Sunday, they will travel to in-state rival No. 2 Penn State for their toughest challenge of the season.

“This team is on a roll right now, but we have three extremely tough matches left, so we really have to step it up a few notches and see what we’re made of,” Zanetta said. “Everybody is excited for the match against Edinboro. We’re going to have great support by our fans at that match and the tempo is really going to be turned up.”