Wrestling: No. 22 Pitt set to take on No. 2 Penn State

The Pitt wrestling team heads to State College tonight for its most challenging match of the… The Pitt wrestling team heads to State College tonight for its most challenging match of the season, where the No. 22 Panthers will attempt to play spoiler against the host squad, No. 2 Penn State.

The Nittany Lions carry an 11-0 dual record into tonight’s match.

The lofty ranking for Penn State is balanced on the backs of some young wrestlers for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State has first-year starters at four weight classes with Andrew Long at 133, Andrew Alton at 141, David Taylor at 157 and Ed Ruth at 174.

These four wrestlers are all ranked, with Ruth the highest at No. 2.

The Panthers will look to use experience to defeat the young Nittany Lions as they attempt to enter the conference schedule on a high note after mixed results against nationally ranked teams this season.

They lost two early matches against ranked teams, at home against Lehigh and at Michigan, which were then ranked No. 15 and No. 18, respectively.

In response to those tough losses, Pitt bounced back at the Buckeye Duals to defeat then-top-15 teams, No. 14 Nebraska and No. 12 Ohio State.

The Panthers dropped their most recent ranked match against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Pitt Duals on their home mats.

Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, was complimentary of the Panthers.

“Pitt has a real strong team this year,” Sanderson said in his weekly segment “This Week in Penn State Wrestling.” “They’re just a solid team, but they also have some big stars in the lineup as well.”

No. 2 Penn State has its eyes on becoming the top-ranked team in the country. The Panthers and the Nittany Lions tied 19-19 last season.

Ranked wrestlers will meet at both the 141- and 285-pound weight classes.

At 141 pounds, Pitt’s No. 9 Tyler Nauman will match up with PSU’s No. 7 Andrew Alton.

Nauman, a redshirt junior, will look for a big win over Alton, one of Penn State’s talented freshman, to add to his resumé.

“Nauman will need to withstand Alton’s early onslaught,” Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “He always comes out extremely hard after the initial whistle of the match.”

The heavyweights will meet in the final match of the night. The Panthers’ No. 4 Ryan Tomei will square off with the Nittany Lions’ No. 7 Cameron Wade.

“Tomei lost to the Penn State heavyweight [Wade] last year at NCAAs,” Stottlemyer said. “We’re hoping to reverse that result Friday.”

The 285-pound matchup will feature two of the most experienced and talented heavyweights in the nation. Tomei and Wade, a senior and a junior respectively, could have the match’s final outcome on their shoulders.

On the opposite end of the weight class spectrum will be a matchup at the 125-pound weight class. Pitt’s Anthony Zanetta will take on Penn State’s Brad Patacky.

Last year’s match saw a 15-9 win for Zanetta at the Fitzgerald Field House. Patacky was then ranked No. 7.

“To defeat Patacky, it is not going to take anything special, just staying focused and sticking to the basics,” Zanetta said. “We both know what to expect from our match last year, which was a battle. Whoever stays mentally strong and blocks out all the distractions out of their head will most likely get their hand raised.”

At 133 pounds, Shelton Mack will have his work cut out for him as he faces No. 6 Andrew Long. Long was dismissed from Iowa State before transferring to Penn State. He is in his first year wrestling for the Nittany Lions.

The 133-pound wrestler was dismissed from the Iowa State Cyclones’ wrestling team because of charges of public intoxication and possession of a fake ID last April. This was his second offense.

Previously he was charged with unlawful use of a driver’s license, being on the premises of a bar while underage and harassment of a public official in August of 2009.

Pitt’s Donnie Tasser and Andy Vaughan will face similar challenges tonight. Tasser will face No. 3 Taylor and Vaughan will face No. 2 Ruth.

Ruth and Taylor, both freshmen, have only one loss between the two of them. The lone defeat belongs to Ruth.

Max Thomusseit will welcome 2009 All-American Quentin Wright — at 174 — back to the mats. Penn State’s Wright is ranked No. 6 in the 184-pound weight class, but has been sitting since December.

Dane Johnson will face yet another ranked wrestler from PSU, No. 7 Frank Molinaro, at the 149-pound weight class.

At 165 pounds, Ethan Headlee will match up with Penn State’s James Vollrath.

Phil Sorrentino will attempt to pick up the win for the Panthers in the 197 bracket against PSU’s Justin Ortega.

Sorrentino has had the very difficult job of replacing No. 11 Zac Thomusseit, who is nursing an injury.

Sanderson said he’s looking forward to the Pitt-Penn State matchup.

“We’re going to see some tough kids,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”