Weekend Sports Recap | Wrestling and men’s basketball climb up the ACC

Pitt athletics had one of its busiest stretches of the winter this weekend, with six teams in action last weekend. The Panthers were largely successful, notching huge upset wins in wrestling and men’s basketball.

Wrestling

Pitt wrestling clinched a decisive win on Friday night, upsetting No. 7 Virginia Tech and taking first place in the ACC after two weeks of conference play. The Panthers won seven out of 10 bouts against the Hokies, claiming their first win in Blacksburg since 2004. 

The Panthers came out of the gate with lots of aggression and didn’t hold back. In the 125-pound weight class, junior Colton Camacho pinned first-year Hokie Cooper Flynn to the ground in just 44 seconds. Another noteworthy performance came from senior Micky Phillippi. He faced No. 5 Sam Latona in a strenuous fight and won by a nine-second difference in riding time in the tiebreaker. 

The Hokies fought valiantly for the rest of the match, but the Panthers never wavered. No. 2 senior Nino Bonaccorsi cemented their victory and assured their No. 1 spot in the ACC. 

The Panthers continue their impressive campaign at home next weekend for a doubleheader Friday and Saturday against UNC and No. 4 Iowa State. 

Swim and Dive

Pitt swim and dive spent their weekend in Ann Arbor, ultimately coming up short against Wisconsin and Michigan during the dual meet on Saturday. Despite the losses, head coach Chase Kreitler commended his team for their performance against nationally ranked schools.

“This was a great meet for our men’s team,” Kreitler said. “We have a lot of momentum headed into the ACCs, and we are excited for championship season.”

The men’s team won seven events against No. 24 Wisconsin, including a big win in the 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Krzysztof Radziszewski, graduate student Cooper Van der Laan, junior Marcin Goraj and senior Flynn Crisci took down the Badgers with a time of 1:27.36 seconds and fell just short of first place to Michigan. In diving, senior Dylan Reed took first against the Badgers in the one-meter dive. 

For the women, first-year Claire Jansen continued her strong campaign, scoring multiple wins over the weekend. Jansen took first against Michigan in the 100-yard backstroke and another win in the 200-yard backstroke. She finished first in her relay against the Badgers and second to Michigan with her teammates — senior Tatum Detwiler junior Sophie Yendell and senior Kate Fuhrmann.

The Panthers will be back in the water Feb. 10 to Feb. 12 for an invitational meet in Columbus. 

Track and Field

Pitt track and field had an impressive showing this weekend in Louisville with several top-ten performances in their two-day meet. 

Senior Lydia Bottelier racked up 3,980 points in the women’s pentathlon, finishing in first place. Her score set a facility record and was good for the third-best score in program history.

Junior Ilse Steigenga performed well in the women’s pentathlon long jump and took second place. Steigenga’s performance is the fourth-best in program history.

Sophomore Winnie Incorvaia produced another first-place performance in the women’s 5,000 meter with a time of 17.01 seconds. After this weekend, Incorvaia holds the ninth-fastest time in program history.

On the men’s side, sophomore Stephon Brown recorded his personal best in the 60-meter dash with an impressive time of 6.65 seconds. He finished second in the race and holds the second-best time in program history. First-year Che Nwabuko hangs close behind Brown as he finished third in the 60-meter dash with 6.71 seconds, earning the third-best time in program history. 

The Panthers continued their weekend with several more strong performances and will look to continue this trend in their meet from Feb. 10 to Feb. 11 at Clemson. 

Men’s Basketball

Pitt men’s basketball continued their climb up the ACC standings after taking down No. 20 Miami in a 71-68 victory. The Panthers are now 15-7 (8-3 ACC) and are gaining relevance after years of lingering toward the bottom of the ACC.

The Panthers had several missed layups in the first quarter and went two for eight behind the three-point line. Still, the Panthers went into the second half with just a five-point deficit.

Pitt stayed close behind Miami throughout the game until the last two and a half minutes of play. Senior forward Blake Hinson capitalized on a nine-point run that left the Panthers up 69-68 with 26 seconds to go. Graduate student guard Greg Elliott made two free throws at the 2.5 second mark, cementing their win.

The Panthers’ resiliency is what secured their win Saturday night. The Panthers hope to continue their hot streak on the road Wednesday at 7 p.m. against North Carolina.

Women’s Basketball

Pitt women’s basketball fought hard against Boston College on Sunday, but, despite their efforts, took a 74-60 loss. 

The game had a total of eight lead changes. The two sides went back and forth in the first half, and they went into the locker room tied 26-26 at halftime. 

The Eagles came out in the second half on fire, quickly taking an eight-point lead. Pitt managed to keep the deficit at bay in the third quarter. Boston College extended its lead in the fourth quarter, continuing the Panthers winless start to ACC play. Pitt senior guard Dayshanette Harris scored her 1,000th career point in the loss. 

Harris is the Panthers’ 20th 1000-point scorer in this program’s history. Harris finished her memorable night with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. 

The Panthers take on Duke on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Durham in hopes of breaking their losing streak. 

Gymnastics 

The Panthers (5-6, 0-2 EAGL) faced Ball State, Southeast Missouri and Fisk University in a quad meet Sunday, taking second place with a final score of 194.700. Overall, the Panthers impressed, especially with Sophomore Hallie Copperwheat’s notable all-around performance.

Copperwheat earned a solid 39.350 overall, partly thanks to her career-high performance on beam. Copperwheat earned a 10 from one of the judges and took first place with an average score of 9.950.

Vault was another strong area for the Panthers this weekend. All six competitors finished with a minimum score of 9.650. Copperwheat’s performance on vault contributed to her all-around score as well, earning a score of 9.775 in the event.

Pitt faces its rival, West Virginia, on Friday at 7 p.m.