Pitt’s winter sports well underway and preparing for holiday break contests

Wrestling

Pitt wrestling (1-0, ACC 0-0) is in full swing and hosts Lehigh this Sunday, Nov. 24 at the Fitzgerald Field House. Several Panthers have already taken home hardware this season, including No. 18 graduate student Reece Heller. Heller showed out in the Panther’s last meet on Nov. 10 at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic where he went unbeaten and earned first place. 

First-years Kade Brown and Matt Marlow also joined the podium during their college debuts earlier this month. Brown finished second in the Clarion Open, dropping to No. 12 Ohio State graduate student Dylan D’Emilio in the final match. Marlow also joined the podium for third place. 

Pitt looks to continue to add success this weekend. Despite Lehigh’s 15-7 all-time edge over Pitt, the most recent meeting last season went to the Blue and Gold. The Panthers earned a 21-12 victory over the Mountain Hawks thanks to six consecutive Pitt wins. The Panthers are looking for another victory against Lehigh before the holiday weekend.

Women’s basketball

Pitt women’s basketball (4-1, 0-0 ACC) has had a solid start to its season, featuring more evenly distributed scoring among its players compared to last season’s play. The Panthers have only endured one tough loss so far this season, losing, 54-82, against West Virginia

Pitt earned its fourth win last Wednesday against Delaware State. The captains were two of the top scorers for the Panthers — graduate student center Khadija Faye with 21 points and senior guard Brooklynn Miles with 12. The win was an all-around team effort with three players scoring in the double digits. Pitt won 80-45 and held the lead all four quarters in front of a major 2,622 fan crowd.

Next up, the Panthers face Robert Morris this Saturday at home at 1 p.m. Pitt currently holds a 6-0 edge against the Colonials with their most recent matchup in 2006. This is the first time the program faces Robert Morris under head Coach Tory Verdi. 

Swim and dive 

The Panthers are in the midst of competing in the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas. Pitt faces off against Texas, BYU, Stanford, USC and Wisconsin. The dive team is coming off the Texas Diving Invitational last weekend, where it competed against nine teams, including two ACC teams in Miami and Stanford. 

The swim team last competed against Georgia Tech at Trees Pool where it smashed six pool records. Stand-out performers include fifth-year Sophie Yendell who broke pool records in the women’s 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay, and senior Max Matteazzi who set two pool records in the 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley. 

So far in the Texas Invitational, Yendell was part of the school record-breaking women’s 200 free relay, along with sophomore Avery Kudlac, junior Claire Jansen and sophomore Sydney Gring. Jansen, along with junior Cecilia Viberg, Kudlac and Yendell broke the school record for the women’s 400 medley relay. Matteazzi also broke the school record for the men’s 500 free.