Pitt athletics had a very active weekend with softball and lacrosse starting their seasons, wrestling and gymnastics facing ranked opponents and women’s basketball continuing its ACC regular season play in Dallas, Texas.

Softball

Pitt softball (3-2, 0-0 ACC) started the weekend on a low, getting shutout by Kentucky (4-1, 0-0 SEC) 7-0, but bounced back emphatically with wins against Morgan State (1-4, 0-0 MEAC) 12-2, Southern Mississippi (1-4, 0-0 SB) 8-1 and Kennesaw State (0-4, 0-0 CUSA) 2-0. Pitt ultimately tumbled to Tennessee (5-1, 0-0 SEC) 8-3 in its final matchup.

On the opening day of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, the Panthers failed to score a single run against Kentucky. Neither team could earn a run in the first inning before the Wildcats bats caught fire, getting seven runners to home plate. Pitt didn’t let this result discourage them though, as it steamrolled Morgan State 12-2 later in the day.

On day two, Pitt maintained its momentum, smashing Southern Mississippi 8-1. The Panthers scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning to put the game beyond the Golden Eagles before they got a chance to get started. Pitt then went on to edge past Kennesaw State 2-0 with senior pitcher Kyra Pittman securing a shutout, allowing just three hits across all seven innings.

Pitt’s last game of the weekend was against Tennessee where the Panthers fell 8-3 to the Volunteers. The Panthers failed to get going early, trailing 6-0 after three innings and couldn’t mount a comeback as Tennessee kept a demanding lead.

Next weekend, softball travels to Texas to compete in the University of Houston Tournament, where they will face off against UIW, Houston and Nevada.

Wrestling

On Friday night, (9-5, 2-2 ACC) No. 18 North Carolina (7-5, 3-1 ACC) edged out Pitt wrestling 16-17. The tussle with the Tar Heels was decided by a third criteria tiebreaker with the Panthers narrowly losing 52-49 to North Carolina on match points. Pitt continued this poor form as it lost 23-14 just two days later against No. 14 Iowa State (10-4, 4-1 B12).

Trailing 13-0 to the Tar Heels after four losses, Pitt began to muster a comeback with redshirt first-year Dylan Evans, redshirt sophomore Jared Keslar, redshirt junior Luca Augustine, graduate Reece Heller and redshirt sophomore Mac Stout picking up back-to-back wins to give the home team a 16-13 lead with one bout to go. 

Redshirt sophomore Dayton Pitzer fell to a 14-9 decision in the final matchup, leading to a 16-16 tie between the teams. Pitt ultimately lost via tie-breaking criteria, as North Carolina earned more individual points in the 10 bouts than the Panthers. 

Against Iowa State, Pitt suffered a more one-sided fate, trailing by nine points after all bouts had finished. Stout stood out again, achieving a sweet, sixteenth successive victory, but it was too late as the Panthers lost their first four matches of the day to go behind 16-0.

Next, wrestling travels to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech on Feb. 14.

Women’s lacrosse

Pitt women’s lacrosse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) won its first game of the season on Saturday in overtime against St. Bonaventure (0-1, 0-0 A10) 13-12.

Taking a 10-5 lead into half-time, St. Bonaventure looked to walk away with it after outscoring the Panthers 6-1 in the second quarter. Pitt stormed back in the second half, scoring five unanswered to tie the game. Going into overtime, senior midfielder Talia Zuco wasted no time scoring the winner after just 1:13.

Senior attacker Sydney Naylor led the Panthers in scoring, putting the ball in the back of the net five times to help push Pitt to victory.

Women’s lacrosse will compete in its first home game of 2025 on Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. as Arizona State visits Pittsburgh.

Gymnastics

Pitt gymnastics faced a fourth consecutive loss in the ACC in Saturday’s meet with No. 20 North Carolina State, losing 196.475-193.600. The Panthers fell short all around during a disappointing day, as they failed to claim a team victory in any event for the first time this season.

Sophomore Julie Røttum Madsø ensured they didn’t go home empty-handed though, tallying a career-high 9.850 on the balance beam to claim her first individual title for the Panthers.

After a 19-day hiatus, women’s gymnastics returns to the Fitzgerald Field House next as they face North Carolina on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.

Women’s basketball

Concluding the weekend, Pitt women’s basketball (11-14, 3-9 ACC) stole a win against SMU (10-15, 2-11 ACC) 58-57 to complete the season sweep against the ACC newcomer.

Graduate center Khadija Faye bolstered the Panthers’ offense, scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Writing her name in the record books, Faye’s 11th double-double of the year pushed her past 1,000 career points, and she became the 22nd Panther to surpass the milestone.

Coming in clutch for Pitt, redshirt sophomore Mikayla Johnson was vital, sinking two free throws with just 26 seconds on the clock to edge out SMU by one point at the buzzer.

Next, women’s basketball returns to the Petersen Events Center and tips off against Notre Dame at 8 p.m. on Feb. 13.