Ranked opponents continue to give Panthers problems

Anyone who has followed the Pitt wrestling team this season should have known exactly how the… Anyone who has followed the Pitt wrestling team this season should have known exactly how the Panthers last two matches would end. No. 24 Pitt was on the road last Thursday for a match against Eastern Wrestling League rival Lock Haven and hosted No. 6 Central Michigan at the Fitzgerald Field House on Saturday. The Panthers defeated Lock Haven and lost to Central Michigan. Pitt is now undefeated in conference play and winless in its other matches, which have been against all ranked opponents. The Panthers (2-4, 2-0 EWL) handled Lock Haven with ease, dropping only three matches on their way to a 30-9 victory. ‘We pretty much dominated,’ said Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer. But Pitt was on the other end of a wide point differential against Central Michigan, losing eight of its 10 matches for the 29-6 defeat. With two overtime matches and a few others decided in roughly the final minute of action, Stottlemyer said that ‘the score wasn’t indicative of a lot of the matches.’ No. 6 Zach Sheaffer sat out both contests with an undisclosed injury, but Stottlemyer said he expects the senior heavyweight to wrestle in Pitt’s next match. The Panthers have another shot at a ranked opponent when they head out on the road to face the No. 25 University of Pennsylvania on Sunday. ‘Everybody has got to hit at the right time,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘All it takes is for one guy to stub his toe, and the next thing you know, somebody else has to try to make up for it, and it doesn’t work.’ Pitt is back home for a match against EWL-foe Cleveland State on Jan. 28. Central Michigan 29, Pitt 6 Conversely, the Panthers dropped the first two matches against Central Michigan, putting them in an early 6-0 hole. Freshman Chris Albright lost an 8-1 decision against No. 8 Scotti Sentes in the 125-pound match, and in the 133-pound bout, No. 14 Jimmy Conroy lost to No. 19 Conor Beebe. Tyler Nauman was the first Panther to win on the afternoon, with a 3-2 decision over Tony D’Alie. Leading 1-0 in the third period, D’Alie tied it with an escape, but Nauman quickly scored two points with a takedown with about 45 seconds to go in the match. D’Alie scored another point on an escape with a little less than 30 seconds to go in the match, but couldn’t score again. The Panthers were on the losing side of a 3-2 decision in the 149-pound match, as Mark Powell gave up an escape point with about 40 seconds to go in the match. The 157-pound match was the last victorious one for the Panthers. Tied at two in the third period, Phil Sorrentino scored a winning takedown by grabbing Eric Cubberly’s legs from behind and pulling him to the mat. Central Michigan cruised to a victory from there, winning the last five bouts. Ethan Headlee dropped a 4-1 decision in the second tiebreak in the 165-pound match, David Sullivan was shut out 8-0 for a major decision loss in the 174-pound match, and freshman Zac Thomusseit dropped the 184-pound bout on a 6-2 decision. The 197-pound match was another that went into a tiebreak period ‘mdash; this time with Matt Wilps being pinned in the overtime period by Eric Simaz. Hunte couldn’t get another win filling in at the heavyweight spot, going up against an opponent with a seemingly large weight advantage. Hunte lost the major decision, 10-2. Although the Panthers are young, Stottlemyer praised their effort in the match and said the team is still learning. ‘A couple of instances would have given us a chance to say, ‘Hey, now we’re in the mix,’ give us a chance to win, not just stay close,’ said Stottlemyer. ‘We don’t want to stay close, we want to win.’ Pitt 30, Lock Haven 9 The Panthers started off strong thanks to a forfeit by Lock Haven in the 125-pound match, giving Pitt an early 6-0 lead. The advantage increased with two straight major decisions by Conroy and Nauman. Trailing 14-0, Lock Haven (5-7-1, 0-2 EWL) scored its first win in the 149-pound match when Matt Fittery took a 6-1 decision over Powell. Pitt took the next three matches, beginning with a 2-1 decision by Sorrentino in the 157-pound match. Next up, Headlee scored six points for the Panthers via pin fall. Sullivan kept the strong showing going with an 11-3 major decision. Lock Haven took the next two matches, with Thomusseit dropping an 8-3 decision and Wilps losing a 7-3 decision.