Kocher, Gavin notch wins, but team falls to Spartans

Pitt bore the blistering cold of East Lansing, Mich., for a chance at redemption, but its… Pitt bore the blistering cold of East Lansing, Mich., for a chance at redemption, but its efforts fell short on Sunday afternoon.

In front of 356 fans, the Panthers (4-3, 1-0 EWL) were defeated by Michigan State (1-4, 0-0 Big Ten) for the second straight year, 23-13.

The previously winless Spartans entered the match ranked 21st in the nation and eager for their first dual meet victory.

Michigan State began the meet with an emphatic opening match triumph.

At 125 pounds, the Spartans’ Franklin Gomez pinned Brad Gentzle in 2 minutes, 44 seconds. Gomez earned his second pin of the season and now boasts a 26-2 record for the year.

Undefeated Nick Simmons, the top-ranked Spartan wrestler, followed Gomez’s pin with a 6-0 triumph over Pitt’s Drew Headlee. Simmons’ is now 25-0 on the year, including a 12-0 dual meet record.

Fans were seeing double as senior Andy Simmons, Nick’s brother, notched an equally impressive 15-3 major decision victory over the Panthers’ John Conroy at 141 pounds. Simmons’ victory, the 107th of his Michigan State career, ties him with former Spartan Jim Mason for 11th most in school history.

Michigan State sophomore Jeff Wimberely made his 149-pound debut memorable by shutting out Joe Ciampli 7-0 for his 19th victory of the season. Wimberely began the season at 133 pounds, and had wrestled at 141 pounds previous to Sunday’s meet.

Pitt finally got on the board at 157 pounds. Seventh-ranked Matt Kocher defeated the Spartans’ Tony Greathouse 8-4, as the Panthers went into the break facing a 16-3 deficit.

Redshirt freshman Rocky Cozart avenged Greathouse’s loss with his first career dual meet victory, a 6-1 decision over Pitt’s Sean Richmond.

The Panthers’ highest ranked wrestler, third-ranked Keith Gavin, continued his impressive season with an 11-2 triumph over John Murphy at 174 pounds and narrowed the Spartan lead to 19-7 with three remaining matches.

“[Gavin’s] done a great job this whole season,” head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “He’s a very focused young man. The thing we’re really looking for is consistency, and he’s provided that for us.”

Michigan State once again responded with a victory of its own.

At 184 pounds, No. 8 Joe Williams earned a 9-1 major decision over Mike Heist. Williams improved to 20-6 for the season.

With only pride left on the line, Pitt’s Eric Cassidy earned a stunning 5-3 victory over Nick Palmieri at 197 pounds. Palmieri led the entire match until, with only seconds remaining in the third period, Cassidy delivered a takedown to force overtime. In the sudden death extra period, Cassidy once again notched a takedown to secure the comeback victory.

The Panthers finished strong with a heavyweight victory to close the meet. Zach Shaeffer defeated Alan O’Donnell, 8-4, for his 20th win of the season.

Pitt will return home for a dual meet with Air Force on Saturday. The meet will begin at 1 p.m. in the Fitzgerald Field House.

NOTES: Pitt received some good news following its loss on Sunday. The team will welcome four new wrestlers for the 2007-2008 season.

The future Panthers are Andrew Brentzel (Penn Trafford High School, Irwin, Pa.), David Crowell (Nazareth High School, Easton, Pa.), Dan Mahoney (Baldwin High School, Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Tyler Nauman (Middletown High School, Middletown, Pa.).

“We are extremely pleased to have these four young men coming into our program this fall,” Stottlemyer told PittsburghPanthers.com. “We always want to keep the local kids when possible. Although he’s currently wrestling in New York, Dan Mahoney is from western Pa. A.J. Brentzel is clearly one of the better upper weights and has a tremendous work ethic. Tyler had a remarkable high school career, placing at states three times, and he’ll be in the hunt for top honors this season.

“Another big guy who will certainly help us is David Crowell, who was second in states last year and will compete for top honors this season. We will continue our recruiting efforts throughout the spring and add to an already solid class.”