25th-ranked Panthers open wrestling season with win

Pitt wrestling enters the 2006-07 season with high expectations. Rated No. 25 in the nation,… Pitt wrestling enters the 2006-07 season with high expectations. Rated No. 25 in the nation, the Panthers traveled to New Jersey Tuesday to open their campaign against Rider University.

Ten matches later, Pitt had its first dual meet victory of the season. The Panthers won six of 10 bouts with the Rider Broncs and carried the meet, 21-13.

Rider defeated No. 21 Lehigh on Nov. 10, 21-14, and Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer knew his team would have to perform to win on the road against a team of Rider’s quality.

“Rider’s a really good team,” Stottlemyer said. “We wrestled hard, competed hard and put in a lot of effort. Those are the things that you need to do to beat a quality team like Rider.”

Freshman Jimmy Conroy, a New Jersey native, defeated Rider’s Thomas Lorenzo, 10-3, in the 125-pound match to start the meet.

“We were real happy for him to do that well,” Stottlemyer said. “He was able to go home and make a statement. He really set a good pace for the rest of the meet right off the bat.”

Redshirt junior Drew Headlee, an All-American in 2005, returned to action after missing last season with a wrist injury. The 133-pounder pinned Matt Bradley and increased Pitt’s lead to 9-0.

“There’s a reason [Headlee] is an All-American,” Stottlemyer said. “We need his drive and his experience a lot this year. He has a real passion to wrestle. He wanted to pin [Bradley] real bad and he made it happen.”

According to Stottlemyer, getting out to a good start will be a key for the Panthers’ team this year.

“You always want to have good guys starting you off in meets,” Stottlemyer said. “They can stir the pot and really get things going and set the tone for the entire day.”

Rider took the next two matches, as Pitt’s 141-pound wrestler Joe Ciampoli lost a 4-2 decision to Rider’s Don Fisch. Matt Kessler upended Pitt freshman Mark Generalovich in the 149-pound class contest to cut Pitt’s lead to 9-6.

“They wrestled hard, no question about it,” Stottlemyer said. “They just didn’t quite get to where they wanted to be. But we can work with them and they will be ready to compete.”

Pitt redshirt junior Matt Kocher dominated Dave Miller in the 157-pound match, winning 8-2. His victory pushed the Panthers out ahead, 12-6.

Redshirt sophomore Sean Richmond edged Rob Morrison, 6-3, to extend Pitt’s lead to 15-6. One match later, redshirt junior Keith Gavin out-muscled Doug Umbehauer, giving the Panthers an 18-6 tally.

“Kocher is going to run you into the dirt and wrestle anyone hard,” Stottlemyer said. “Wrestling is a sport of swings and momentum, and he and [Richmond] definitely helped us get it back.

“We’ll really need our upper classmen and more experienced guys to lead this team this year, and I think they’ll be up to the task.”

Eric Cassidy and Mike Heist dropped their matches, cutting Pitt’s lead to just 18-13. But Stottlemyer remained confident after the losses.

Redshirt freshman Zach Sheaffer put Rider away with his 7-2 toppling of Nick Ciufo. His victory in the 285-pound class clinched Pitt’s first win of the season.

“The key for us this year will be staying healthy,” Stottlemyer said. “And with guys like [Sheaffer] winning and wrestling hard, we will be competitive.”

Pitt heads to the Cornell Body Bar Nov. 18 for an all-day invitational. The Panthers host EWL-foe Bloomsburg Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. for their home-opening meet.

“This weekend’s tournament is going to be really good for us,” Stottlemyer said. “Our guys will be ready and it will help us prepare for the rest of the season. There are some good teams like [No. 5] Michigan and [No. 8] Cornell, and they will be good to wrestle against.

“We will wrestle hard and hopefully avoid injuries and go from there.”