WVU too much for Pitt on mats

Pitt started out strong in their match against West Virginia on Saturday, but they could not… Pitt started out strong in their match against West Virginia on Saturday, but they could not hold onto an early 7-0 lead, falling to the Mountaineers 20-13 in the wrestling edition of the Backyard Brawl.

The match drops Pitt to 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the Eastern Wrestling League.

“We fought really hard. Any time Pitt and West Virginia get together it’s the old Backyard Brawl, and that is exactly what it was on Friday,” head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “You’re never pleased when you’re on the short end of the stick, but our effort was good and the matches were intense.”

The match started out extremely slow, as the referee showed up an hour late.

“It was definitely a crazy start to things, but both teams responded very well and just made the best of it,” Stottlemyer said.

In the first match, Pitt’s Brad Gentzle defeated West Virginia’s Scott Stuart 14-4 at 125 pounds. Gentzle improved to a 6-12 record this season. His solid performance and bonus point for a technical fall gave Pitt an early 4-0 edge over the Mountaineers.

“He got us that extra point, which was very helpful. It got us started on the right foot,” Stottlemyer said.

Maintaining the lead for Pitt, senior Mike Ciotti was victorious against Seth Lisa with a score of 8-2. This win pushed Ciotti’s record forward to 8-2 in dual matches and 14-7 overall. The Panthers were now ahead 7-0.

Next, Pitt’s Ronald Tarquinio took on Bradon Rader in the 141-pound match. West Virginia scored a win in an 8-2 decision. Pitt was still ahead of the Mountaineers, with the score now at 7-3.

The 149 bout was one of the night’s biggest attractions, in which Pitt’s Joey Ecklof took on West Virginia’s David Jauregui. Both wrestlers had earned conference honors earlier this season. Jauregui overcame Ecklof by a score of 3-1, earning three points to close the gap to one.

At 157 pounds, Pitt’s Sean Richmond gave up a 9-5 decision to Matt Lebe, who pushed the Mountaineers into the lead for the first time. West Virginia was then winning 9-7.

Pitt didn’t give up, though. In the 165-pound bout between Pitt’s Justin Nestor and West Virginia’s Larry Hall, Nestor came through for the Panthers with a 6-4 victory. He is now 21-7 for the season with a 7-3 dual record. Nestor’s win pushed Pitt back into the lead at 10-9.

In a tight match at 174 pounds, Pitt’s Nick Padezan dropped a 3-2 decision to Kurt Brenner. The Panthers never recovered.

In the next two matches, Pitt could not put together a comeback.

Wrestling at 184 pounds, freshman Kyle Deliere gave up a 5-1 decision to West Virginia’s Chance Litton. Following Deliere’s loss, Pitt’s Mike Heist fell to West Virginia’s Jared Villers at 197 pounds and lost a 16-0 technical fall at the 4:13 mark. The match put the Mountaineers ahead with a 20-10 lead.

Lou Thomas did defeat Matt Holsopple by a score of 7-5 to tally one last victory for Pitt, but it was too late to make a difference.

The Panthers will be back in action this week when they host both Clarion on Tuesday and Lock Haven on Friday.

“Lock Haven will be another dogfight like West Virginia. We need to get a better focus. The key for us is going to be to win the majority of the toss-up matches,” Stottlemyer said.

Both matches will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Fitzgerald Field House.