Panthers dominate in 37-7 victory

The Pitt Wrestling team won eight out of 10 matches as the recipe for their fifth Eastern… The Pitt Wrestling team won eight out of 10 matches as the recipe for their fifth Eastern Wrestling League victory with a 37-7 win over the Lock Haven Bald Eagles at the Fitzgerald Field House Friday night.

Pitt improved to 8-5 overall and 5-1 in the EWL while Lock Haven fell to 3-9 and 0-5. The Panthers won four out of the first five bouts of the night. Drew Headlee opened the meet with a victory and Pitt rolled from there.

Other Panther victories included a technical fall from Ronald Tarquinio, a pin by Zach Doll, major decisions from Josh Birt and Francis Iorfido, and a forfeit for Matt Kocher.

“We wrestled hard, I thought. That’s what we try to pride ourselves on,” head coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “Just staying focused and wrestling hard.”

In Headlee’s bout, he used a reversal in the third period and two near-fall points to lock up a 7-2 win over Lock Haven’s Jim Collins.

“Headlee always gets us started. He creates momentum no matter what,” Stottlemyer said.

Mike Ciotti continued Pitt’s momentum with a 9-4 decision at 133 pounds and Tarquinio picked up a technical fall win over Lock Haven’s James Barnes at the 5:57 mark of the third period in the 141 pound weight class. The win improved Tarquinio’s record to 21-10 on the year.

Lock Haven’s 11th-ranked wrestler Mike Maney had been battling the flu this week and decided to forfeit at 149 pounds to Pitt’s Kocher, who won his team-leading 27th match of the year.

“[I’m a] little disappointed at 149 because I really wanted to see him wrestle,” Stottlemyer said about the forfeit. “It would have been nice to see what Kocher could do with him.”

The Bald Eagles earned their first three points of the match at 157 pounds when Charlie Brenneman pulled out a 5-2 decision over Pitt’s Justin Nestor. It was the second time this season Nestor has lost to Brenneman.

At 165 pounds, Doll notched an unusual finish by pinning his opponent from the defensive position, beating Jason Gilligan of the Bald Eagles with just 17 seconds remaining in the bout.

“One of two things was going to happen,” Stottlemyer said. “He [Doll] was either going to reverse him or pin him. Zach had a great takedown defense. It was tremendous. It contained my three points: hustle, creativity and a never-say-die attitude.”

With Pitt leading 23-3, Iorfido lengthened his EWL dual meet winning streak to six when he recorded a major decision over Ryan Summers of the Bald Eagles.

The Panthers and the Bald Eagles exchanged major decisions in the 184 and 197 pound matches. Pitt freshman Eric Cassidy took the loss at 184 and Birt defeated Lock Haven’s Carlos Ponce.

In the heavyweight bout, Pitt’s Travis Shirley won by injury default over Steve Itterly at the 1:07 mark after a takedown injured Itterly’s knee.

The Panthers finish the dual meet season on Feb. 19 at Fitzgerald Field House with a match against Edinboro. Edinboro is unbeaten in the EWL and tied for first with West Virginia. The meet begins at 7:30 p.m.

“They have a nice team with guys who are ranked pretty high. Some guys in the top three or four at their weight,” said Stottlemyer. “I’m glad we’re at home, though. Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd.”