Pitt’s wrestling team earned a 28-9 victory and a milestone for head coach Rande Stottlemyer… Pitt’s wrestling team earned a 28-9 victory and a milestone for head coach Rande Stottlemyer in its first dual meet of the season against Slippery Rock University last Wednesday night.

The Panthers were without redshirt senior team captain Carl Fronhofer, who wrestles 174 pounds and was ranked 10th in the nation by InterMat’s preseason rankings. Fronhofer was sidelined because of shoulder problems.

“He [Fronhofer] has shoulder problems and we just didn’t want to take a chance. We miss his leadership and points,” Stottlemyer said.

The wrestling match began at the 174-pound weight class as the Panthers’ Steve Selcher filled in for Fronhofer. Selcher was defeated 4-2 by Slippery Rock’s Justin Stamm. Mike Croyle, a redshirt sophomore, tied the match at three after defeating Slippery Rock’s John Opfar at 184 pounds.

Slippery Rock would go on to win two matches in a row. Pitt’s Josh McCullough saw his first action of the season as he lost 4-2 to Corey Hart at 197 pounds. Slippery Rock’s Bob McKillop blanked Pitt’s Travis Shirley 5-0 in the heavyweight bout.

The tables turned on Slippery Rock as the Panthers’ James Thornton got Pitt back on track with a 7-3 victory over Adam Renner at 125 pounds.

“We started out losing three out of the first four matches. Jimmy Thornton stopped the bleeding,” Stottlemyer said. “We needed for somebody to do that and he did it for us.”

At 133 pounds, redshirt sophomore Mike May kept things going as he gave the Panthers their first lead of the night. May scored a 21-6 technical fall over Slippery Rock’s Mike Fithian, making the score 11-9.

Redshirt freshman Ronald Tarquinio pinned Slippery Rock’s Brian Gross in two minutes, 16 seconds. This was Tarquinio’s first dual meet victory of his career.

Senior Justin Giovinco, ranked 16th in the nation by InterMat at 149 pounds, beat Slippery Rock’s Brad Cieleski 3-1.

Pitt’s final two matches were decided by major decisions. At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Justin Nestor defeated the Rockets’ Jason Cardillo 13-3. In the final match of the evening, redshirt junior Matt Catullo defeated Slippery Rocks’ Jason Smith 22-8 at 165 pounds.

“I thought we wrestled pretty hard and that’s the most important thing. We have a lot of new faces in the lineup,” Stottlemyer said. “I think we are making progress. Having Carl out really put a damper on things, but I think our guys are wrestling hard and giving us a chance to win.”

The victory gave Stottlemyer his 200th career victory as the Panthers’ head coach. Stottlemyer is in his 24th season as Pitt’s head coach and has compiled a record of 200-170-10 in his career.

“It’s nice, but I didn’t even know it to be honest with you. It’s only a wrestling match,” Stottlemyer said. “What’s important is to be able to be associated with kids for the last 22 years.”

This is the first season opener that the Panthers have won in the last three seasons. Next up for the Panthers is an Eastern Wrestling League match versus Bloomsburg Nov. 26. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House.

“As long as we wrestle hard, the staff will be pleased, and I think we will do just that; these young guys are pretty tough,” Stottlemyer said.