Panthers dominate over the weekend for four match victories

Entering its first season in the ACC, the Pitt wrestling team hoped to sustain a trait that has defined it over the past few seasons: dominance. So far, so good. 

With a combined score of 136-32, No. 19 Pitt didn’t face much of a challenge in its four-match weekend.

Starting their ACC schedule Saturday night, the Panthers dominated No. 25 North Carolina State with a 27-7 victory.

Pitt opened the match with three straight major decisions by senior Anthony Zanetta, No. 16 senior Shelton Mack and No. 20 freshman Edgar Bright at 125, 133 and 141 pounds, respectively.

Including Mack and Bright, Pitt’s five ranked wrestlers all came away with victories in the ACC opener as No. 8 Tyler Wilps, No. 6 Max Thomusseit and No. 13 Nick Bonaccorsi added three decisions to guide the Panthers to their 20-point victory.

Wilps’ victory came over the Wolf Pack’s No. 19 Pete Renda and was the only win by a Pitt wrestler over a ranked opponent.

Pitt didn’t have long to enjoy its first ACC victory, as the Panthers were back in action against Duke to begin the Pitt Duals on Sunday morning at 10.

“The back-to-back match was not an issue for any of our guys,” Zanetta said. “We dominated Saturday night and took that attitude into Sunday.”

For the experienced wrestlers, this format is nothing new. Both the conference and national tournament demand that wrestlers be prepared for multiple matches in a day and sometimes late one night and early the next morning.

“It’s tough wrestling late Saturday night and then coming in Sunday morning, but it’s good for the younger guys to get used to that feeling,” heavyweight P.J. Tasser said. “NCAAs is three grueling days, and that’s our ultimate goal, so it’s good to replicate that feeling.”

On the back of five major decisions, the Panthers didn’t appear affected by the quick turnaround as they picked up their second ACC victory in as many days.

Once again, Zanetta, Mack and Bright opened the match with three consecutive major decisions, and Wilps and Thomusseit added two more later in the match, leading to a 29-7 victory.

With the two ACC matches out of the way, the Panthers still had two more matches in order to complete their weekend sweep.

Pins by Mikey Racciato, Geno Morelli and Wilps guided the Panthers to a 40-6 victory over Buffalo for their highest point total of the season.

A few hours later, the Panthers added a second 40-point performance as they took down Davidson 40-12 in the last match of the Pitt Duals.

In total, it was a successful weekend for five Panthers – Zanetta, Mack, Bright, Morelli, Wilps and Thomusseit – who went 4-0 over the weekend.

Despite the success, Zanetta, a senior, realizes that a weekend such as this is simply a part of a much larger goal that the Panthers have.

“Picking up four major decisions in four matches is just a stepping stone to where I want to be,” he said. “It’s about learning something from each match and bettering my physical and mental skills every day.”

With this weekend behind them, the Panthers made an early statement that they will be one of the top teams in the conference.

“We train so hard in and out of the wrestling room day after day to be the best in the country,” Bright said. “Winning those two matches so far shows us that we’re prepared for anything and ready to win an ACC title.”

Although they are in a new conference this year, the Panthers haven’t changed their goal. The wrestlers are focused on a conference title and know how important the early wins are to reach that goal.

“I think it’s extremely important to start off joining the conference with two dominating wins,” Tasser said. “We are training to win the ACC, and we want to prove that we are the best in the conference.”