"It was an ugly win, but an ugly win is better than a great loss," said head coach Rande Stottlemyer. "It wasn't our best performance, but we'll certainly take the victory."
Pitt (13-3, 5-0 EWL) captured half of the match's ten bouts, including two falls and two major decisions, but suffered a uncharacteristic loss at 157 as All-American Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) fell to Travis Uncapher by a score of 7-6.
"That was definitely frustrating for Matt," commented Stottlemyer. "But he's a resilient young man and he'll bounce back on Saturday."
After a hard fought overtime loss in the match's first bout at 197 pounds, No. 14-ranked heavyweight Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) put the Panthers on the board with a convincing 17-7 major decision over Roman Husam. Sheaffer never trailed in the bout after striking first with a takedown in the opening period. He added two more takedowns in the second before exploding with 10 points in the third and another for riding time to get Pitt back on track.
After a loss at 125, sophomore Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) put the Panthers back in the lead with a pin of Clarion's Rob LaBrake with just under four minutes gone in the match. Conroy needed just 52 seconds in the second period to escape from LaBrake's grasp, take the Golden Eagle down and put him on his back to record his third fall of the season.
All-American Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) followed Conroy's performance with a pin of his own just 3:39 into his tussle with Sal Lascari. After a scoreless first period, Lascari took down in the second, but couldn't thwart Headlee's attempts to turn him, giving up another six points and putting the Panthers in control of the match.
No. 1 ranked Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) continued his perfect season and elevated his record to 25-0 with a major decision against Mario Morelli. After allowing Morelli to hang around in the first two periods, Gavin unleashed a seven-point final frame that set the bout's final score at 14-6 and extended Pitt's lead to 11.
Pitt's other win this evening came from Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg), who earned a 5-2 decision over Dominic Ross at 165 pounds. Headlee rode Ross for a good portion of the second period after both combatants failed to register a point in the first frame, gaining enough riding time to earn a point at the end of the third. The true freshman then used two escapes and a takedown in the third to cement the bout's outcome and the team victory.
Pitt's next challenge comes in the form of Edinboro, the No. 14-ranked team in the country, on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. Saturday also marks Senior and Alumni Night, as coach Stottlemyer and his staff will recognize this year's group of seniors and welcome back many former student-athletes.
"It's going to be a knock down, drag out affair," said Stottlemyer. "If you're a fan of good college wrestling, I suggest you be there because it's going to be quite entertaining."
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