"I thought it was a pretty good performance by everyone," noted head coach Rande Stottlemyer. "Obviously the experienced guys, Sheaffer, Conroy, Headlee, Powell, looked good tonight, but there were some young guys who fought hard."
Freshman Chris Albright made his Pitt debut against classmate Chris Kochinsky in the 125-pound bracket. Albright gave up just two points in two matches against Kochinsky, winning the best-of-three setup with 8-1 and 7-1 decisions respectively.
Returning NCAA qualifier Jimmy Conroy made quick work in the 133-pound wrestle-off, scoring a first-round pin over freshman Zach Grove before earning an 18-3 technical fall in the second match. Conroy, the defending EWL champion in the 133-pound class looks to make a run at a second-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance this season.
After a successful redshirt season on the tournament circuit, Tyler Nauman scored two bonus-point wins over freshman Victor Konno to win the 141-pound bracket. Konno pinned redshirt Christian Fagan in the first period to advance to the finals. A 15-3 major decision by Nauman was followed by a first-period pin.
Purdue transfer Mark Powell earned two straight decisions over freshman Donnie Tasser in the 149-pound weight class. Tasser, who defeated redshirt freshman Kyle Patton, 9-2, fell 8-3 and 7-2, respectively, to Powell.
At 157 pounds, junior Jeff Warusz was a winner in three matches over sophomore Adam Counterman.
Sophomore Ethan Headlee continued his momentum from the 2007-08 season which catapulted him into Nationals via a wild card, easily defeating redshirt freshman Phil Sorrentino in two straight matches. Headlee did not yield a point on the night, carding a 13-0 major decision in the first match before earning a first-period fall in the second match for the win.
Redshirt junior David Sullivan defeated redshirt freshman A.J. Brentzel in two straight matches to take the 174-pound bracket. Brentzel advanced to the final round with a 3-1 decision over freshman Karl DeCiantis. Sullivan, a 3-0 and 5-1 winner, drops to 174 after wrestling at 184 last season.
Freshman Zach Tomusseit and redshirt freshman Andy Vaughan were first-round winners. Tomusseit defeated Brock Mantella while Vaughan picked up the win against freshman Keith Dickey. In one of only two brackets that needs three matches to determine a winner, Thomusseit battled back after dropping the first match to win the next two and the 184-pound class.
Freshman Matt Wilps turned heads with his performance in the 197-pound weight class. Wilps carded 4-2 and 3-2 decisions over junior A.J. Hunte.
Senior preseason All-America candidate Zach Sheaffer recorded two pins over freshman Dan Nickoli to win the heavyweight bracket. Sheaffer disposed of Nickoli just over two minutes into the first period during the first match and :48 seconds into the second period in the second match.
With the preseason in the books and a fresh year awaiting, Stottlemyer is eager for the Panthers first test against new opponents.
"We'll take our top two guys in each class to Michigan State. I think it will be a great evaluation for us, to see how far we've got to go."
The Panthers hit the road to open the 2008-09 season, starting off in East Lansing, Mich., for the Michigan State Open. The MSU Open is one of the largest opens annually and will be held at Jenison Field House on the MSU campus.
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