November 21, 2010

No. 20 PITT WRESTLING SWEEPS BUCKEYE DUALS, KNOCKS OFF TWO TOP-15 TEAMS

PITTSBURGH—The Pitt wrestling team won both its dual matches at the Buckeye Duals in Columbus, Ohio.

On Sunday, the Panthers deafeated No. 14 Nebraska, 22-10, followed by an 18-17 victory over No. 12 Ohio State.

The Panthers were led by redshirt junior Ethan Headlee, sophomore Zac Thomusseit, and redshirt senior Ryan Tomei. All three wrestlers went 2-0 on the afternoon.

In the first matchup of the day, Pitt fell behind to Nebraska when Jordan Burroughs (No. 2 in the country at 165) scored a four-point tech-fall (25-10) over Adam Counterman. The Panthers responded with Headlee picking up a 4-0 victory at 174.

Trailing 7-3, the Panthers would rally to win the next four bouts -- and five of the final six matchups -- to record the victory.

At 197, Zac Thomusseit improved his record to (3-0) in dual matches, pulling the Panthers within one point with a 5-2 win. Thomusseit picked up his five points by way of a takedown, an escape and riding time.

In the marquee matchup of the day, Tomei (No. 10) picked up a 4-1 decision at heavyweight over No. 7 Tucker Lane. With the score tied at 1-1 in the third period, Tomei recorded a takedown and picked up a point on a penalty to give the Panthers their first lead of the day, 9-7.

Sophomore Anthony Zanetta (125) kept the Panthers in control with a dominating performance. Zanetta used six takedowns and picked up a two-point near-fall for a 15-4 major decision.

With Pitt ahead, 13-7, freshman Shelton Mack picked up his first collegiate dual victory at 133 with a 6-4 decision over Ridge Kiley. Mack used two takedowns and a reversal, picking up two points in each period for the triumph.

Sophomore Dane Johnson (149) sealed the team victory for Pitt with a 5-2 decision at 149. The win put the Panthers ahead, 19-10, with just one bout remaining.

In the final matchup of the meet, Donnie Tasser scored a 6-2 decision over Tyler Koehn, giving the Panthers the 22-10 victory.

Pitt had little time to celebrate the victory over Nebraska as it quickly prepared for a matchup against No. 12 Ohio State.

For the second consecutive match, the dual began at the 165-weight class.

Counterman avenged his earlier defeat with a 4-2 sudden victory (2) win over Jared Kusar. With the bout tied at 2-2, Counterman scored a takedown in the second overtime to win. The decision jump-started a Panthers run that would eventually give them an 18-0 lead.

Headlee picked up the first fall of the season for the Panthers, pinning Nick Heflin 4:36 into the match. With the win, Headlee, who ranks 17th in the country at 174, improved his dual record to 3-1.

At 184, Max Thomusseit continued the Panthers run with an 8-2 decision over Peter Capone. Thomusseit improved his season record to 5-1 overall with three takedowns and a reversal while allowing just two escapes en route to the win.

Older brother Zac Thomusseit improved his record to 7-0 (4-0 in dual meets) with an impressive 4-0 decision over Cody Magrum. Both grapplers entered the day ranked in the top-15, with Thomusseit ranked eighth and Magrum ranked 14th. Thomusseit used his strong defensive skills to record the shutout, earning his points by way of a takedown, an escape and riding time.

Coming off a big top-10 victory in the previous match, Tomei continued his hot streak at 285 with a 4-0 decision over Jonathan Hiles. Tomei earned all four points the same way as Zac Thomusseit.

With the Panthers leading 18-0 at the mid-way point, Ohio State began to make a comeback, starting with a five-point tech-fall.

Ranked No. 5 at 125, Ohio State’s Logan Stieber quickly capitalized on his offensive attempts, picking up 13 points in the first period. Stieber picked up a takedown in the third period to complete the tech-fall, 18-3.

Holding an 18-14 lead heading into the final bout, the Panthers turned to Tasser (157) to try and shut down No. 4 Colt Sponseller. Sponseller took several shots in dire need to pick up at least a major decision to ensure a draw.

Trailing 10-7 heading into the third period, Tasser collected two points and gave up five to Sponseller, who was able to record only a decision that ultimately gave the Panthers the 18-17 victory.

With the two victories, the Panthers improved their season dual record to (2-2). Pitt will travel to Albany, N.Y. to compete in the Journeyman Northeast Duals on Saturday, Nov. 27. The team will face off against Penn at 9:30 a.m., Virginia at 2:30 p.m. and finish the day against American at 4:15 p.m.

No. 20 Pitt 22, No. 14 Nebraska 10:

165 – No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (N) TF-4 (7:00) Adam Counterman (P), 25-10
174 – No. 17 Ethan Headlee (P) dec. Caleb Kolb (N), 4-0.
184 – No. 10 Josh Ihnen (N) dec. Max Thomusseit (P), 7-5 TB.
197 – No. 7 Zac Thomusseit (P) dec. Andy Johnson (N), 5-2.
HWT – No. 10 Ryan Tomei (P) dec. No. 7 Tucker Lane (N), 4-1.
125 – No. 18 Anthony Zanetta (P) maj. dec. Shawn Nagel (N), 15-4.
133 – Shelton Mack (P) dec. Ridge Kiley (N), 6-4.
141 – Mike Koehnlein (N) dec. Mike Tully (P), 2-1.
149 – Dane Johnson (P) dec. Ross Grande (N), 4-2.
157 – Donnie Tasser (P) dec. Tyler Koehn (N), 6-2.

No. 20 Pitt 18, No. 12 Ohio State 17:

165 – Adam Counterman (P) dec. Jared Kusar (O), 4-2 SV2
174 – No. 17 Ethan Headlee (P) FALL (4:36) Nick Heflin (O)
184 – Max Thomusseit (P) dec. Peter Capone (O), 8-2
194 – No. 7 Zac Thomusseit (P) dec. No. 14 Cody Magrum (O), 4-0
HWT – No. 10 Ryan Tomei (P) dec. Jonathan Hiles (O), 4-0
125 – No. 5 Logan Stieber (O) TF-5 (5:24) No. 18 Anthony Zanetta (P), 18-3
133 – No. 14 Ian Paddock (O) dec. Shelton Mack (P), 6-1
141 – Collin Palmer (O) dec. Mike Tully (P), 7-1
149 – Sean Nemec (O) dec. Dane Johnson (P), 5-3
157 – No. 4 Colt Sponseller (O) dec. Donnie Tasser, 15-9