Pittsburgh 26 Edinboro 10
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team won its third
straight Eastern Wrestling League Dual Meet Championship with a 26-10 victory
over visiting Edinboro on Friday night at the Fitzgerald Field House
No. 15 Tyler Nauman won a highly anticipated rematch over No. 6 Dave Habat and
No. 24 Shelton Mack posted a huge upset over No. 7 A.J. Schopp as the Panthers
won their 18th straight match in the conference, in front of a packed house of
2,112 fans.
“The crowd definitely played a factor, said Nauman, who will finish his career
with just one home loss in his entire college career. “Senior night, last match
here and we wanted it. I think that showed in our performance tonight.”
Pitt, winner of 11 straight dual meets this season, improves to 14-1. The
Panthers had the match and the title clinched with three bouts still left to go
following Ethan Headlee’s fall at 174 pounds. Headlee’s fall was the 30th of his
career, moving him into sixth-place on Pitt’s career pins list.
“This was a total team effort,” said Pitt head coach Rande Stottlemyer. “I don’t
think you could have scripted it any better.”
Anthony Zanetta got things rolling for the Panthers with a 9-0 major decision
over Kory Mines at 125. Zanetta’s win was fueled by two takedowns and a
three-point tilt as he improved to 14-1 in dual meets this season.
Mack followed with a 3-2 decision over Schopp. The Edinboro freshman was 32-3
entering the match and is top-10 in the nation in falls. Mack erased an earlier
loss to Schopp this season, bolstered by a first period takedown at the edge of
the mat.
“It’s definitely a huge win for me and it means even more that it helped the
team win its third straight title,” Mack said. “The whole season we have known
this was going to come down to a few key matches for us to win the EWL.”
Nauman (24-4) proved he should still be considered one of the nation’s top
wrestlers at 149 pounds with his win in the fourth matchup with Habat. The
Panther senior evened the season series at 2-2 with a 7-4 decision. It was the
third win of the season over a top-10 wrestler for Nauman. His four losses are
also against top-10 wrestlers.
Nauman’s win was the start of five consecutive victories for the Panthers from
149-184. Donnie Tasser and Tyler Wilps followed him with easy wins at 157 and
165, respectively. Tasser notched a 6-0 shutout over Casey Fuller, while Wilps
had six takedowns in a 14-4 major decision over Jesse Swink.
Andy Vaughan made it a perfect night for the Pitt seniors in the starting lineup
with his 9-3 decision over No. 28 Vic Avery. Vaughan, who is ranked No. 32,
picked up his first win over a ranked opponent this season, using three
takedowns, two escapes and a point for riding time.
Edinboro closed out the match with wins at 197 and 285 to get their score into
double digits. The 26-10 win was the biggest point differential of the Panthers’
three straight victories over the Fighting Scots.
Pitt is 4-1 against ranked opponents this season with wins over Michigan,
Lehigh, Hofstra and Edinboro, and a loss to Ohio State. The Panthers will face
another ranked team when they travel to Penn State to take on the second-ranked
and defending national champion Nittany Lions. The match is already sold out
with over 6,000 fans expected to attend.
#9 PITTSBURGH 26, #20 EDINBORO 10
February 17, 2012
Fitzgerald Field House
Pittsburgh, PA
125 #15 Anthony Zanetta (UP) maj. dec. Kory Mines (E), 9-0
133 Shelton Mack (UP) dec. #7 A.J. Schopp (EU), 3-2
141 #14 Mitchell Port (EU) dec. Travis Shaffer (UP), 4-2
149 #12 Tyler Nauman (UP) dec. #5 Dave Habat (EU), 7-4
157 Donnie Tasser (UP) dec. Casey Fuller (EU), 6-0
165 Tyler Wilps (UP) maj. dec. Jesse Swink (EU), 14-4
174 Ethan Headlee (UP) fall over Chris Hrunka (EU), 1:51
184 Andy Vaughan (UP) dec.Vic Avery (EU), 9-3
197 #2 Chris Honeycutt (EU) dec. #4 Matt Wilps (UP), 11-5
285 Ernest James (EU) maj. dec. Joel Yahner (UP), 10-1
RECORDS: Edinboro 9-3, 4-1 EWL
Pittsburgh 14-1, 6-0 EWL