Pitt Wrestling Falls To No. 17 Lehigh, 24-9

PITTSBURGH - The Pitt wrestling team (2-1) dropped its first dual match of the year with a 24-9 loss to No. 17 Lehigh on the road. 

The Panthers' Tyler Nauman got the scoring started for Pitt after Lehigh jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a big 5-3 decision over 18th-ranked Seth Ciasulli at 141. Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) remains undefeated on the season with an 8-0 record, including 3-0 in dual matches.

Pitt closed the gap to 9-6 following the 149-pound match when  Eric Albright (York, Pa./New Lion Area/Virginia) earned a 3-2 decision over Brian Tanen of Lehigh to make it two straight decisions for the Panthers. The Mountain Hawks pulled away though, stringing together four straight decisions to take a commanding 21-6 lead. Sophomore Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) claimed a 3-1 sudden victory win over Joe Kennedy at 197, bringing the score to 21-9 in favor of the home team.

In the heavyweight division, junior Ryan Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) dropped his first match of the season to sixth-ranked Zach Rey, 3-2, in the final match of the day.  

Pitt returns to action Nov. 22 for the Sprawl and Brawl Duals in Binghamton, N.Y.

Weight

Match-up

Result

Score/Time

125

John McDonald (Lehigh)

dec.

Chris Kochinsky (Pitt)

12-5

133

Matt Fisk (Lehigh)

Fall

Zach Grove (Pitt)

5:41

141

Tyler Nauman (Pitt)

dec.

Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh)

5-3

149

Eric Albright (Pitt)

dec.

Brian Tanen (Lehigh)

3-2

157

Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh)

dec.

Mark Powell (Pitt)

6-3

165

Mike Galante (Lehigh)

dec.

Karl DiCiantis (Pitt)

8-5

174

Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)

dec.

David Sullivan (Pitt)

3-1

184

David Craig (Lehigh)

dec.

Zac Thomusseit (Pitt)

6-3

197

Matt Wilps (Pitt)

dec.

Joe Kennedy (Lehigh)

3-1, s.v.

285

Zach Rey (Lehigh)

dec.

Ryan Tomei (Pitt)

3-2
Pitt Starts Off Season With Two Wins

PITTSBURGH - The Pitt wrestling team picked up two wins in their first dual matches of the season with a 28-14 win over host school Drexel, and a 35-6 win over Sacred Heart.

Junior Ryan Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) led the team with two wins on two falls on the day in the heavyweight class. Tomei defeated Paul Schweighardt of Sacred Heart by a fall (3:56) and followed that up with a fall (4:22) against Kyle Frey of Drexel. Tomei is now 7-0 on the year with three pins and five total bonus-point wins.

At 149, redshirt senior Eric Albright (York, Pa./Red Lion Area/Virginia) also picked up two wins on the day with a 21-6 major decision over Zach Moran of Sacred Heart, and a 7-4 win over Brent McCurdy of Drexel.

Redshirt senior David Sullivan (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./East Stroudsburg) claimed a 7-0 decision over Michael Hartman of Sacred Heart and defeated Dave Woodall of Drexel, 8-4 at 174.

Zac Thomusseit, a sophomore at 184, captured a 2-0 record on the day. Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham) picked up a win against Sacred Heart by forfeit, then went on to defeat Justin Wieller of Drexel, 14-2.

At 197, Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) continued an impressive start to the season, as he defeated Brandon Lapp of Sacred Heart by a fall (3:46) and knocked off Jack Callender of Drexel, 7-3.

Others earning a win on the day for the Panthers were Chris Kochinsky (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) at 125, with a 9-5 decision over Josh Yurasits of Drexel. In the 133 weight class, sophomore Zach Grove (York, Pa./Central York) defeated Justin Belanger of Sacred Heart, 11-7. At 141, redshirt sophomore Tyler Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) defeated Cory Dunn of Sacred Heart, 9-2 and at 157, redshirt senior Mark Powell (Washington, Pa./Trinity/Purdue) took a 4-3 decision from Anthony Priore of Sacred Heart.

The Panthers return to action Sunday with a 2 p.m. meeting at No. 17 Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are led by Pitt's former four-time All-American Pat Santoro, who was coached by Panther head coach Rande Stottlemyer.

Pittsburgh 28, Drexel 14

125: Chris Kochinsky (P) dec. Josh Yurasits (D), 9-5
133: Steve Mytych (D) FALL Zach Grove (P), 2:15
141: Tyler Nauman (P) FALL Shane Fenningham (D) , 4:19
149: Eric Albright (P), dec. Brent McCurdy (D), 7-4
157: Joe Booth (D) maj. Kyle Patton (P), 15-0
165: Alex Rinaldi (D) dec. Karl Deciantis (P), 6-2
174: Dave Sullivan (P) dec. Dave Woodall (D), 8-4
184: Zac Thomusseit (P) maj. Justin Wieller (D), 14-2
197: Matt Wilps (P) dec. Jack Callender (D), 7-3
285: Ryan Tomei (P) FALL Kyle Frey (D), 4:22


Pittsburgh 35, Sacred Heart 6

125: Pat Feeley (SH) dec. Chris Kochinsky (P), 4-3
133: Zach Grove (P) dec. Justin Belanger (SH), 11-7
141: Tyler Nauman (P) dec. Cory Dunn (SH), 9-2
149: Eric Albright (P) maj. Zach Moran (SH), 21-6
157: Mark Powell (P) dec. Anthony Priore (SH), 4-3
165: Jonathan Rizzitello (SH) dec. Karl Deciantis (P), 9-5
174: Dave Sullivan (P) dec. Michael Hartman (SH), 7-0
184: Zac Thomusseit (P) unopposed/Foreit
197: Matthew Wilps (P) FALL Brandon Lapp (SH), 3:46
285: Ryan Tomei (P) FALL Paul Schweighardt (SH), 3:56
Pitt's Nauman Named EWL's Freshman Wrestler of the Year

PITTSBURGH - Redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman has been named the Eastern Wrestling League's Freshman Wrestler of the Year announced the conference office today, March 24th.

A Middletown, Pa. native, Nauman posted a season record of 29-9 during his first season in the Pitt starting lineup. Of his 29 wins this season, 11 were by fall, the seventh most for a single season in Pitt history. In his career, the 141-pounder has totaled 18 falls, ranking him 14th on the all-time list.

Nauman took second place at both the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Keystone Classic this season before winning the 141-pound championship at the year-ending EWL Tournament. He posted a dual record of 11-1, with his only loss coming to No. 11 ranked Drew Lashaway of Kent State, 6-4. In his first NCAA Tournament, Nauman defeated Justin Accordino (Hofstra) in the opening round before falling to eventual two-time national champion, J Jaggers (Ohio State) and Frank Molinero (Penn State).

Nauman joins Coach of the Year Tim Flynn and Wrestler of the Year Jarrod King, as post-season EWL honorees. Coach Tim Flynn led the Edinboro Fighting Scots to a second-place finish at the Oklahoma Gold Classic, a PSAC Tournament Championship, second-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions, runner-up finish at the Southern Scuffle, a dual-meet record of 14-4-1, and a first-place finish at the EWL Tournament.

In addition, under Coach Flynn's guidance, Edinboro University grabbed sixth place at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament, held in St. Louis.

King, the EWL Wrestler of the Year, hails from Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and is a senior at Edinboro University. Competing at 165 pounds, King had an excellent 2009 season, winning the Oklahoma Gold Classic, the PSAC Tournament, the Reno Tournament of Champions, the EWL Tournament, and the 2009 NCAA Tournament. King completed his senior year with a record of 32-5.
Pitt's Sheaffer Earns All-America in His Final Collegiate Match

ST. LOUIS - Redshirt senior Zach Sheaffer's wrestling career for the University of Pittsburgh came to an end today at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., today, March 21. With his 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker over Zachery Rey (Lehigh), Sheaffer became a first-time All-American and just the fourth heavyweight in Pitt history to do so.

An opening-round loss to No. 2 seed Mark Ellis (Missouri) sent the senior to the consolation bracket where he strung together four wins, one of which came by fall, to earn All-America status. He advanced to the All-American round with a 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker against Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) and a fall over Dominick Russo (Rutgers).

Competing against Rey for the second time this season and the right to be called an All-American, Sheaffer suffered a first-period concussion but remained poised, battling through regulation and sudden victory to set up his win in the first tiebreaker. Following the win, Sheaffer put in for a medical forfeit against Dan Erekson (Iowa) and John Wise (Illinois) to end his tournament.

Sheaffer finishes his career at Pitt tied for 13th on both the all-time wins and falls list with 107 victories and 20 pins.

Three other Panthers were eliminated from the tournament. Junior Jimmy Conroy, redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman and sophomore Ethan Headlee all dropped matches in the consolation bracket. Headlee was a 4-2 winner over Jason Lapham before falling to Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan) 4-3 to finish the tournament 2-2.

Conroy and Nauman both dropped their second matches of the consolation brackets. Nauman fell 5-4 to Frank Molinaro (Penn State) while Conroy lost 14-8 to 12th-seeded Steve Bell (Maryland).

The Panthers conclude the 2008-09 season with at least one All-American for the third straight year.