Pitsch, a senior from Spanaway, Wash., enters the season ranked No. 3 according to the Intermat/NWCA preseason individual rankings for 165 pounds and will face No. 2 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan in the Classic. According to several other ranking services, Tannenbaum is the consensus national No. 2 behind returning NCAA champion Mark Perry of Iowa while Pitsch is ranked among the Top 5 in all four services, including No. 3 in a pair of rankings.
The two-time defending Pac-10 champion at 165 pounds, Pitsch holds a career record of 68-38 in his three years in Tempe and will be looking for his first All-America honor this season. One of the Sun Devils' captains for the 2007-08 season, Pitsch has faced Tannenbaum once in his career, falling in an 8-3 decision in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational last year.
Pitsch is the 21st different Sun Devil to be included in the All-Star Classic and the first to compete at 165 pounds since 2000 when the late Steve Blackford scored a 13-1 major decision over Boise State's Kirk White. The last time a Sun Devil competed in the event was last year when Brian Stith dropped a 2-1 decision to Iowa State's Trent Paulson at 157 pounds. Overall, ASU wrestlers hold a 10-12-1 record in the event with three no-contests due to injury.
For more information on the All-Star Classic, including ticket information, visit: http://www.nwcaonline.com/allstarclassic.cfm.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now