Bloomsburg, Pa. -- The Pitt wrestling team won its first career EWL tournament championship Saturday at Nelson Field House in Bloomsburg, Pa.
The Panthers finished with 132.5 points, 16 more than second place West Virginia.
Six Panthers claimed titles in their weight classes and three others placed fourth or better.
“Winning tonight is something special,” Coach Stottlemyer said following the conclusion of the tournament. “I’ve said it before, but these guys worked so hard and they deserve this. Winning this tournament takes a total team effort and that’s what we got from our guys tonight.”
Sophomore Anthony Zanetta (125) won the first title of the night to defend his EWL championship. For the second consecutive year, Zanetta defeated Shane Young of West Virginia, 3-0.
Redshirt junior Tyler Nauman (141) earned his third EWL crown with a 6-4 decision over Matt Bonson of Bloomsburg. Nauman, an NCAA All-American last year, will look to improve on his fifth place finish at the National Championships in 2010.
Redshirt freshman Dane Johnson (149) added the third title of the night for the Panthers with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Brandon Rader of West Virginia. Johnson swept the competition, winning all three matches en route to the championship.
The Panthers earned their fourth title of the night when redshirt junior Ethan Headlee (165) defeated Donnie Jones of West Virginia with a convincing 6-0 decision.
Returning from an injury that forced him to miss the entire EWL regular season, junior Zac Thomusseit (197) looked as though he didn’t miss a beat, going a perfect 3-0 to claim the championship. In the finals, Thomusseit defeated Shawn Fendone of Edinboro, 6-4.
In the final match of the tournament, redshirt senior Ryan Tomei (285) capped his stellar EWL career, claiming his second EWL title with a dominating performance. Tomei won his first two matches by fall before defeating Zac Walsh of Bloomsburg, 8-2 in the final.
In addition to winning the heavyweight title, Tomei also garnered two individual awards. The Irwin, Pa., native was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler as well as the EWL Dual Team Points Leader.
Making his EWL debut, freshman Max Thomusseit took second place, falling only to the nation’s top wrestler, Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro.
After dropping his first match of the day, freshman Shelton Mack (133) battled back to take third place overall. Redshirt sophomore Donnie Tasser (157) finished fourth overall to give the Panthers nine place winners.
Since joining the EWL in 1977, the Panthers previous best finish was second place. The seven automatic NCAA qualifiers are the most the school has achieved in one season since the 1950’s.
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