The nationally-ranked No. 14 Panthers had little trouble with Bloomsburg, who was replacing 10 starters lost to graduation. Pitt won nine bouts, losing only at 141 pounds, and received bonus points in four of them.
“Overall I think it was just a solid team effort. We had to bumps some guys up to different weight classes, and it really shows some of the depth we have on this team,” said head coach Jason Peters.
Wrestling in his first collegiate match, true freshman Dom Forys set the tone early picking up a technical fall over Elliot Zackoski 22-6.
In what might have been the most exciting match of the day, redshirt freshman Nick Zanetta and Andy Schutz went to a one minute, sudden victory tied at 4-4 in the 133 pound feature. Zanetta secured a takedown to grab a 6-4 win and give Pitt a 7-0 lead at the time.
“Dom Forys got the match started with a major decision, a tech fall, so that was good,” said Peters. “And then it was followed up with a win.”
Following a loss by Pitt at 141 pounds, the Panthers won the final seven matches to cruise to victory. The next four all were decided by regular decision, while the Panthers’ final three of redshirt senior Max Thomusseit, redshirt junior Nick Bonaccorsi and redshirt sophomore John Rizzo all earned bonus point victories. At 184 pounds, Thomusseit won by fall against David Williams in 4:45 while Rizzo did him one better, securing a fall over his opponent Shaun Heist in the 285-pound matchup 20 seconds faster in 4:25. Bonaccorsi won by major decision with a score of 9-0 against Michael Mirra at 197 pounds.
Former national qualifiers Mikey Racciato (Dec. 7-3) and Ronnie Garbinsky (Dec. 8-2) tallied wins at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively.
Redshirt junior Eric Nutter and redshirt senior Troy Reaghard both competed up a weight class for the Panthers in the match. Nutter, who wrestled at 165 pounds, won a 6-0 decision over Brad Miccio and Reaghard defeated his counterpart Mark Granahan by a 4-1 decision at 174 pounds.
“We have a lot of new faces in the lineup. Some young guys performed well for their first time out,” said Peters. “It was a good way to get the season started.”
Pitt is back in action on Thursday, Nov. 6 when it travels to No. 10 Edinboro for an early season match between two of the top teams in the country.
Results:
125: Dom Forys (P) tech fall Elliot Zackoski (B), 22-6; Pitt leads, 4-0
133: Nick Zanetta (P) SV over Andy Schutz (B), 6-4; Pitt leads, 7-0
141: Tanner Cahill (B) dec. Ben Ross (P), 9-3; Pitt leads, 7-3
149: Mikey Racciato (P) dec. Kevin Laubach (B), 7-3; Pitt leads, 10-3
157: Ronnie Garbinsky (P) dec. Matt Hammerstone (B), 8-2; Pitt leads, 13-7
165: Eric Nutter (P) dec. Brad Miccio (B), 6-0; Pitt leads, 16-3
174: Troy Reaghard (P) dec. Mark Granahan (B), 4-1; Pitt leads, 19-3
184: Max Thomusseit (P) fall David Williams (B), 4:45; Pitt leads, 25-3
197: Nick Bonaccorsi (P) m. dec. Michael Mirra (B), 9-0; Pitt leads, 29-3
285: John Rizzo (P) fall Shaun Heist (B), 4:25; Pitt wins, 35-3
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