The Panthers jumped out to a quick start taking the first four bouts. Anthony Zanetta started things out at 125 pounds with a 7-2 decision over Billy Rappo. Shelton Mack got bonus points on the board with a 12-4 major decision over Tony Farace giving Pitt a quick 7-0 lead.
At 141 pounds, Edgar Bright jumped on eighth-ranked Shyheim Brown scoring a nice double leg takedown a mere 10 seconds into the bout. With the score 3-1 going to the third, Brown earned a quick escape to cut Bright’s lead to one with a minute and a half left in the bout. The two grapplers fought back-and-forth on the edge for the remainder of the period before Bright was able to connect on a nice double with 20 seconds left and held on for the 5-3 win.
Mikey Racciato was the next Panther on the docket and he also tallied a victory, a 5-3 decision over Derrick Evanovich. Racciato got an early two off a wild scramble near the center of the mat. An Evanovich escape made the bout 2-1 going into the second. Evanovich scored a reversal to being the second but Racciato kept his cool and escaped to even the match at 3-3. Going into the third, Racciato was able to escape and earned a bonus point of riding time to secure the 5-3 victory and give Pitt the 13-0 lead.
The Terps won the 157 pound match going into the break but Pitt bounced back when Geno Morelli earned an 11-5 decision over Anthony Volpe at 165. The two wrestlers were fairly evenly matched for the match with Morelli holding a slim 3-2 lead with 1:30 left in the final period before Morelli exploded with four takedowns to secure the victory and give the Panthers a 16-3 lead.
Tyler Wilps followed the Morelli win with a clinic at 174 pounds. Wilps used four takedowns and a pair of three point near falls en route to an 18-2 (5:22) tech fall victory.
Maryland was able to squeak out the final three matches by the narrowest of margins to make the final score closer but Pitt was still able to secure the 21-12 victory for its first ACC win in its first ACC dual.
The Panthers will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 8, when they face No. 1 Penn State in a sold-out dual at the Bryce Jordan Center in Happy Valley.
Results:
125: No. 10 Anthony Zanetta (P) dec. Billy Rappo (M), 7-2; Pitt leads, 3-0
133: No. 14 Shelton Mack (P) m. dec. Tony Farace (M), 12-4; Pitt leads, 7-0
141: Edgar Bright (P) dec. No. 17 Shyheim Brown (M), 5-3; Pitt leads, 10-0
149: Mikey Racciato (P) dec. Derrick Evanovich (M), 5-3; Pitt leads, 13-0
157: Danny Orem (M) dec. Cole Sheptock (P), 3-1; Pitt leads, 13-3
165: Geno Morelli (P) dec. Anthony Volpe (M), 11-5; Pitt leads, 16-3
174: No. 8 Tyler Wilps (P) t fall Tony Gardner (M), 18-2 (5:22); Pitt leads, 21-3
184: No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock (M) dec. No. 6 Max Thomusseit (P), 4-2; Pitt leads, 21-6
197: No. 13 Christian Boley (M) dec. Nick Bonaccorsi (P), 3-2; Pitt leads, 21-9
285: No. 6 Spencer Myers (M) dec. P.J. Tasser (P), 4-3 (TB1); Pitt wins, 21-12
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