“Tonight was a solid win for our program,” Pitt Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer said after the match. “We knew that it was going to be a tough match and our guys really stepped up.”
Entering the match, the Panthers and Mountaineers stood as the only two unbeaten teams in the EWL. With the victory, the Panthers control their own destiny with three dual matches remaining.
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead when sophomore Anthony Zanetta (125) notched a 5-3 decision over Shane Young of West Virginia. The matchup marked a rematch of the EWL finals last season, when Zanetta topped Young for the title. Friday night proved the same, as Zanetta scored the only takedown of the bout in the second period and remained in control throughout most of the match, adding a point with riding time to earn the victory.
After the Mountaineers evened the score at 3-3, redshirt junior Tyler Nauman (141) put the fans on their feet with a spirited pin in the second frame. Already leading 8-0, Nauman turned West Virginia’s Michael Morales to score the fall. Following the bout, West Virginia was assessed a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Panthers a 9-2 lead after three matches.
Despite a West Virginia win at 149, redshirt sophomore Donnie Tasser put the Panthers back up by seven points with a 4-0 shutout decision at 157. Tasser used two escapes and added points with riding time and a penalty point by WVU to bump the Panthers to a 12-5 lead.
The Mountaineers climbed back to within one point with decisions at 165 and 174.
At 184, freshman Max Thomusseit used two takedowns and a reversal en route to a 7-5 win. Thomusseit entered the match ranked No.20 in the country. With the win, Thomusseit earned his 22nd win of the season, temporarily tying him with redshirt junior Ethan Headlee for the team lead.
With close to 1300 people in attendance, redshirt senior Ryan Tomei clinched the win for the Panthers, also earning his 22nd win of the season, recording a fall
at 4:31. Tomei now moves into sole possession of second place on the Panthers all-time pins list with 26
The Panthers improve to 10-6 overall, and will look to extend their nine match conference win streak at Clarion on Thursday, Feb. 10.
Results:
125: Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) dec. Shane Young (WVU), 5-3 3-0 Pitt
133: No. 15 Nathan Pennesi (WVU) dec. Shelton Mack (Pitt), 5-2 3-3
141: No. 8 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) WBF (4:02) Michael Morales (WVU)
*WVU assessed team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. 9-2 Pitt
149: Brandon Rader (WVU) dec. Dane Johnson (Pitt), 5-4 9-5 Pitt
157: Donnie Tasser (Pitt) dec. Ryan Goodman (WVU), 4-0 12-5 Pitt
165: Donnie Jones (WVU) dec. Ethan Headlee (Pitt), 3-2 12-8 Pitt
174: Alex Meade (WVU) dec. Andy Vaughan (Pitt), 7-3 12-11 Pitt
184: No. 20 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) dec. Matt Ryan (WVU), 7-5 15-11 Pitt
197: Cameron Gallagher (WVU) dec. Phil Sorrentino (Pitt), 2-0 15-14 Pitt
285: No. 7 Ryan Tomei (Pitt) WBF (4:31) Kyle Ronney (WVU) 21-14 Pitt
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