Pitt Ninth After Day One in Las Vegas
12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 1, 2007
LAS VEGAS -
The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team finds itself in ninth place after one day competition at the 26th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational. The Panthers finished with 49.5 points and are currently only 13 points away from a top five finish.
Returning All-Americans Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) and Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) advanced to the semifinal round of the championship bracket in their respective weight classes, while Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) is still alive in the consolation bracket of the heavyweight division.
Gavin, the top seeded wrestler at 174, cruised through his first three matches to earn his spot in the semis where he will square off against the fifth-seed John Dergo of Illinois tomorrow. Last year's national runner up, Gavin garnered a first round bye and needed only four minutes to pin his first opponent, Adams State's Evan Copeland. From there he moved on to face Nick Corpe of Purdue and earned a 14-3 major decision. His final match of the day came against West Virginia's Chance Litton and ended with a 8-2 decision for the Pitt grappler.
Kocher entered the weekend's festivities with the No. 4 seed in the 157 class. Like Gavin, he pummeled his first adversary, Wyoming's Dane Fuhrman, and earned a technical fall by a count of 18-2. One of Pitt's three fifth-year seniors, Kocher capitalized on an injury default by Navy's Joel Ahem to advance to the next round, where he would take on the No. 5 seed, Stanford's Josh Zupancic. Kocher earned a 4-3 decision and set himself up for tomorrow's showdown with the Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie, the tournament's No. 1 seed.
Sheaffer, the No. 8 seed at heavyweight, fell to Boise State's Nick Smith in his first bout, but rallied his way through the consolation bracket and kept his hopes alive for a third-place finish. The nation's No. 13 ranked heavyweight rattled off four straight victories, including a fall in his final bout of the day against Virginia Tech's David Marone, after his initial setback. He looks to continue that hot streak tomorrow when he steps to the mat against North Carolina's Justin Dobies.
Action will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Panther fans, be sure to check out www.pittsburghpanthers.com for tournament updates.
For complete tournament results, visit the link below:
26th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational