University of Pittsburgh Athletics
PITT WRESTLING PREPARES FOR BACKYARD BRAWL FRIDAY NIGHT
2/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 1, 2007
PITTSBURGH - The Backyard Brawl has always provided fun and excitement for EWL wrestling fans. Friday night should be no different as the two teams battle for a 2-1 EWL record. The Panthers enter the match 6-4 overall, and the Mountaineers come in at 2-3. Both teams are 1-1 in league action.
In last season's contest, Pitt's Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) won by a major decision against WVU's Scott Stuart in the 125-pound bout. Earlier this season, Pitt's Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) won a 3-1 decision over WVU's Zac Fryling for the 157-pound title at the West Virginia Open. And at heavyweight, Pitt's Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) defeated Matt Holsopple in his freshman season.
Several of WVU's wrestlers have come out with a win in head-to-head competitions as well. WVU's Jared Villers won by a major decision against Pitt's Eric Cassidy (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) at the Las Vegas Invitational. And in last year's dual meet, WVU's Chance Litton won a 5-1 decision over Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan).
Pitt returns six NCAA qualifiers to its starting lineup and is coming off a dual meet upset over then-No. 21 Kent State. The meet came down to heavyweight bout, and Pitt's Sheaffer won a 2-0 decision over Jermail Porter to give the Panthers' the 16-15 victory. In league action, the Panthers defeated Bloomsburg in November, 30-14, but fell to Cleveland State last weekend, 21-15. After West Virginia, they'll head on the road to wrap up their regular season with duals at Clarion, Lock Haven and Edinboro.
West Virginia also has six NCAA qualifiers returning this season with five in their starting lineup--Kurt Brenner, Zac Fryling, Larry Hall, David Jauregui, Brandon Rader and Jared Villers. Rader, a sophomore, won the EWL title at 141 pounds last season and went on to become an All-American. This season his only loss was at the Las Vegas Invitational to an opponent from UNC Greensboro. At 197 pounds, Villers is No. 18 in the nation. In 18 wins this season, he's earned five technical falls.
Friday night will also be senior recognition for the Panthers. Pitt will honor Tim Allen (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland), Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) and Francis Iorfido (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) in addition to team manager, Danielle Debias. The meet is scheduled for 7 p.m., in the Fitzgerald Field House. Video streaming will be available on Panthers All-Access, Pitt's subscription website.
Below are the starting lineups for Friday night:
125: Brad Gentzle (Pitt) vs. Scott Stuart (WVU)
133: Drew Headlee (Pitt) vs. Mark Anderson (WVU) OR Vince Gioella (WVU)
141: Joe Ciampoli (Pitt) vs. Brandon Rader (WVU)
149: Mark Generalovich (Pitt) vs. David Jauregui (WVU)
157: Matt Kocher (Pitt) vs. Zac Fryling (WVU)
165: Sean Richmond (Pitt) vs. Eric Connolly (WVU)
174: Keith Gavin (Pitt) vs. Kurt Brenner (WVU)
184: Mike Heist (Pitt) OR Kyle Deliere (Pitt) vs. Chance Litton (WVU)
197: Eric Cassidy (Pitt) vs. Jared Villers (WVU)
HWT: Zach Sheaffer (Pitt) vs. Dustin Rogers (WVU) or Matt Holsopple (WVU)
