Pitt
Drexel
Pitt Wrestling Completes 2-0 Weekend With Win Over Drexel
11/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 13, 2011
PHILADELPHIA - The Pitt wrestling team completed a perfect 2-0 weekend with a 25-13 win over Drexel on Sunday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
The No. 18 Panthers won seven of the 10 weight classes, moving to a perfect 5-0 all-time against the Dragons. The victory came just a day after coach Rande Stottlemyer's squad knocked off sixth-ranked Lehigh.
"It was obviously a good start to the season," said Stottlemyer, who is in his 33rd season as head coach of Pitt. "You don't want to let your highs get too high or your lows get too low, but this is a good start. We went into the other teams' gyms and took care of business. That says something."
While the match with the Dragons didn't have quite the dramatic flair of the previous night's win over the Mountain Hawks, it was nearly as important as Pitt navigates through an extremely difficult non-conference schedule. It gives the Panthers momentum as they get set for their home opener against No. 8 Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Junior Anthony Zanetta and redshirt senior Tyler Nauman both kept their undefeated records intact, each improving to 6-0 with decisive wins. Zanetta put on a scoring clinic in a 27-9 technical fall at 125 pounds, while Nauman posted a 6-0 shutout at 149.
Shelton Mack continued his solid start to the season, cruising to an 18-5 major decision over Franco Ferriana at 133. The sophomore is 4-1 on the year with his lone loss coming 1-0 to nationally-ranked A.J. Schopp (Edinboro).
Donnie Tasser also has just one loss on his record, moving to 5-1 with an 8-4 decision over Austin Sommer at 157.
Andy Vaughan and P.J. Tasser bounced back from tough matches against Lehigh to pick up their first dual wins of the season. Tasser edged Alex Rinaldi 6-5 at 174, while Vaughan rolled to a 10-0 major decision at 184.
Coming off a match-clinching win the night before, Matt Wilps finished off a perfect weekend with an 8-5 decision over Brandon Palik at 197.
"We were a little disappointed. All in all it was a pretty decent effort, but not near what we had hoped for," Stottlemyer said of the win over Drexel. "But that speaks to what we're trying to do that we're not satisfied with that. We just have to get back to the wrestling room and get ready for next week."
Tyler Wilps suffered one of the three losses for Pitt, but showed he can hang with one of the nation's best, falling to returning national qualifier and 17th-ranked Joe Booth 3-2 at 165.
The win was the seventh straight for the Panthers dating back to last season. They will look to make it eight straight with Saturday's match against Michigan at the Fitzgerald Field House. That match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
In addition to their success in two dual meets, the Panthers had two wrestlers make the finals of the East Stroudsburg Open on Saturday. Erik Galloway went 4-0 to win the title, doing so in dominant fashion with a technical fall in the championship match at 133. Freshman Ronnie Garbinsky advanced to the finals at 141 and finished in second place.
Pittsburgh 25 Drexel 13
165: Joe Booth (DU) decision Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 3-2
174: P.J. Tasser (Pitt) decision Alex Rinaldi (DU) 6-5
184: Andy Vaughan (Pitt) major decision Ethan Keiser (DU) 10-0
197: Matt Wilps (Pitt) decision Brandon Palik (DU) 8-5
HWT: Kyle Frey (DU) decision Joel Yahner (Pitt) 10-2
125: Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) tech fall Michael Gomez 27-9
133: Shelton Mack (Pitt) major decision Franco Ferriana (DU) 18-5
141: Frank Cimato (DU) win-by-fall Travis Shaffer (Pitt) 2:18
149: Tyler Nauman (Pitt) decision Shane Fenningham (DU) 6-0
157: Donnie Tasser (Pitt) decision Austin Sommer (DU) 8-4
