University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Four Panthers Set for NCAA Championships
3/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 15, 2017
PITTSBURGH - Four members of the 23rd-ranked Pitt wrestling team are set to compete in the 2017 NCAA Championships beginning Thursday, March 16 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
The opening round, which will feature eight mats, is set to begin at noon ET, while the preliminaries are slated to start at 7 p.m. ET.
Junior Dom Forys (133), redshirt freshman Taleb Rahmani (157), sophomore TeShan Campbell (165) and redshirt junior Ryan Solomon (285) will represent Pitt at the Championships.
EVERY MAT, EVERY ROUND
All mats during each round and mats will be streamed live on ESPN3, while all prime-time championship matches will be broadcast live on ESPNU or ESPN. See below for the scheduled rounds and times (ET) on ESPNU/ESPN along with the ESPN3 link.
First Round: Noon - ESPNU - ESPN3
Second Round: 7 p.m. - ESPN - ESPN3
Third Round/Quarterfinals: 11 a.m. - ESPNU - ESPN3
Fourth Round/Semifinals: 8 p.m. - ESPN - ESPN3
Fifth Session/Medal Round: 11 a.m. - ESPNU - ESPN3
Championship Finals: 8 p.m. - ESPN - ESPN3
*Note: WatchESPN.com/WatchESPN/ESPN app will have links for individual mat feeds throughout the Championship
HOW THEY GOT HERE
- All four Panthers earned automatic qualifying spots out of the ACC Championship March 4 in Raleigh, N.C.
- Forys entered the Championship as the No. 1 seed at 133 pounds and needed to reach the finals in order to punch his ticket to St. Louis. In his first match, he picked up an 8-4 win over Virginia Tech's Dennis Gustafson in the semifinals. The Pittsburgh native then faced familiar foe Jamal Morris of NC State where he won in a 5-0 decision en route to his first ACC title.
- Rahmani entered his first conference championship as the No. 3 seed and also just needed one win to secure his spot to NCAAs. The 157-pounder won his first match by major decision before avenging a regular season loss as he recorded a 4-2 win over NC State's Thomas Bullard. In the finals, Rahmani made a statement by picking up a 13-5 major decision over top-seeded Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech.
- Campbell's situation at 165 pounds was nearly identical to Forys: entered as the No. 1 seed and needed to reach the finals to earn an automatic qualification. The Pittsburgh native received a first round bye before cruising to a 12-4 decision over Virginia's Ray Bethea. In the finals, the sophomore captured his first ACC title after shutting out NC State's Brian Hamann, 7-0.
- Although placing third at the Championship, Solomon was one of four heavyweights to earn an automatic bid out of the ACC. The Milton, Pa., native, started the day strong winning by technical fall, 17-1, over Virginia's Tyler Love, but was unable to hold off Duke's Jacob Kasper in sudden victory. Solomon worked his way to the podium after defeating NC State's Mike Kosoy, 2-0, and posting a 5-3 decision over North Carolina's Cory Daniel.
MARCH TO THE ARCH
- The NCAA Championships return to St. Louis for the eighth time and last hosted in 2015.
- The 2015 Championships saw Pitt's 174-pounder Tyler Wilps earn a runner-up finish.
- St. Louis first hosted in 2000. Iowa and Iowa State took the top two places that year, respectively.
- The Scottrade Center is home to the St. Louis Blues NHL team, which first opened its doors in 1994, seats 22,000 people.
PANTHERS IN THE CORNERS
- Pitt's current coaching staff is made up of three alumni and are among some familiar faces in St. Louis as five other former Panthers will be coaching at this year's NCAA Championships:
- Pat Santoro, Head Coach at Lehigh / Pitt, '89 - Pitt's only four-time All-American and is a two-time national champion
- Keith Gavin, Assistant Coach at Oklahoma / Pitt, '08 - Pitt's last national champion (2008), two-time All-American
- Zack Sheaffer, Assistant Coach at Drexel / Pitt, '09 - All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier
- Shelton Mack, Volunteer Assistant Coach at Virginia / Pitt, '14 - Three-time NCAA qualifier
- Michael Gregory, Volunteer Assistant Coach at Harvard / Pitt, '14
Players Mentioned
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