Pitt Faces First Ranked Opponent Saturday in No. 14 UNI

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team faces its first ranked opponent of the year Saturday as the Panthers host No. 14 Northern Iowa at 3 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday's dual will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and may be viewed on WatchESPN/WatchESPN app. Dom Trozzi will provide the play-by-play with former Panther Dom Forys providing the color commentary.
Live results will be provided by TrackWrestling.
Follow the team on Twitter for live updates throughout the dual meet at @Pitt_WRES.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers opened the 2018-19 season on a high note Friday, Nov. 9 as they dominated CSU Bakersfield, 32-4.
Pitt collected wins at nine of the 10 weight classes, including three by a major decision and one by technical fall.
Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi picked up his first win as a Pitt Panther at 133 pounds, as he defeated No. 18 Sean Nickell in a 7-4 decision.
Redshirt junior Taleb Rahmani also had a notable win on the night as he won in a 18-9 major decision over Wyatt Gerl at 157 pounds.
Junior transfer Demetrius Thomas capped off the night with a statement win as he defeated Jacob Sieder in an 18-2 technical fall in 6:18.

THE SERIES

Saturday will be the third meeting in program history as the series is tied 1-1.
Pitt and UNI last met in January of 2000 when Northern Iowa defeated Pitt, 25-12.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

Saturday will be the first dual contest of the season for Northern Iowa.
The Panthers have competed in the Harold Nichols Open and Grand View Open to open the 2018-19 campaign.
UNI enters the dual ranked No. 14 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
Northern Iowa has seven wrestlers ranked individually this week by InterMat, including No. 4 Jacob Holschlag at 197 pounds.
UNI finished the 2018 season tied for 24^th at the NCAA Wrestling Championships and returns seven qualifiers including Holschlag who garnered All-America status a year ago.
The Panthers finished the season 6-5 overall with a 3-2 mark against Big 12 opponents, while finishing second at the Big 12 Championships.
Northern Iowa is led by ninth-year head coach Doug Schwab who owns a 71-47 career record.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

Pitt is receiving votes for the third consecutive week in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
Three Panthers are ranked by Intermat this week including No. 8 Taleb Rahmani at 157 pounds, who moved up two spots from a week ago, No. 13 Micky Phillippi at 133 pounds and No. 16 Nino Bonaccorsi at 184 pounds.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Panthers will have about a week off from competition as they gear up for the 2018 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
Pitt will return to the Fitzgerald Field House Saturday, Dec. 15 to host West Virginia for the Backyard Brawl at 7 p.m.

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