No. 4 Phillippi Upsets No. 2 Fix in Loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State
1/19/2019 3:44:00 PM | Wrestling
No. 4 Micky Phillippi Tops No. 2 Daton Fix at 133 Pounds
PITTSBURGH – Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi recorded his most notable win of the year at 133 pounds Saturday afternoon as the 14th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team suffered its first loss of the year to No. 3 Oklahoma State at the Fitzgerald Field House.
The Panthers move to 8-1 on the year after falling 36-9 to the Cowboys, who improve to 9-0 overall.
Phillippi, who ranks fourth in the nation at 133 pounds, handed No. 2 Daton Fix his first collegiate loss in a 3-1 decision. The Derry, Pa., native improves to 13-1 on the year and Fix moves to 21-1.
Pitt's other win came at 165 pounds after redshirt sophomore Jake Wentzel pinned Andrew Shomers in 1:48.
"We've got a lot of little adjustments to make," said second-year head coach Keith Gavin. "There were some closes matches in there where if we make some slight adjustments we come out on top. We'll go back and watch the film to really narrow down what went wrong."
"The biggest positive [from the match] was Micky Phillippi's win, wrestling a hard fought match against a really good wrestler. He got the job done. Micky's a super tough kid and I'm really proud of him."
Oklahoma State jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a technical fall at 125 pounds.
Moving to the most anticipated match of the night, the bout at 133 pounds did not disappoint. After a scoreless opening frame, Phillippi started the second on top. An escape by Fix would give him the 1-0 advantage through two. Phillippi entered the third on bottom and quickly escaped to tie it 1-1. Phillippi then scored a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the third period and held off Fix the remainder of the way, handing him his first loss of the season.
"It feels really good [to get the win]," said Phillippi. "I've been working a lot in the room for moments like that, so it paid off. I feel good. I feel good about what happened and I feel good about the day."
With the win, Phillippi improves to 13-1 overall and 6-1 against ranked opponents.
The Cowboys responded by jumping to a 17-3 after four bouts after recording falls at 141 and 149 pounds.
Redshirt junior Taleb Rahmani suffered his fourth loss of the season this afternoon after dropping a 9-3 decision to Wyatt Sheets at 157 pounds.
Wentzel got things going again for the Panthers at 165 pounds, recording his first pin of the year. The South Park, Pa., native pinned Andrew Shomers in 1:48, bringing the team score to 20-9 in favor of Oklahoma State.
Pitt was unable to secure any other wins through the remaining bouts, despite a close match at heavyweight between junior Demetrius Thomas and No. 2 Derek White. Thomas, who ranks 13th, worked his way back to tie it 8-8 with under 10 seconds to go in the third period. However, White had riding time locked up to secure the victory.
The Panthers will look to bounce back as they open ACC competition Friday, Jan. 25 at No. 13 Virginia Tech.
125: #4 Nick Piccininni (OKST) tech. fall Brendon Fenton (UP), 21-6, 3:59 – OKST leads 5-0
133: #4 Micky Phillippi (UP) dec. #2 Daton Fix (OKST), 3-1 – OKST leads 5-3
141: #13 Kaid Brock (OKST) pins LJ Bentley (UP), 0:32 – OKST leads 11-3
149: #5 Kaden Gfeller (OKST) pins Robert Lee (UP), 0:58 – OKST leads 17-3
157: Wyatt Sheets (OKST) dec. #10 Taleb Rahmani (UP), 9-3 – OKST leads 20-3
165: Jake Wentzel (UP) pins Andrew Shomers (OKST), 1:48 – OKST leads 20-9
174: #5 Joe Smith (OKST) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (UP), 11-3 – OKST leads 24-9
184: #11 Jacobe Smith (OKST) dec. Nino Bonaccorsi (UP), 7-4 – OKST leads 27-9
197: #10 Dakota Geer (OKST) dec. Kellan Stout (UP), 7-2 – OKST leads 30-9
285: #2 Derek White (OKST) dec. #13 Demetrius Thomas (UP), 9-8 – OKST wins 36-9
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The Panthers move to 8-1 on the year after falling 36-9 to the Cowboys, who improve to 9-0 overall.
Phillippi, who ranks fourth in the nation at 133 pounds, handed No. 2 Daton Fix his first collegiate loss in a 3-1 decision. The Derry, Pa., native improves to 13-1 on the year and Fix moves to 21-1.
Pitt's other win came at 165 pounds after redshirt sophomore Jake Wentzel pinned Andrew Shomers in 1:48.
"We've got a lot of little adjustments to make," said second-year head coach Keith Gavin. "There were some closes matches in there where if we make some slight adjustments we come out on top. We'll go back and watch the film to really narrow down what went wrong."
"The biggest positive [from the match] was Micky Phillippi's win, wrestling a hard fought match against a really good wrestler. He got the job done. Micky's a super tough kid and I'm really proud of him."
Oklahoma State jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a technical fall at 125 pounds.
Moving to the most anticipated match of the night, the bout at 133 pounds did not disappoint. After a scoreless opening frame, Phillippi started the second on top. An escape by Fix would give him the 1-0 advantage through two. Phillippi entered the third on bottom and quickly escaped to tie it 1-1. Phillippi then scored a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the third period and held off Fix the remainder of the way, handing him his first loss of the season.
"It feels really good [to get the win]," said Phillippi. "I've been working a lot in the room for moments like that, so it paid off. I feel good. I feel good about what happened and I feel good about the day."
With the win, Phillippi improves to 13-1 overall and 6-1 against ranked opponents.
The Cowboys responded by jumping to a 17-3 after four bouts after recording falls at 141 and 149 pounds.
Redshirt junior Taleb Rahmani suffered his fourth loss of the season this afternoon after dropping a 9-3 decision to Wyatt Sheets at 157 pounds.
Wentzel got things going again for the Panthers at 165 pounds, recording his first pin of the year. The South Park, Pa., native pinned Andrew Shomers in 1:48, bringing the team score to 20-9 in favor of Oklahoma State.
Pitt was unable to secure any other wins through the remaining bouts, despite a close match at heavyweight between junior Demetrius Thomas and No. 2 Derek White. Thomas, who ranks 13th, worked his way back to tie it 8-8 with under 10 seconds to go in the third period. However, White had riding time locked up to secure the victory.
The Panthers will look to bounce back as they open ACC competition Friday, Jan. 25 at No. 13 Virginia Tech.
125: #4 Nick Piccininni (OKST) tech. fall Brendon Fenton (UP), 21-6, 3:59 – OKST leads 5-0
133: #4 Micky Phillippi (UP) dec. #2 Daton Fix (OKST), 3-1 – OKST leads 5-3
141: #13 Kaid Brock (OKST) pins LJ Bentley (UP), 0:32 – OKST leads 11-3
149: #5 Kaden Gfeller (OKST) pins Robert Lee (UP), 0:58 – OKST leads 17-3
157: Wyatt Sheets (OKST) dec. #10 Taleb Rahmani (UP), 9-3 – OKST leads 20-3
165: Jake Wentzel (UP) pins Andrew Shomers (OKST), 1:48 – OKST leads 20-9
174: #5 Joe Smith (OKST) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (UP), 11-3 – OKST leads 24-9
184: #11 Jacobe Smith (OKST) dec. Nino Bonaccorsi (UP), 7-4 – OKST leads 27-9
197: #10 Dakota Geer (OKST) dec. Kellan Stout (UP), 7-2 – OKST leads 30-9
285: #2 Derek White (OKST) dec. #13 Demetrius Thomas (UP), 9-8 – OKST wins 36-9
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