#10 Pitt Closes 2019 with Dual at Maryland Friday

PITTSBURGH – The 10th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team [4-1, 0-0 ACC] heads to College Park, Md., Friday to take on the Terrapins [1-3, 0-1 Big Ten] at the XFINITY Center at 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday's dual will be broadcast live on BTN+ and FloWrestling. Both require a subscription.
Follow the team on Twitter for updates at @Pitt_WRES.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt shutout Drexel, 33-0, Dec. 8 in Philadelphia.
The shutout was the first since the Panthers blanked South Dakota State a year ago in Brookings.
Three Pitt wrestlers recorded wins by major decision in 184-pounder Nino Bonaccorsi, 17-5, heavyweight Demetrius Thomas, 11-3, and 133-pounder Micky Phillippi, 12-3.

THE SERIES - MARYLAND

Sunday marks the 28th meeting between the Panthers and Terrapins with Pitt leading the all-time series, 21-6.
The two teams last met in 2015 in College Park at the Terrapin Duals where the Panthers captured a 16-15 win.
Pitt has won the last four duals over Maryland.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS

Maryland enters Friday's dual 1-3 on the year with its lone win coming against Southern Virginia, 42-6, to open the season.
The Terrapins have suffered losses to Virginia, Navy and, most recently, Rutgers, 28-11.
Maryland finished the 2018-19 season 2-12 overall and 0-9 against Big Ten foes.
The Terrapins finished 27th at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh and saw one Terrapin earn All-America status in then-senior Youssif Hemida.
Maryland is led by first-year head coach Alex Clemsen, who was named the head coach in April of 2019. Clemson previously spent the past five seasons at Missouri as the associate head coach.

TOP 10 PANTHERS

Pitt returned to the top 10 of the NWCA Rankings Tuesday, Nov. 26 for the first time since 2015.
For the third consecutive week, Pitt ranks No. 10 in the country.
Pitt entered the season ranked No. 14 by the NWCA Coaches Poll.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

Individually, six Panthers are ranked inside the top 20 individually by InterMat at their respective weight classes:

Micky Phillippi – 133, #5
Cole Matthews – 141, #19
Taleb Rahmani – 157, #11
Jake Wentzel – 165, #12
Nino Bonaccorsi – 184, #8
Demetrius Thomas – 285, #9

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt continues its road stretch and will ring in the New Year in Chattanooga, Tenn., at the Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2.
The Panthers will remain on the road until Jan. 26 when they return to Pittsburgh to host Edinboro.

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