#10 Pitt Clashes with West Virginia Thursday in Morgantown

PITTSBURGH -- The 10th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team [2-1, 0-0 ACC] heads to Morgantown, W.Va., Thursday, Dec. 5 to take on rival West Virginia [0-2, 0-0 Big 12] at the WVU Coliseum at 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday's dual will be broadcast live on FloWrestling and may be viewed here.
Follow the team on Twitter for updates at @Pitt_WRES.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt upset No. 7 Lehigh Sunday, Nov. 24 in Bethlehem, Pa.
The Panthers won the match, 19-18, on the third criteria.
The bouts were even 5-5, but Pitt finished with a 39-34 edge in match points to win the dual.
Redshirt senior Taleb Rahmani (157) and senior Demetrius Thomas (285) recorded notable wins over higher ranked opponents.
Rahmani, who ranked No. 13 in his weight class, pinned 10th-ranked Josh Humphreys in 5:48.
Thomas, the ninth-ranked heavyweight, defeated No. 6 Jordan Wood in a 10-6 decision.
The win over the Mountain Hawks was the first for Pitt since 2013 and the 18th in program history.

THE SERIES - WEST VIRGINIA

Thursday marks the 65th version of the Backyard Brawl.
Pitt leads the all-time series, 37-25-2.
The Panthers downed the Mountaineers in their last meeting a year ago in Pittsburgh, recording a 37-3 victory.
The first meeting between the two teams occurred during the 1934-35 season.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

West Virginia enters the Backyard Brawl 0-2 on the season after falling to Army, 35-4, and Northern Colorado, 31-10, in November.
WVU returns three NCAA qualifiers from a year ago, including 11th-ranked Noah Adams (197) and No. 20 Nick Kiussis (165).
Adams and Kiussis are the lone ranked Mountaineers.
West Virginia finished the 2018-19 season 4-14 overall and 3-6 against Big 12 foes and finished ninth at the Big 12 Championship.
The Mountaineers are led by second-year head coach Tim Flynn who previously spent 21 seasons at Edinboro.

PITT RETURNS TO TOP 10

Pitt returned to the top 10 of the NWCA Rankings Tuesday, Nov. 26 for the first time since 2015.
For the second consecutive week, Pitt ranks No. 10 in the country.
The Panthers had previously earned a No. 10 rankings eight times.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

Pitt entered the season ranked No. 14 by the NWCA Coaches Poll and currently rank 10th this week.
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, #12
- Jake Wentzel – 165, #11
- Nino Bonaccorsi – 184, #8
- Demetrius Thomas – 285, #9

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt continues its road stretch with a trip to Philadelphia to face Drexel Sunday, Dec. 8.
The Panthers will remain on the road until Jan. 26 when they return to Pittsburgh to host Edinboro.

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