Saturday, February 9
Boiling Springs, NC
1 p.m.
Pitt
at
Gardner-Webb
No. 16 Panthers Ready for Weekend in North Carolina
2/8/2019 5:01:00 PM | Wrestling
Pitt to Take on Gardner-Webb, Davidson and #8 NC State
PITTSBURGH – The 16th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team is set for three duals this weekend on the road in North Carolina, taking on Gardner-Webb, Davidson and No. 8 NC State.
Pitt (8-3, 0-2 ACC) will first face Gardner-Webb (2-9, 0-4 SoCon) Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C., before making the short trip to Davidson (2-8, 0-1 SoCon) for a 7 p.m. dual. The Panthers will conclude their weekend with No. 8 NC State (14-2, 2-0 ACC) in Raleigh on Sunday, Feb. 10 for a 1 p.m. conference matchup.
HOW TO FOLLOW
LAST TIME OUT
THE SERIES
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
SCOUTING DAVIDSON
SCOUTING NC STATE
WENTZEL OUT FOR SEASON
PANTHERS IN THE POLLS
LOOKING AHEAD
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Pitt (8-3, 0-2 ACC) will first face Gardner-Webb (2-9, 0-4 SoCon) Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C., before making the short trip to Davidson (2-8, 0-1 SoCon) for a 7 p.m. dual. The Panthers will conclude their weekend with No. 8 NC State (14-2, 2-0 ACC) in Raleigh on Sunday, Feb. 10 for a 1 p.m. conference matchup.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- All three duals will be live streamed and can be found by clicking on the links below.
- Follow the team on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend at @Pitt_WRES.
LAST TIME OUT
- Pitt dropped a 19-16 decision to then-ranked No. 17 North Carolina Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Fitzgerald Field House.
- The matches were split evenly, with each team claiming five bouts each; however, North Carolina secured the dual with a win at heavyweight.
- The dual came down to the final bout, as it was tied 16-16, thanks to back-to-back wins at 184 and 197 pounds by redshirt freshman Nino Bonaccorsi and redshirt junior Kellan Stout.
- Heavyweight Demetrius Thomas fell in sudden victory to Cory Daniel, 7-5.
THE SERIES
- Pitt and Gardner-Webb clash for just the third time in program history, with the Panthers leading the series 2-0. Pitt's two wins came in 2003 (43-0) and 2004 (52-0).
- The Panthers meet with Davidson for the seventh time on Saturday. Pitt has claimed all five meetings, including the most recent in 2016 (43-3).
- Sunday marks the sixth meeting between the Panthers and Wolfpack, with NC State leading the series 4-1. Pitt fell 23-9 in the last meeting a year ago in Pittsburgh.
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
- The Bulldogs enter the weekend 2-9 overall with a 0-4 mark against SoCon opponents.
- Gardner-Webb is led by redshirt senior Tyler Marinelli who is 20-2 on the year at 165 pounds. Marinelli is the lone ranked wrestler in the lineup, checking in at No. 20 by InterMat this week.
- Marinelli is a returning NCAA qualifier from a year ago after claiming the 157-pound SoCon title.
- GWU finished the 2017-18 season 3-10 overall and 3-4 in SoCon action.
SCOUTING DAVIDSON
- The Wildcats enter the weekend 2-8 overall with a 0-1 mark against SoCon foes.
- Davidson is led by freshman Kyle Gorant at 133 pounds with 12 wins, while freshman Mitchell Trigg also has 12 wins on the year at heavyweight.
- In their last time out, the Wildcats dropped a 34-9 decision to Chattanooga, Jan. 27.
SCOUTING NC STATE
- The Wolfpack enter the weekend 14-2 overall with a 2-0 mark against ACC foes and check in a No. 6 in this week's USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
- NC State boasts seven ranked wrestlers including No. 3 Nick Reenan at 184 pounds and No. 4 Hayden Hidlay at 157 pounds.
- The Wolfpack earned a runner-up finish at the 2018 ACC Championship a year ago before finishing tied for fourth at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland.
WENTZEL OUT FOR SEASON
- Redshirt sophomore Jake Wentzel will be out for the remainder of the season after suffering a season ending knee injury.
- Wentzel, Pitt's starting 165 pounder, finishes the year 9-6 overall and owns a 29-24 career record.
PANTHERS IN THE POLLS
- Pitt drops to No. 16 this week in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll after previously being ranked 13th for two weeks.
- Following its notable win over No. 14 UNI Nov. 17, Pitt jumped into the top 25 of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll at No. 24.
- The Panthers joined the top 25 for the first time since Dec. 5, 2017. Pitt began the 2017-18 season ranked, where they spent five weeks before dropping out.
- Seven Panthers are ranked in the first of four NCAA coaches' panel rankings, released Jan. 24.
- 133 - #2 Micky Phillippi
- 141 - #27 LJ Bentley
- 157 - #13 Taleb Rahmani
- 165 - #28 Jake Wentzel
- 184 - #12 Nino Bonaccorsi
- 197 - #28 Kellan Stout
- 285 - #8 Demetrius Thomas
- The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers and seeding for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
- Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn allocation spots for their qualifying tournaments for the championships.
- The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each qualifying tournament. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class.
- To be eligible for the rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days.
LOOKING AHEAD
- The Panthers return to Pittsburgh Friday, Feb. 15 for its final home dual at the Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt hosts Duke at 7 p.m. for Senior and Alumni Night.
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