#10 Pitt Set for Pair of Home Duals with Virginia and Davidson

PITTSBURGH – The 10th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team [7-3, 1-1 ACC] takes on Virginia [7-4, 0-2 ACC] at the Fitzgerald Field House Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. The Panthers will then host Davidson [3-8, 2-3 SOCON] Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday's dual will be broadcast live on the ACC Network and streamed the ESPN App or by clicking here. Rock Harrison and Shawn Kenney will be on the call.
Sunday's dual will be streamed on ACC Network Extra/ESPN App and may be viewed by clicking here.
Live scoring and results will be live on TrackWrestling.
Follow the team on Twitter for in-match updates at @Pitt_WRES.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 10 Pitt dropped its first ACC match of the season to No. 4 NC State, 21-12, at the Fitzgerald Field House Saturday, Feb. 1.
The Panthers won four individual bouts in the loss.
The match was highlighted by No. 24 redshirt junior Gregg Harvey upsetting No. 14 Daniel Bullard in a 10-8 decision at 174 pounds. Harvey used a last minute takedown to secure the win.
Redshirt senior Kellan Stout used a reversal in the third period to break a 2-2 tie en route to his seventh win of the season at 197 pounds.
No. 8 senior Demetrius Thomas defeated No. 32 Deonte Wilson in a 6-2 decision at heavyweight.
Sixth-ranked redshirt sophomore Micky Phillippi came away with a 4-0 decision at 133 pounds to earn his 19th win of the season.

THE SERIES - VIRGINIA

Friday marks the eighth meeting between the Cavaliers and Panthers.
Pitt leads the all-time series, 6-1.
In the last meeting, then-ranked No. 15 Pitt defeated No. 23 Virginia 20-15, at Memorial Gymnasium in Charlottesville a year ago. With the win, the Panthers earned their 13th win of the season for the fifth time in program history.
Coming down to the final bout, the match was highlighted by Gregg Harvey defeating Robert Patrick, 3-2, in TB-2 to give Pitt the 20-15 victory.
Pitt's first victory over the Cavaliers came in the team's first meeting in 2010, the Panthers won 21-15.
Virginia's only win came in 2015 when the Cavaliers defeated Pitt 16-17 in Charlottesville.
Five of the seven matches between the teams have been decided by six points or fewer.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS

Virginia enters the match 7-4 and 0-2 in the ACC. Three of the Cavaliers' losses have came against ranked teams, including ACC foes NC State and Virginia Tech.
In its last time out, Virginia fell to No. 7 Virginia Tech 20-16. The Cavaliers won four bouts in the loss, including two with bonus points.
Virginia returns three NCAA qualifiers from a year ago, including runner-up Jack Mueller (125).
The Cavaliers currently have six ranked wrestlers in the first coaches' panel rankings of the year. Virginia's highest ranking comes at 125 pounds with Mueller ranked second. The other rankings include 133 (20th), 149 (31st), 157 (27th), 197 (7th) and 285 (24th).
Virginia finished the 2018-19 season 12-10 overall and 1-4 against ACC foes.
The Cavaliers finished sixth at the ACC Championships and 23rd at NCAAs.
Virginia is led by 14th year head coach Steve Garland.

VIRGINIA TIES

Head coach Keith Gavin and associate head coach Jordan Leen both coached at Virginia prior to coming to Pitt.
Gavin served as an assistant with the Cavaliers for three years before taking a position with Oklahoma and ultimately coming to Pitt.
While at Virginia, Gavin helped the Cavaliers win the 2015 ACC Championship, held in Pittsburgh.
That same year, seven wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships and three made it to the Round of 12 with one earning All-American Honors.
Leen spent six seasons with the Cavaliers, five as an assistant and one as associate head coach before coming to Pitt.
During his time at Virginia, Leen helped produce 40 NCAA qualifies, nine ACC Champions and six All-Americans.
Leen was also a member of the coaching staff who helped claim the 2015 ACC Championship.

THE SERIES - DAVIDSON

Sunday marks the eighth meeting between the Wildcats and Panthers.
Pitt leads the all-time series, 7-0.
In the last meeting, then-ranked No. 16 Pitt defeated Davidson 31-6 on the road.
The teams' first meeting came in 2009 when Pitt won, 49-0.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Davidson enters the match 3-8 and 2-3 in the SOCON and will face Edinboro Saturday before traveling to Pittsburgh.
In their last time out, the Wildcats fell to Sacred Heart, 27-12. Kyle Gorant (133) pinned his fifth opponent of the season in the loss.
Davidson finished the 2018-19 season 2-13 overall and 0-5 in the SOCON, finishing sixth out of seven teams in the SOCON Championship.
The Wolfpack is led by second year head coach Andy Lausier.

PITT IN THE COACHES' PANEL RANKINGS

Seven Pitt wrestlers were listed in the first of four NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings, announced Friday, Jan. 24.
- 133, Micky Phillippi, #6
- 141, Cole Matthews, #24
- 157, Taleb Rahmani, #28
- 165, Jake Wentzel, #10
- 174, Gregg Harvey, #24
- 184, Nino Bonaccorsi, #9
- 285, Demetrius Thomas, #9
The final rankings will be one of the criteria used as part of the selection process to determine qualifiers and seeding for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The rankings are determined by a vote of 14 head coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences.
For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. 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 to be ranked.
The first two rankings (Jan. 24/Feb. 13) are used primarily for educational purposes to promote the selection criteria to coaches, student-athletes, media and fans.
The third ranking (Feb. 27) will be the ranking that will be used by the NCAA Wrestling Committee to assist in determining the advance allocations to each qualifying tournament. The final ranking following conference tournaments will be used to provide the most accurate and up-to-date rankings to the committee as an important element of the selection criteria during the in-person selection meeting.

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 seventh consecutive week, Pitt ranks No. 10 in the country.
The Panthers had previously earned a No. 10 rankings eight times.

ACC WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets for the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship are now on sale. The Championship, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, will take place Sunday, March 8 at the Petersen Events Center.
To order tickets, visit theacc.co/20ACCtix.
- Ticket Prices (all seating is general admission):
- Single: $10
- Children (18 & under): $5
- Group (15+ people): $3/person
March 8, 2020 will mark just the second time that Pitt has hosted the conference championship since joining the league in 2013. Pitt served as the host institution on March 8, 2015 and saw three Panthers earn titles.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Panthers will be back on the road to face No. 8 North Carolina Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
Pitt ends its regular season versus No. 7 Virginia Tech Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Fitzgerald Field House.

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#10 Pitt Set for Pair of Home Duals with Virginia and Davidson

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nino Bonaccorsi

Gregg Harvey

Cole Matthews

Micky Phillippi

Taleb Rahmani

Kellan Stout

Demetrius Thomas

Jake Wentzel

#10 Pitt Set for Pair of Home Duals with Virginia and Davidson

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nino Bonaccorsi

Gregg Harvey

Cole Matthews

Micky Phillippi

Taleb Rahmani

Kellan Stout

Demetrius Thomas

Jake Wentzel

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