Three Panthers Advance to NCAA Wrestling Quarterfinals in St. Louis
3/18/2021 11:00:00 PM | Wrestling
ST. LOUIS—The University of Pittsburgh wrestling program advanced three student-athletes to Friday's quarterfinals at the 2021 NCAA Championships and scored several bonus-point wins on a very productive day for the Panthers at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Micky Phillippi (133 pounds), Jake Wentzel (165 pounds) and Nino Bonaccorsi (197 pounds) each won their first and second round matches on Thursday, setting up quarterfinal contests on Friday morning.
Cole Matthews (141 pounds) and Gregg Harvey (184 pounds) also earned major-decision wins for the Panthers on Thursday, scoring crucial bonus points for the team.
Boosted by five major decisions, Pitt scored 12.5 team points during the opening day of the NCAA Championships, good enough for the Panthers to place tied for 12th at the event so far.
Knowing that three Panthers are now just one win away from clinching All-America status and entering their individual semifinals, Pitt head coach Keith Gavin was pleased with the day's action but emphasized that there is plenty of wrestling remaining this weekend in St. Louis.
"We attacked today in the right frame of mind," Gavin said. "Obviously, things only get tougher as this tournament progresses, but I was really pleased with how we wrestled overall with scoring a lot of points. Even the guys that lost were aggressive and had close matches with high seeds. We're excited about tomorrow. We like where we're at right now."
Phillippi got the action going for the Panthers with a 14-3 major decision over Utah Valley's Ty Smith before securing his second career quarterfinal berth by defeating NC State's Jarrett Trombley.
Pitt's No. 5 seed at 133 pounds will meet No. 4 Austin DeSanto from Iowa in Friday's quarterfinals.
"I thought I wrestled well," Phillippi said. "I'm taking it one match at a time and having fun with it. We do this every day, so I'm trying to be at my best when it counts the most. I'm excited for tomorrow to try to keep it rolling. I feel like I still have room to improvement from my performance today, so I want to sharpen my tools to try to be even better tomorrow."
Wentzel survived his first match by defeating Drexel's Evan Barczak by 1-0 decision before securing a more convincing win over Nebraska's Peyton Robb, 8-1.
Having incredibly conceded just one point in his last 35:00 of wrestling – a penalty versus Robb tonight – Wentzel will meet Missouri freshman Keegan O'Toole, the No. 6 seed, in Friday's 165-pound quarters.
Nino Bonaccorsi continued his impressive run of high-scoring victories by majoring both of his opponents on Thursday: Stanford's Nick Stemmet and ACC rival Jay Aiello from Virginia.
After scoring 28 points total in his first two matches, Bonaccorsi will face No. 3 Kordell Norfleet of Arizona State on Friday in a highly anticipated quarterfinal match at 197 pounds.
Pitt's other two wrestlers at the NCAA Championships also secured wins despite falling to the consolation bracket early in the tournament.
Matthews majored Rider's McKenzie Bell in his opening match and almost caused one of the upsets of the tournament when he took Iowa No. 1-seed Jaydin Eierman to the brink before falling 5-3. The 141-pound sophomore will meet Purdue's Parker Filius on Friday with the hopes of making an All-America run in the wrestlebacks.
Harvey, however, was eliminated on Thursday, but not before he picked up his first NCAA win with a major decision over Sacred Heart's Joe Accousti that boosted Pitt's points total. Pitt's 184-pounder threatened an upset of No. 3 seed Lou Deprez of Binghamton in his opening match before succumbing and lost in his second consolation match against Illinois' Zach Braunagel by a closely fought decision.
Here are Pitt's results from Thursday's opening rounds at the NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, No. 5 Seed, 133 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 28 Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 14-3
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 12 Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1
Cole Matthews, No. 16 Seed, 141 Pounds, Record: 1-1, Consolation Bracket
No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 17 McKenzie Bell (Rider), 17-3
No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 5-3
Jake Wentzel, No. 3 Seed, 165 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Evan Barczak (Drexel), 1-0
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 8-1
Gregg Harvey, No. 30 Seed, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2, Eliminated
No. 3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-4
No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 33 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 8-0
No. 19 Zach Braunagel (Illinois) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 5-2
Nino Bonaccorsi, No. 6 Seed, 197 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 27 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 15-2
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 11 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 13-3
The 2021 NCAA Championships will be feature coverage of every mat on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, with general coverage of Friday's quarterfinals session to air on ESPNU at 11 a.m. ET. Consolation matches will be shown on ESPNU at 3 p.m. before the semifinals air on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Follow @Pitt_WRES on Twitter and Instagram for updates and coverage the event.
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Micky Phillippi (133 pounds), Jake Wentzel (165 pounds) and Nino Bonaccorsi (197 pounds) each won their first and second round matches on Thursday, setting up quarterfinal contests on Friday morning.
Cole Matthews (141 pounds) and Gregg Harvey (184 pounds) also earned major-decision wins for the Panthers on Thursday, scoring crucial bonus points for the team.
Boosted by five major decisions, Pitt scored 12.5 team points during the opening day of the NCAA Championships, good enough for the Panthers to place tied for 12th at the event so far.
Knowing that three Panthers are now just one win away from clinching All-America status and entering their individual semifinals, Pitt head coach Keith Gavin was pleased with the day's action but emphasized that there is plenty of wrestling remaining this weekend in St. Louis.
"We attacked today in the right frame of mind," Gavin said. "Obviously, things only get tougher as this tournament progresses, but I was really pleased with how we wrestled overall with scoring a lot of points. Even the guys that lost were aggressive and had close matches with high seeds. We're excited about tomorrow. We like where we're at right now."
Phillippi got the action going for the Panthers with a 14-3 major decision over Utah Valley's Ty Smith before securing his second career quarterfinal berth by defeating NC State's Jarrett Trombley.
Pitt's No. 5 seed at 133 pounds will meet No. 4 Austin DeSanto from Iowa in Friday's quarterfinals.
"I thought I wrestled well," Phillippi said. "I'm taking it one match at a time and having fun with it. We do this every day, so I'm trying to be at my best when it counts the most. I'm excited for tomorrow to try to keep it rolling. I feel like I still have room to improvement from my performance today, so I want to sharpen my tools to try to be even better tomorrow."
Wentzel survived his first match by defeating Drexel's Evan Barczak by 1-0 decision before securing a more convincing win over Nebraska's Peyton Robb, 8-1.
Having incredibly conceded just one point in his last 35:00 of wrestling – a penalty versus Robb tonight – Wentzel will meet Missouri freshman Keegan O'Toole, the No. 6 seed, in Friday's 165-pound quarters.
Nino Bonaccorsi continued his impressive run of high-scoring victories by majoring both of his opponents on Thursday: Stanford's Nick Stemmet and ACC rival Jay Aiello from Virginia.
After scoring 28 points total in his first two matches, Bonaccorsi will face No. 3 Kordell Norfleet of Arizona State on Friday in a highly anticipated quarterfinal match at 197 pounds.
Pitt's other two wrestlers at the NCAA Championships also secured wins despite falling to the consolation bracket early in the tournament.
Matthews majored Rider's McKenzie Bell in his opening match and almost caused one of the upsets of the tournament when he took Iowa No. 1-seed Jaydin Eierman to the brink before falling 5-3. The 141-pound sophomore will meet Purdue's Parker Filius on Friday with the hopes of making an All-America run in the wrestlebacks.
Harvey, however, was eliminated on Thursday, but not before he picked up his first NCAA win with a major decision over Sacred Heart's Joe Accousti that boosted Pitt's points total. Pitt's 184-pounder threatened an upset of No. 3 seed Lou Deprez of Binghamton in his opening match before succumbing and lost in his second consolation match against Illinois' Zach Braunagel by a closely fought decision.
Here are Pitt's results from Thursday's opening rounds at the NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, No. 5 Seed, 133 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 28 Ty Smith (Utah Valley), 14-3
No. 5 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 12 Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 6-1
Cole Matthews, No. 16 Seed, 141 Pounds, Record: 1-1, Consolation Bracket
No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 17 McKenzie Bell (Rider), 17-3
No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 5-3
Jake Wentzel, No. 3 Seed, 165 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Evan Barczak (Drexel), 1-0
No. 3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska), 8-1
Gregg Harvey, No. 30 Seed, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2, Eliminated
No. 3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-4
No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 33 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 8-0
No. 19 Zach Braunagel (Illinois) dec. No. 30 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 5-2
Nino Bonaccorsi, No. 6 Seed, 197 Pounds, Record: 2-0, Quarterfinalist
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 27 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 15-2
No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 11 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 13-3
The 2021 NCAA Championships will be feature coverage of every mat on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, with general coverage of Friday's quarterfinals session to air on ESPNU at 11 a.m. ET. Consolation matches will be shown on ESPNU at 3 p.m. before the semifinals air on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Follow @Pitt_WRES on Twitter and Instagram for updates and coverage the event.
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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