Pitt Wrestling Unveils 2021-22 Schedule
9/30/2021 5:00:00 PM | Wrestling
Pitt will host seven dual meets this season, including home matches against perennial Pac-12 powerhouse Arizona State (Jan. 14) and defending ACC champion NC State (Feb. 11).
The Panthers, who finished 11th at the 2021 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, will also welcome Maryland (Nov. 22), Penn (Jan. 7), Virginia (Jan. 21) and Virginia Tech (Jan. 28) to the Fitzgerald Field House this season.
Completing the home schedule, Pitt wrestling will compete in the Petersen Events Center for the first time since the 2020 ACC Championship when it hosts Columbia from the Ivy League on Sunday, Feb. 6.
Coach Gavin and his squad also face a challenging away slate that includes trips to Lehigh (Nov. 21) and Ohio State (Dec. 12) in nonconference action before meeting North Carolina (Feb. 4) and Duke (Feb. 18) in ACC duals.
Pitt opens its dual schedule with a weekend doubleheader at Buffalo (Nov. 12) and Edinboro (Nov. 13), while the Panthers will wrestle at the Clarion Open (Nov. 7) and Midlands (Dec. 29-30) to help prepare for tournament-style wrestling later in the season.
The 2022 ACC Championships (March 6) will be hosted by Virginia in Charlottesville ahead of Pitt's ultimate goal, the 2022 NCAA Championships (March 17-19) at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena.
"We're excited to have a full schedule after only having a handful of opportunities to compete last season," Gavin said. "We tried to mix it up with some tough out-of-conference matchups to get ready for the always-challenging ACC dual contests. But it's really all about getting the team ready for the postseason and being at our best when it matters the most. We believe this schedule will help in our preparation for NCAAs."
All five of Pitt's NCAA qualifiers from last season return, including national finalists and first-time NCAA All-Americans Jake Wentzel (165) and Nino Bonaccorsi (197). Since NCAAs, Bonaccorsi has also emerged as an up-and-coming international freestyle challenger, winning the U23 Freestyle Nationals and earning a place on Team USA for the UWW U23 World Championships in Serbia this November.
Micky Phillippi (133) is back once again as an ACC and All-America contender in his weight class, while Cole Matthews (141) and Gregg Harvey (184) also earned wins at the NCAA Championships last season.
The rest of the lineup will showcase the recruiting and training efforts led by the Pitt coaching staff in recent years, with several promising freshmen, rising returners and talented transfers challenging for starting spots.
Pitt fans can get a first glimpse of the wrestling team at the Fitzgerald Field House during the Blue-Gold Dual, which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Ticketing information and start times for wrestling matches will announced at a later date, along with TV and broadcast details for how fans can follow the Panthers on the mat all season.
Follow @Pitt_WRES on Twitter and University of Pittsburgh Wrestling on Facebook for ticketing and scheduling updates throughout the 2021-22 season.
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