Friday, January 21
Pittsburgh, PA
7 PM
Pitt
25
vs
10
Virginia
No. 18 Panthers Get Dual Revenge on Virginia, 25-10
1/21/2022 9:30:00 PM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team followed up its upset of No. 6 Arizona State last Friday with a decisive dual win over Virginia in the ACC opener for both squads this Friday.
The Panthers (6-3, 1-0 ACC) moved up to No. 18 in the NWCA Coaches Poll this week and validated that rise by taking seven matches and defeating the Cavaliers (3-3, 0-1 ACC) by a 25-10 margin in the dual.
The Friday night Fitzgerald Field House crowd, including dozens of Pitt wrestling alumni, cheered on the home team to a revenge win after the Panthers had lost at Virginia last season, 17-16.
"I thought our effort was really good tonight," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said. "There were a lot of close individual matches, which we expected. Happy with quality wins at 197 and heavyweight by Nino and Jake. We're on the right path at this point in the season and now we need to stay the course."
The two teams went back and forth in the opening five bouts before the Panthers surged to win the final five contests to finish with a comfortable final score in the dual.
Pitt improved to 8-2 in the all-time series with Virginia in wrestling.
Pitt's biggest wins of the night came from Jake Slinger, who upset No. 26 Quinn Miller at heavyweight with some outstanding top wrestling and a reversal, and No. 9 Nino Bonaccorsi, who beat No. 11 Jay Aiello to secure a fourth consecutive win over his Virginia rival at 197 pounds.
In another 2021 ACC title rematch, No. 13 Jake Wentzel majored No. 28 Jake Keating, 10-0, and No. 7 Micky Phillippi posted a technical fall win at 133 that mathematically sealed the dual for the Panthers.
Also winning bouts for Pitt were No. 21 Elijah Cleary at 157 pounds, No. 31 Gage Curry at 125 pounds and No. 20 Cole Matthews at 141, continuing his recent streak of phenomenal wrestling.
Below are match-by-match results of the Pitt-Virginia dual.
#18 Pitt 25, Virginia 10
149: #30 Jarod Verkleeren (UVA) dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt), 7-2
157: #21 Elijah Cleary (Pitt) dec. Jon Errico (UVA), 4-2
165: #13 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) maj. dec. #28 Jake Keating (UVA), 10-0
174: Justin Phillips (UVA) maj. dec. James Lledo (Pitt), 14-5
184: #23 Michael Battista (UVA) dec. #31 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 9-5
197: #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. #11 Jay Aiello (UVA), 9-4
285: Jake Slinger (Pitt) dec. #26 Quinn Miller (UVA), 4-1
125: #31 Gage Curry (Pitt) dec. Patrick McCormick (UVA), 3-2
133: #7 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) technical fall Trey Lane (UVA), 22-7
141: #20 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. Evan Buchanan (UVA), 10-1
No. 18 Pitt wrestling returns home once again next Friday night for a dual with No. 7 Virginia Tech at the Fitzgerald Field House. The exciting top-25 matchup will start at 7 p.m. and be streamed on ACC Network Extra and the ESPN app. Tickets are available on PittsburghPanthers.com.
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The Panthers (6-3, 1-0 ACC) moved up to No. 18 in the NWCA Coaches Poll this week and validated that rise by taking seven matches and defeating the Cavaliers (3-3, 0-1 ACC) by a 25-10 margin in the dual.
The Friday night Fitzgerald Field House crowd, including dozens of Pitt wrestling alumni, cheered on the home team to a revenge win after the Panthers had lost at Virginia last season, 17-16.
"I thought our effort was really good tonight," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said. "There were a lot of close individual matches, which we expected. Happy with quality wins at 197 and heavyweight by Nino and Jake. We're on the right path at this point in the season and now we need to stay the course."
The two teams went back and forth in the opening five bouts before the Panthers surged to win the final five contests to finish with a comfortable final score in the dual.
Pitt improved to 8-2 in the all-time series with Virginia in wrestling.
Pitt's biggest wins of the night came from Jake Slinger, who upset No. 26 Quinn Miller at heavyweight with some outstanding top wrestling and a reversal, and No. 9 Nino Bonaccorsi, who beat No. 11 Jay Aiello to secure a fourth consecutive win over his Virginia rival at 197 pounds.
In another 2021 ACC title rematch, No. 13 Jake Wentzel majored No. 28 Jake Keating, 10-0, and No. 7 Micky Phillippi posted a technical fall win at 133 that mathematically sealed the dual for the Panthers.
Also winning bouts for Pitt were No. 21 Elijah Cleary at 157 pounds, No. 31 Gage Curry at 125 pounds and No. 20 Cole Matthews at 141, continuing his recent streak of phenomenal wrestling.
Below are match-by-match results of the Pitt-Virginia dual.
#18 Pitt 25, Virginia 10
149: #30 Jarod Verkleeren (UVA) dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt), 7-2
157: #21 Elijah Cleary (Pitt) dec. Jon Errico (UVA), 4-2
165: #13 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) maj. dec. #28 Jake Keating (UVA), 10-0
174: Justin Phillips (UVA) maj. dec. James Lledo (Pitt), 14-5
184: #23 Michael Battista (UVA) dec. #31 Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 9-5
197: #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. #11 Jay Aiello (UVA), 9-4
285: Jake Slinger (Pitt) dec. #26 Quinn Miller (UVA), 4-1
125: #31 Gage Curry (Pitt) dec. Patrick McCormick (UVA), 3-2
133: #7 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) technical fall Trey Lane (UVA), 22-7
141: #20 Cole Matthews (Pitt) maj. dec. Evan Buchanan (UVA), 10-1
No. 18 Pitt wrestling returns home once again next Friday night for a dual with No. 7 Virginia Tech at the Fitzgerald Field House. The exciting top-25 matchup will start at 7 p.m. and be streamed on ACC Network Extra and the ESPN app. Tickets are available on PittsburghPanthers.com.
#pinzburgh | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Pitt Wrestling Highlights | Pitt vs. North Carolina
Saturday, March 01
Highlights | Pitt vs. North Carolina
Friday, February 07
Pitt Wrestling | No. 16 Pitt 42, Duke 0 | Highlights
Sunday, February 02
Highlights | Pitt vs. Duke
Saturday, February 01