No. 17 Pitt Falls at No. 6 NC State, 23-9

Friday, February 10

Raleigh, NC

7 PM

Pitt

NC State

No. 17 Pitt Falls at No. 6 NC State, 23-9

2/10/2023 10:00:00 PM | Wrestling

RALEIGH, N.C.—In a very competitive dual at the top of the ACC, No. 17 Pitt fell to No. 6 NC State, 23-9, on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum. Despite the final score, nearly every match was in doubt until the final seconds and showcased how tight the race for ACC wrestling titles has been and will be in 2023.

Four of the final six matches went to overtime, and the Wolfpack went 3-1 in those key contests.

"We lost some key bouts tonight, close ones that we knew would be close coming into it," Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said. "They won those, and we didn't. That swung the dual their way. Disappointed with the result, but it's an opportunity for feedback that we need to use to get better down the stretch."

The Panthers (9-4, 3-1 ACC) can still clinch a share of the conference's regular-season dual championship next Saturday at Fitzgerald Field House with a win over last-place Duke on Senior Day. Both NC State and Virginia Tech are also 3-1 in the ACC standings entering the last week of duals in the conference.

Pitt will return to Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, March 5 for the 2023 ACC Championships.

NC State (13-1, 3-1) won the coin toss and elected to start the dual at 141 pounds, where a top-five matchup thrilled the Reynolds Coliseum crowd. But it was Pitt's No. 3 Cole Matthews who won by 4-2 decision over No. 4 Ryan Jack thanks to a first-period takedown and riding time.

The Wolfpack responded with two victories at 149 and 157 pounds, earning bonus in the latter; but in the 165-bout, it was No. 24 Holden Heller securing a solid 5-2 decision over No. 26 Matty Singleton.

Probably the best match of the night was at 197 pounds, where newly minted No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi stayed undefeated by surviving a 10-minute battle with No. 8 Isaac Trumble, using an escape and takedown in the final tiebreaker period to win by 6-4 decision in a back-and-forth contest.

The home crowd was left disappointed by that result but celebrated sudden-victory wins at 174 pounds and heavyweight and a tiebreaker triumph at 133 pounds, results that swung the dual in favor of the Wolfpack, who haven't lost a dual at home since Pitt won in Raleigh back in 2019.

Full results from Friday's Pitt-NC State dual are available below.

#6 NC State 23, #17 Pitt 9
141: No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 4 Ryan Jack (NCSU), 4-2 (Pitt leads, 3-0)
149: No. 17 Jackson Arrington (NCSU) dec. No. 28 Tyler Badgett (Pitt), 4-0 (Tied, 3-3)
157: No. 7 Ed Scott (NCSU) tech. fall Dazjon Casto (Pitt), 19-3 (NC State leads, 8-3)
165: No. 24 Holden Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 26 Matty Singleton (NCSU), 5-2 (NC State leads, 8-6)
174: No. 29 Alex Faison (NCSU) dec. Luca Augustine (Pitt), 3-1 SV (NC State leads, 11-6)
184: No. 3 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) dec. No. 17 Reece Heller (Pitt), 9-5 (NC State leads, 14-6)
197: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 8 Isaac Trumble (NCSU), 6-4 TB (NC State leads, 14-9)
HWT: No. 12 Owen Trephan (NCSU) dec. No. 10 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt), 3-1 SV (NC State leads, 17-9)
125: No. 27 Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) dec. No. 32 Colton Camacho (Pitt), 11-8 (NC State leads, 20-9)
133: No. 20 Kai Orine (NCSU) dec. No. 6 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 2-1 TB (NC State wins, 23-9)

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