University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi Advances to Second NCAA Final
3/17/2023 11:00:00 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, Okla.—Pitt 197-pound senior Nino Bonaccorsi advanced to the second NCAA final of his career with two dominant wins on Friday at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center.
Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) scored a quarterfinal decision over Nebraska's Silas Allred and then put up 10 points in an impressively lopsided semifinal victory over Rider's Ethan Laird, who had only suffered one loss all season before facing Pitt's No. 1 seed at 197 pounds.
One win from becoming Pitt's first wrestling national champion since current head coach Keith Gavin won an individual title at 174 pounds in 2008, Bonaccorsi will face South Dakota State'sNo. 7-seed Tanner Sloan, who also had an impressive high-scoring semifinal win over Missouri's Rocky Elam.
"It feels surreal," Bonaccorsi said. "I know I can beat anyone if I just focus on myself. My dreams are coming to fruition, but I have one more to go. I'm just fired up to go get it done on Saturday night."
Bonaccorsi will wrestle in the NCAA finals set to air on ESPN on Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Also in action for the Panthers on Friday at NCAAs, Micky Phillippi and Cole Matthews were eliminated in the Round of 12 at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively.
Phillippi made an impressive run through his consolation bracket before coming up one match short of earning All-America honors, while Matthews lost both his quarterfinal bout and his Blood Round match in heartbreaking fashion in the overtime tiebreaker periods.
Phillippi's outstanding Pitt career came to an end as a five-time NCAA qualifier, four-time Round-of-12 participant, two-time ACC champion and with 132 career collegiate victories. Matthews has one more year of eligibility and is expected to return to the Panthers as a national contender once again.
"We're so happy for Nino, but heartbroken for Micky and Cole," Gavin said on Friday night. "It was a rollercoaster of emotions today. But Nino is one of the best guys in this tournament at any weight class. He made that semifinal look easy. We know it's not easy, but he's put the work in."
Brothers Holden Heller at 165 pounds and Reece Heller at 184 pounds both saw their tournament runs come up short of All-America dreams as well.
Holden got revenge on West Virginia's Peyton Hall in his first match on Friday but was forced to medically forfeit in the Round of 16 due to a rib injury. Reece's tournament finished in a crazy match with Rutgers' Brian Soldano that featured nearfall points for both wrestlers before a pin went against the Pitt 184-pounder after he nearly picked up a fall of his own earlier in the bout.
Pitt finished Friday's session tied for 21st place as a team with 23.0 points.
Here are Pitt's full results from the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, 133 Pounds, Record: 3-2, NCAA Round of 12
First Round: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 24 Wyatt Henson (Oklahoma), 5-2
Second Round: No. 8 Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) pins No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 2:50
Consolation Second Round: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 23 Brody Teske (Iowa), 4-1
Round of 16: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 17 Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga), 6-3
Round of 12: No. 6 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 5-1
Cole Matthews, 141 Pounds, Record: 2-2, NCAA Round of 12
First Round: No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Seth Koleno (Clarion), 4-1
Second Round: No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), 1-0
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 3-1 TB
Round of 12: No. 17 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 2-1 TB
Holden Heller, 165 Pounds, Record: 2-2, NCAA Round of 16
First Round: No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 13 Alex Facundo (Penn State), 5-3
Second Round: No. 29 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) dec. No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt), 7-2
Consolation Second Round: No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Hall (WVU), 9-7 SV
Round of 16: No. 12 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) medical forfeit No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt), 5:40
Luca Augustine, 174 Pounds, Record: 0-2
First Round: No. 5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 28 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 3-2
Consolation First Round: No. 21 Lennox Walk (Columbia) dec. No. 28 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 3-1
Reece Heller, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2
First Round: No. 17 Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) pins No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt), 5:45
Consolation First Round: No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 33 Anthony Carman (WVU), 11-4
Consolation Second Round: No. 18 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) pins No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt), 3:35
Nino Bonaccorsi, 197 Pounds, NCAA Finalist, Record: 4-0
First Round: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 32 Max Shaw (North Carolina), 10-1
Second Round: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 16 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State), 8-2
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 8 Silas Allred (Nebraska), 5-3
Semifinals: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 4 Ethan Laird (Rider), 10-4
Final: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) vs. No. 7 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)
Here is the remaining schedule of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Tulsa's BOK Center:
Saturday, March 18
11 a.m. ET – Session 5 (Placement Matches on ESPNU)
7 p.m. ET – Session 6 (Championship Finals on ESPN)
ESPN will have coverage of the entire NCAA Wrestling Championships once again this year, with every match available on ESPN3.com and the ESPN app and session coverage by ESPN and ESPNU.
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Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) scored a quarterfinal decision over Nebraska's Silas Allred and then put up 10 points in an impressively lopsided semifinal victory over Rider's Ethan Laird, who had only suffered one loss all season before facing Pitt's No. 1 seed at 197 pounds.
One win from becoming Pitt's first wrestling national champion since current head coach Keith Gavin won an individual title at 174 pounds in 2008, Bonaccorsi will face South Dakota State'sNo. 7-seed Tanner Sloan, who also had an impressive high-scoring semifinal win over Missouri's Rocky Elam.
"It feels surreal," Bonaccorsi said. "I know I can beat anyone if I just focus on myself. My dreams are coming to fruition, but I have one more to go. I'm just fired up to go get it done on Saturday night."
Bonaccorsi will wrestle in the NCAA finals set to air on ESPN on Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Also in action for the Panthers on Friday at NCAAs, Micky Phillippi and Cole Matthews were eliminated in the Round of 12 at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively.
Phillippi made an impressive run through his consolation bracket before coming up one match short of earning All-America honors, while Matthews lost both his quarterfinal bout and his Blood Round match in heartbreaking fashion in the overtime tiebreaker periods.
Phillippi's outstanding Pitt career came to an end as a five-time NCAA qualifier, four-time Round-of-12 participant, two-time ACC champion and with 132 career collegiate victories. Matthews has one more year of eligibility and is expected to return to the Panthers as a national contender once again.
"We're so happy for Nino, but heartbroken for Micky and Cole," Gavin said on Friday night. "It was a rollercoaster of emotions today. But Nino is one of the best guys in this tournament at any weight class. He made that semifinal look easy. We know it's not easy, but he's put the work in."
Brothers Holden Heller at 165 pounds and Reece Heller at 184 pounds both saw their tournament runs come up short of All-America dreams as well.
Holden got revenge on West Virginia's Peyton Hall in his first match on Friday but was forced to medically forfeit in the Round of 16 due to a rib injury. Reece's tournament finished in a crazy match with Rutgers' Brian Soldano that featured nearfall points for both wrestlers before a pin went against the Pitt 184-pounder after he nearly picked up a fall of his own earlier in the bout.
Pitt finished Friday's session tied for 21st place as a team with 23.0 points.
Here are Pitt's full results from the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
Micky Phillippi, 133 Pounds, Record: 3-2, NCAA Round of 12
First Round: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 24 Wyatt Henson (Oklahoma), 5-2
Second Round: No. 8 Aaron Nagao (Minnesota) pins No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 2:50
Consolation Second Round: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 23 Brody Teske (Iowa), 4-1
Round of 16: No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) dec. No. 17 Brayden Palmer (Chattanooga), 6-3
Round of 12: No. 6 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 9 Micky Phillippi (Pitt), 5-1
Cole Matthews, 141 Pounds, Record: 2-2, NCAA Round of 12
First Round: No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 30 Seth Koleno (Clarion), 4-1
Second Round: No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), 1-0
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 3-1 TB
Round of 12: No. 17 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 2-1 TB
Holden Heller, 165 Pounds, Record: 2-2, NCAA Round of 16
First Round: No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 13 Alex Facundo (Penn State), 5-3
Second Round: No. 29 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) dec. No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt), 7-2
Consolation Second Round: No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 14 Peyton Hall (WVU), 9-7 SV
Round of 16: No. 12 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois) medical forfeit No. 20 Holden Heller (Pitt), 5:40
Luca Augustine, 174 Pounds, Record: 0-2
First Round: No. 5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 28 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 3-2
Consolation First Round: No. 21 Lennox Walk (Columbia) dec. No. 28 Luca Augustine (Pitt), 3-1
Reece Heller, 184 Pounds, Record: 1-2
First Round: No. 17 Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) pins No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt), 5:45
Consolation First Round: No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt) dec. No. 33 Anthony Carman (WVU), 11-4
Consolation Second Round: No. 18 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) pins No. 16 Reece Heller (Pitt), 3:35
Nino Bonaccorsi, 197 Pounds, NCAA Finalist, Record: 4-0
First Round: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) maj. dec. No. 32 Max Shaw (North Carolina), 10-1
Second Round: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 16 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State), 8-2
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 8 Silas Allred (Nebraska), 5-3
Semifinals: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. No. 4 Ethan Laird (Rider), 10-4
Final: No. 1 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) vs. No. 7 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)
Here is the remaining schedule of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Tulsa's BOK Center:
Saturday, March 18
11 a.m. ET – Session 5 (Placement Matches on ESPNU)
7 p.m. ET – Session 6 (Championship Finals on ESPN)
ESPN will have coverage of the entire NCAA Wrestling Championships once again this year, with every match available on ESPN3.com and the ESPN app and session coverage by ESPN and ESPNU.
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