WVU Falls at No. 23 Pitt
Pittsburgh, Pa. (Dec. 11, 2016) – Despite a pin from No. 6/8 Jacob A. Smith at 197, the West Virginia University wrestling team couldn’t keep their winning streak in the Backyard Brawl alive and fell at No. 23 Pitt, 23-15, on Sunday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.
In addition to Smith’s pin at 197, the Mountaineers (0-4, 0-0) got wins from Cory Stainbrook (133), Joe Wheeling (141) and Parker VonEgidy (184).
“We’re disappointed in the outcome,” WVU coach Sammie Henson said. “We expected to win this match. We’ll continue to battle.”
Smith, who led WVU to a win at Pitt with a pin in 2014, scored an early first period takedown on the Panthers’ Jacob Parker. After cutting Parker, he added another takedown and got the turn to pick up four nearfall points. With just under a minute left in the first, Smith put Parker’s back to the mat for the pin at 2:01.
The Panthers took a major decision at 125 to start with a 4-0 lead. At 133, Stainbrook scored an early takedown on Pitt’s Ben Ross in the first, but Ross used a reversal to tie the score, 2-2. Starting the second period in the defensive position, Stainbrook registered a reversal of his own for a 4-2 lead. An escape by Ross made it 4-3 in the third period, and Stainbrook added a last-second takedown, as well as riding time, for the 7-3 decision.
Wheeling picked up three points for the Mountaineers in a 3-2 thriller at 141. Pitt’s Robert Lee used an early takedown for a 2-0 advantage in the first. Lee was called for locked hands while on top, handing a point to Wheeling to make it 2-1. Wheeling then rode Lee through the second, but couldn’t get the turn and trailed 2-1 entering the third. Starting on bottom, Wheeling scored a reversal in the closing seconds of regulation to win the 3-2 decision and put WVU on top of Pitt, 6-4.
The Panthers won by decision at 149 and by fall at 157, taking a 13-6 advantage with five bouts remaining. Ryan Lopez then dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 11 Te’Shan Campell at 165 before Pitt claimed another decision at 174 for a 20-6 lead.
VonEgidy used a pair of takedowns and a pair of reversals in taking 10-7 decision over the Panthers’ Cam Jacobson at 184, putting three more points on the board as the Mountaineers trailed Pitt, 20-9. Smith’s pin at 197 made it 20-15 in favor of the Pitt before the Panthers claimed a 2-1 decision in the heavyweight bout for the 23-15 win.
WVU will host No. 6 Virginia Tech on Sunday at Parkersburg High in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
No. 23 Pitt 23, WVU 15
125: LJ Bentley (UP) major dec. Devin Brown (WVU), 12-3
133: Cory Stainbrook (WVU) dec. Ben Ross (UP), 7-3
141: Joe Wheeling (WVU) dec. Robert Lee (UP), 3-2
149: Mikey Racciato (UP) dec. Christian Monserrat (UP), 11-8
157: Taleb Rahmani (UP) pins Dayton Garrett (WVU), 0:56
165: No. 11 Te’Shan Campbell (UP) dec. Ryan Lopez (WVU), 4-1
174: Austin Bell (UP) major dec. Ty Millward (WVU), 9-1
184: Parker VonEgidy (WVU) dec. Cam Jacobson (UP), 10-7
197: Jacob A. Smith (WVU) pins Jacob Parker (UP), 2:01
HWT: John Rizzo (UP) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 2-1
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