Feb. 23, 2008
PITTSBURGH -
The No. 23 Pitt wrestling team hosted No 14. Edinboro tonight in a top-25 showdown at Fitzgerald Field House. On a night when Pitt recognized its seniors and honored many of its alumni, the Panthers fell behind the Fighting Scots early in the contest and were only able to muster three victories in a 21-12 loss. The shortcoming was just Pitt's fourth of the season and its first in EWL action.
No. 14 heavyweight Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) ended the night with a fall of Edinboro's Terry Tate in the first period to provide a silver lining in an otherwise disappointing night for the Panthers. The pin was the 10th of Sheaffer's career and his third in the 2007-08 campaign.
No. 1 ranked Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) successfully upped his unbeaten streak to 26 bouts against No. 8 Phil Moricone. Gavin used a takedown in the first to gain an 2-0 advantage en route to a 5-3 decision. He also improved to 15-0 in dual matches this season. Gavin's record over the past two seasons is 54-4, which equates to an incredible .931 winning percentage.
Prior to the 125-pound contest Gavin was also awarded a trophy commemorating his 100th career victory, which he posted at the Midlands Championships earlier in the season. He is only the 14th grappler in Pitt's history-rich program to accomplish the feat.
Pitt's other victory on the evening came from All-American Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg). Headlee jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Edinboro's Torsten Gillespie in the first four minutes and 20 seconds of the bout by utilizing two takedowns and an escape. He also used over two and a half minutes of riding time to control the bout and won easily by a count of 10-4.
The most hyped matchup of the night involved an All-American and a NCAA Champion from last season, as Pitt's Matt Kocher squared off against the reigning National Champion, Gregor Gillespie at 157.
Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) suffered an early takedown that was followed by over five minutes of scoreless wrestling in which Gillespie racked up a considerable amount of riding time. The scoring drought ended when Gillespie was hit with a second stall warning in the third frame and Kocher was awarded one point. Kocher finished the bout with a few exciting flurries, but was unable to convert those into points and came up short as time ran out, falling to Gillespie by a score of 5-1.
The Panthers will now prepare for the EWL Championships on Saturday, March 8 at the Field House where they will battle six other squads in hopes of claiming the program's first conference championship. Tickets are now on sale at www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
|
Weight |
Winner |
Result |
|
Score |
|
125 |
Eric Morrill (Edinboro) |
10-4, dec. |
Ryan Bosso (Pitt) |
3-0, Edinboro |
|
133 |
Rick Deubel (Edinboro) |
5-2, dec. |
Jimmy Conroy (Pitt) |
6-0, Edinboro |
|
141 |
Drew Headlee (Pitt) |
10-4, dec. |
Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro) |
6-3, Edinboro |
|
149 |
Daryl Cocozzo (Edinboro) |
6-0, dec. |
Joe Ciampoli (Pitt) |
9-3, Edinboro |
|
157 |
#1 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) |
5-1, dec. |
# 7 Matt Kocher (Pitt) |
12-3, Edinboro |
|
165 |
#15 Jarrod King (Edinboro) |
2-1, dec. |
Ethan Headlee (Pitt) |
15-3, Edinboro |
|
174 |
# 1 Keith Gavin (Pitt) |
5-3, dec. |
#18 Philip Moricone (Edinboro) |
15-6, Edinboro |
|
184 |
#18 Christopher Honeycutt (Edinboro) |
8-2, dec. |
Dave Sullivan (Pitt) |
18-6, Edinboro |
|
197 |
Patrick Bradshaw (Edinboro) |
4-0, dec. |
Dave Crowell (Pitt) |
21-6, Edinboro |
|
285 |
# 14 Zach Sheaffer (Pitt) |
Fall, 2:35 |
Terry Tate (Edinboro) |
21-12, Edinboro |
Attendance: 458
Referee: John Musgrave
