Inside The Panthers

No. 18 Pitt Wrestling Falls vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech

The Pitt Panthers suffered another dual defeat in the ACC.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Wrestling Head Coach Keith Gavin, athletic trainer Brian Bonnar and assistant coach Luke Pletcher
Pitt Wrestling Head Coach Keith Gavin, athletic trainer Brian Bonnar and assistant coach Luke Pletcher / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH — The No. 18 Pitt Panthers dropped another ACC dual, as they lost to No. 10 Virginia Tech on the road, 28-9.

Pitt has dropped four of their past five duals, including a 22-13 road defeat to No. 6 NC State on Jan. 24, a 17-16 loss to North Carolina at home on Feb. 7 on criteria, and a 23-14 road loss to No. 14 Iowa State on Feb. 9. The only win they've had is against Duke, 42-0 on Feb. 1 at home.

This drops the Panthers to 9-6 overall, 2-3 in the ACC and makes it back-to-back seasons with dual losses to the Hokies (8-2 overall, 4-1 ACC)

No. 22 Pitt redshirt sophomore Dylan Evans (18-5) faced a great challenge in No. 10 Virginia Tech redshirt freshman Rafael Hipolito Jr. (13-3) at 157 pounds.

The match went to sudden victory, where Evans made the crucial takedown, winning a 4-1 decision. This makes it nine wins in the past 10 matches for Evans, as he heads into the latter part of the season in great form.

Panthers redshirt sophomore Jared Keslar (9-8) took on No. 30 Hokies redshirt freshman Mac Church (10-5) at 165 pounds.

Keslar earned a 2-1 lead after second stall call on Church, and then fended off a late challenge, getting a takedown himself for the 5-1 decision and the upset, for his third straight victory.

No. 18 Pitt redshirt junior Luca Augustine (14-7) looked to keep things going against No. 24 Virginia Tech graduate student Lennox Wolak at 174 pounds.

Wolak took advantage of Augustine falling forward, as he put Augustine to his back and got the pin at 3:27 in the second period. This is Wolak's third win over Augustine, defeating him twice in the 2022-23 season while at Columbia.

Panthers redshirt sophomore Chase Kranitz (6-7) started at 184 pounds for the second straight dual, as No. 13 graduate student Reece Heller is dealing with an injury.

Kranitz stood no chance against No. 22 Hokies redshirt sophomore Thomas Stewart Jr. (9-7), losing a 16-4 major decision after riding time.

One of the better matchups of the night came about at 197 pounds, with No. 10 Pitt redshirt sophomore Mac Stout (20-2) taking on No. 12 Virginia Tech redshirt senior Andy Smith.

Stout made two quick takedowns in the third period, as he won a 7-3 decision over Smith, getting PItt within one point, down 10-9 halfway through the dual.

No. 15 Panthers redshirt sophomore Dayton Pitzer (10-4) struggled throughout his heavyweight matchup with No. 13 Hokies redshirt freshman Jimmy Mulen (17-3), who made four takedowns en route to a 13-4 decision after riding time.

Pitt would then suffer two big defeats to Virginia Tech, as No. 23 graduate student Nick Babin (8-7) lost a 15-1 major decision after riding time to No. 5 redshirt junior Eddie Ventresca (15-3) at 125 pounds and redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell (3-7) lost a 13-0 major decision afer riding time to No. 15 graduate student Connor McGonagle at 133 pounds.

Panthers redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello (9-10) battled hard with No. 10 Hokies graduate student Sam Latona (21-6) at 141 pounds, but would lose a 10-7 decision after riding time.

No. 23 Pitt redshirt sophomore Finn Solomon (11-8) put up a great challenge for No. 1 Virginia Tech junior Caleb Henson (15-0) at 149 pounds.

Solomon forced the match into sudden victory, but Henson would get his takedown for the 4-1 decision.

Pitt will end their regular season dual schedule with another road matchup, facing Virginia on Feb. 21.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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