No. 15 Pitt beat Duke 42-0 on Saturday at Fitzgerald Field House for the Panthers’ first shutout victory in more than a year and their first conference shutout in five seasons.
“This is an important dual for us,” Pitt coach Keith Gavin said after the Panthers improved to 12-0 all time against the Blue Devils. “We have a tough schedule coming up, and you want to be firing on all cylinders and be ready for next weekend.”
Pitt (9-3, 2-1 in ACC) scored 25 takedowns compared with just two for Duke (4-11, 0-4).
The shutout was Pitt’s first since Nov. 12, 2023, when they had two – beating VMI 47-0 and Morgan State 54-0. Gavin’s squad beat Duke 50-0 on Jan. 25, 2020.
Pitt was heavily favored in most of Saturday’s bouts, with seven ranked wrestlers compared to just one for the Blue Devils.
An unranked Panther provided one of the most dramatic victories of the day.
Tyler Chappell, a 125-pounder who has moved up to 133 pounds following the injury to Vinnie Santaniello, delivered a late takedown for his first dual meet victory over a Division I opponent.
Chappell scored first against Duke’s Raymond Adams, but the Blue Devil took the lead in the second period. An escape to start the third period tied the match, and Chappell finished off a long scramble on his way to an 8-6 victory.
“That was a good match by him,” Gavin said. “He showed a lot of competitive spirit, which you like to see. He’s definitely undersized. He’s gotten thrown in there against some tough kids. He found a way to win today. I was proud of the way he competed. It’s really easy to get down on yourself if you take some losses. He didn’t. He’s still competing hard.”
No. 13 Dayton Pitzer defeated No. 29 Connor Barket 6-2 in a battle of ranked heavyweights. Pitzer, who was coming off a loss to North Carolina State’s Isaac Trumble, scored a quick takedown, but Barket used a pair of escapes to close within a point. Pitzer took any drama out of the final bout with a third-period reversal and riding-time point.
“I thought he controlled the match in all three positions,” Gavin said. “He’s had some moments this year where he’s forced some things and gotten sloppy. I’m trying to get him to be more controlling from the top and bottom positions.”
Nick Babin, who is ranked 23rd at 125, got the Panthers off to a quick start, scoring a takedown over Riley Rowan in the first 30 seconds, then turning him on his way to a 14-0 victory.
Anthony Santaniello used a first-period cradle to build a 7-0 lead and cruised to a 12-2 major decision over Christian Colman at 141 pounds.
Finn Solomon, who is ranked 22nd at 149, looked dominant against S.P. O’Donnell, but the Duke wrestler reversed Solomon to his back in the final period. Eventually, Solomon righted the ship and restored his lead in an 18-6 victory that pushed Pitt’s advantage to 15-0.
“He got a little sloppy on top, but no matter what the score is, you stay solid,” Gavin said of Solomon. “That’s how you can get upset. Other than that, he did a good job.”
No. 24 Dylan Evans needed most of the first period to break through Logan Ferrero’s defense, scoring on a nice dump with 20 seconds remaining, but then piled up four more takedowns over the next two periods on his way to a 20-4 technical fall.
The bonus-point barrage continued at 165, where Jared Keslar went feet-to-back with Nick Tattini, then adjusted to a headlock for a second-period fall and a 26-0 Pitt lead.
No. 19 Luca Augustine had a closer-than-expected bout with Gaetano Console. Augustine beat Console by technical fall in last year’s ACC tournament, but this time he needed a nice knee tap and rideout in the final 30 seconds for a 5-4 victory.
“I’m not going to look too much into it,” Gavin said of Augustine’s struggles against a wrestler he dominated last season. “He gave up an early takedown and was chasing the guy the rest of the match. You can’t judge that he teched him last year. The guy might have given up last year. This was a different match.
“I think Luca’s wrestling good. He had a good win against N.C. State. He’s good as the match goes on. We tell him to have a good first period, because he’s going to have a good third period.”
Reece Heller showed why he’s ranked 14th at 184, as he piled up points in an 18-2 technical fall over David Hussey, and 10th-ranked Mac Stout rolled to his 14th consecutive victory at 197. Stout built a 13-2 lead in the first period, then added a reversal and takedown in the second to end his bout with Kwasi Bonsu.
“I think we scored a lot and that’s what you’re looking to do on a day like today,” Gavin said. “I was pretty happy with the way that everybody wrestled.”
The Panthers face a pair of big dual meets next weekend, as they host No. 18 North Carolina Friday night in a key ACC dual, then travel to No. 11 Iowa State on Sunday.
