Another Friday night, another huge dual for the Pitt wrestling team.
Because of the Panthers’ success in the previous two, this is the biggest one yet. A victory at North Carolina State on Friday and the ACC dual-meet championship is all but theirs.
(There is still the matter of the Feb. 18 meeting with Duke but considering the Blue Devils have been outscored 128-9 in the conference, it’s hard to imagine anything short of a COVID outbreak in the practice room swinging that dual.)
Pitt enters the dual ranked 16th by InterMat – nine spots behind the Wolfpack – but has been wrestling very well since a 24-11 loss to West Virginia on Jan. 8. The Panthers are the only unbeaten team in the ACC.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us and should be a great dual,” coach Keith Gavin said. “These are always fun to compete in and we’ve had a few back-to-back weekends. It’s exciting.”
College programs are judged by what happens over three days in March, but both Gavin and Wolfpack coach Pat Popolizio recognize the importance of winning dual meets like this.
“I think it’s big just because of who you have to beat,” Gavin said. “These are very good teams that we’re wrestling. N.C. State is seventh and Virginia Tech is highly ranked. UNC has a good team. You’re seeing your guys compete at a high level. That’s what I’m trying to do as a coach. You recruit them and want to get them to wrestle at a high level.”
The match isn’t on the ACC Network’s “Friday Night Duals” – that would be Duke at Virginia – but it can be streamed on ESPN+, and Popolizio sees the hype surrounding it as a good thing.
“I think it’s healthy for the ACC and college wrestling to have good teams match up in dual meets,” he said in a phone interview with Panther-lair. “That’s what fans want to see. When we get in these barn-burner duals, you’ve got to elevate your program.”
Pitt hasn’t won a regular-season dual meet title since it first joined the ACC in 2013-14, and the Panthers have never won the conference tournament, but Popolizio respects what Gavin has built in Oakland.
“I think they’re always good,” he said. “I don’t see any difference from last year to this year. We took a loss to them a couple years ago. They’re in one of the best states for wrestling, they’ve got a great coaching staff and great athletes.”
The Wolfpack (12-1, 2-1 in ACC) have 10 ranked wrestlers while the Panthers (9-3, 3-0) have eight, meaning there will be a ranked-vs.-ranked matchup at every weight but 157 and 174.
Third-ranked Cole Matthews draws No. 4 Ryan Jack, whom he beat twice last season, and Nino Bonaccorsi – the new No. 1 at 197 – gets No. 8 Isaac Trumble. The N.C. State wrestler handed Bonnaccorsi losses in duals the past two seasons before the Pitt wrestler beat him in the ACC final last year.
“You’ve got to finish,” Gavin said of what Bonaccorsi needs to do to win. “Trumble has stingy defense and he rides hard on top. There’s not a whole lot of threat of being taken down. A big part of it is just not getting frustrated.”
WrestleStat, which has N.C. State winning 17-15, predicts Trumble will beat Bonaccorsi.
The two weights where the Panthers don’t have ranked wrestlers could be important.
Dazjon “Cheez” Casto is expected to return to the lineup at 157 pounds after missing last weekend’s duals with an injury. He faces seventh-ranked Ed Scott, one of three Pennsylvania natives starting for the Wolfpack.
Unranked Luca Augustine is coming off two big wins that resulted him being named ACC Wrestler of the Week, so his bout with No. 29 Alex Faison certainly could be classified as a toss-up.
No. 10 Dayton Pitzer is expected to wrestle at heavyweight, where he’ll face No. 12 Owen Trephan. Pitzer has been wrestling with a knee injury.
“He’s going to have that injury,” Gavin said. “He’s going to have to take some time off to let that recover, but he’s fine to wrestle tomorrow.”
No. 16 Pitt (9-3, 3-0 ACC) at No. 7 North Carolina State (12-1, 2-1)
Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C.
ACC Network Xtra/ESPN+
PROBABLE LINEUPS
125-#32 Colton Camacho, RS-Jr., 14-7 vs. #27 Jarrett Trombley, RS-Jr., 10-6
133-#6 Micky Phillippi, RS-Sr.*, 11-1 vs. #20 Kai Orine, RS-So., 10-5
141-#3 Cole Matthews, RS-Sr., 15-1 vs. #4 Ryan Jack, So., 18-1
149-#28 Tyler Badgett, RS-So., 15-9 vs. #17 Jackson Arrington, Fr., 17-6
157-Dazjon Casto, Sr.*, 5-6 OR Jared Keslar, Fr., 11-4 vs. #7 Ed Scott, So., 14-5
165-#24 Holden Heller, RS-Sr., 10-5 vs. #26 Matty Singleton, Fr., 8-4 OR Derek Fields, RS-Fr., 9-6
174-Luca Augustine, RS-Fr., 12-7 vs. No. 29 Alex Faison, RS-Jr., 13-6
184-#17 Reece Heller, RS-Jr., 15-5 vs. #3 Trent Hidlay, RS-Jr., 16-1
197-#1 Nino Bonaccorsi, RS-Sr.*, 12-0 vs. #8 Isaac Trumble, So., 16-2
285-#10 Dayton Pitzer, Fr., 7-2 OR Jake Slinger, Sr., 8-5 vs. #12 Owen Trephan, RS-So., 17-3
