Jan. 5, 2008

PITTSBURGH - On a day filled with multiple lineup shifts and shake ups, the No. 20-ranked Panthers rolled to two dual match victories over Duquesne and Franklin and Marshall. Pitt shut out the Dukes 49-0 and toppled the Diplomats by a count of 38-12 while also getting some of their less experienced grapplers a taste of dual meet competition.

"It was good to get a few of our younger guys some experience today," commented assistant coach Jason Peters. "It was also a great opportunity for the older guys to get some rest, but we'll get right back on the mat and get ready for Oklahoma and Michigan State next weekend."

Two of the notable scratches from the Pitt lineup included No. 1-ranked Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) and All-American Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg), leaving No. 4 Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College), No. 11 Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and the rest of the Panthers to pick up the slack.

Kocher made quick work of his two opponents, registering two pins in just over seven minutes of wrestling. His second fall, against Franklin and Marshall's Austin Reed, was the 28th of his career, placing him fourth on Pitt's all-time list.

Sheaffer also had a stellar day, recording two victories, including one fall, and upping his team-leading total for wins to 25. One more victory would tie him with Kocher and assistant coach Ron Tarquinio for 10th place on the all-time list for most wins by a junior.

The day began with a major decision from 125-pounder Ryan Bosso (Pequea, Pa./Penn Manor) against Duquesne's Jon Bittinger. Bosso, who claimed seventh at the Midlands tournament in his last action, jumped on Bittinger early in the bout and then used two near falls and two reversals to extend his lead and distance himself from the Duquesne lightweight.

Bosso's strong start was followed by a Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) pin and a Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) 16-1 technical fall against the Dukes' Nate Reinhart. The bout marked Ciampoli's first dual meet of the season and the Panthers' first without Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton), who dislocated his elbow at the Midlands Championships.

The Panthers closed out the match two technical falls from freshmen Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) and David Crowell (Easton, Pa./Nazareth) and Sheaffer's pin to sweep all ten matches and shut out the Dukes.

Pitt's second match was much of the same, as the Panthers captured eight of the ten bouts with the Diplomats. Eric Rosencranz (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) needed a little less than three minutes to put Franklin and Marshall's Akio Aida on his back and register his first pin in a Pitt uniform.

David Sullivan (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley/East Stroudsburg) was relentless from the opening whistle of his bout with Dan Canfield, using two takedowns and three near falls en route to a 15-0 technical fall in the match up at 184.

The Panthers will put one more week of practice under their belts before traveling to Oklahoma for matches against the No.19-ranked Sooners and Michigan State.

Pitt 49, Duquesne 0

Pitt 38, Franklin and Marshall 12