Pitt
Bloomsburg
Pitt Wrestling Drops Season Opener to Bloomsburg
11/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 15, 2005
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Pitt wrestling kicked off its season this evening with a conference match up at Bloomsburg. With three dual meet rookies in their line up, the Panthers faced some tough competition from the Huskies. In a battle with two overtime matches, the Huskies' win came down to the heavyweight bout between Bloomsburg's Mike Spaid and Pitt's Mike Heist. A 2-0 decision from Spaid clinched the win for Bloomsburg, giving Pitt a 0-1 record for the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL).
"It's very disappointing," Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer said of the loss. "We had our chances to win, and we didn't take them."
The Panthers faced a tough match up at 125 pounds as true freshman Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) faced 19th-ranked Mike Sees. Sees brought the Huskies their first win with a technical fall in the second period with a score of 18-2.
Senior Mike Ciotti (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) earned the Panthers some points with a 7-2 decision over Ricky Donald, and redshirt senior Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) added to the Panthers' score with a 2-1 decision over Brad Forbes.
The Panthers faced a surprising upset at 149 pounds as true freshman Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) lost in a 7-5 decision to George Hickman with four seconds left in overtime.
Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) stepped up to a starting position for the Panthers at 157 pounds, and despite evening the score going into the third period, recorded a 2-1 loss to Aric Fuhrman.
Redshirt senior Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) nearly evened things up for Pitt with a 10-2 win over Jason Crawford, and Francis Iorfido (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) put the team back in the lead with his 2-1 decision over Frank Beasley.
At 184 pounds, the Panthers wrestled redshirt freshman Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon McMillan) who also battled into overtime in his first dual competition. He faced the Huskies' Nate Shirk and was defeated 4-2, 18 seconds into overtime. Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg), however, was able to bring the Panthers back after a 5-2 decision over Jesse Hasseman, putting Pitt up 16-14, going into the final bout.
The win rested in the outcome of the heavyweight match where Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) faced 17th-ranked Mike Spaid from Bloomsburg. Heist, who usually wrestles at 184 pounds, moved up in the line up to take the place of sophomore Zach Sheaffer who is currently out with an injury. Spaid won the match 2-0, giving the Huskies the win at 17-16.
"It was a disappointing first match," said Tarquinio. "We went out there with a young team, and we made some mistakes. [Before the Missouri meet] we'll get a couple of tournaments in and see the competition that's out there."
The Panthers will enter two competitions, the first being the Cornell Body Bar this Saturday. Home dual competition begins on December 19 when the Panthers will take on Missouri.
