Pitt
Northwestern
Panthers Fall 20-18 Despite Nauman's 5-2 Upset
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 19, 2008
PITTSBURGH -- Despite each team taking five bouts in tonight's match, the 24th ranked Panthers dropped a heartbreaker to the 20th ranked Wildcats of Northwestern 20-18, here at Fitzgerald Field House.
"It's pretty frustrating to say the least" said head coach Rande Stottlemyer following the match. "A 5-5 split and we just came up short tonight."
"You work really hard to put yourself in this position, having them in our place and just don't take advantage. We need to expect more of ourselves to be able to take care of the opportunities that are presented to us."
No. 16 Jimmy Conroy wasted no time in getting the Panthers on the board, scoring the fall over Bobby Joyce just 45 seconds into the first period of the 133-pound bout. Conroy's first pin of the season put the Panthers up 6-4 after having dropped the 125-pound match by an 11-2 major decision.
Redshirt freshman and No. 10 ranked Tyler Nauman entered tonight's match riding a wave of momentum following his second place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His opponent, No. 6 ranked Keith Sulzer was one of two Wildcats to bring perfect records to the mat tonight, standing at 9-0 on the year.
Sulzer scored an early takedown less than a minute into the opening frame, going up 2-0. Although Sulzer could not tack on any additional points, he carried over two minutes of riding time into the second period. After a scoreless second in which Nauman erased the riding time deficit, he opted for the bottom start to the third, reversing just over 30 seconds in to knot the match at 2-2. With 35 seconds left on the clock, Nauman brought the crowd to its feet with a three-point near fall, going up 5-2. Sulzer's late shots were countered as Nauman was earned his 15th win on the year, putting the Panthers ahead 9-4.
"I thought Tyler did a great job tonight," added Stottlemyer. "He wrestled a tough kid tonight, one of the best in the country and he fought the entire match, capitalizing on the opportunity when it presented itself."
Northwestern struck back, taking the 149 and 157-pound matches to pull ahead 11-9. Marty Gould was a 7-2 winner over Mark Powell at 149 while No. 16 Jason Welch collected his ninth win of the year with a 12-4 major decision over Phil Sorrentino at 157.
Sophomore Ethan Headlee put Pitt back on top with his 7-0 shutout over Dominic Marella at 165. A first-period takedown with 22 seconds left was followed by a late takedown and near fall in the second, giving Headlee the 6-0 advantage before riding time was tacked on.
At 174-pounds, Robert Kellogg was a 6-3 winner over David Sullivan. Sullivan led 3-2 with under a minute remaining in the match before Kellogg reversed and added back points to secure the win.
No. 2 ranked Jake Herbert extended Northwestern's lead to 20-12 with his second period pin over freshman Zac Thomusseit in the 184-pound match. Herbert led 7-1 and accumulated more than two minutes of riding time after the first period before earning the fall for his 11th win of the year.
Freshman Matt Wilps kept Pitt alive with a 2-1 decision over John Schoen at 197. Each of the two earned escapes, with the difference being riding time in favor of Wilps. With the win, he upped his season record to freshman-best 15-6.
Down 20-15 entering the final match of the night, senior heavyweight Zach Sheaffer needed a pin over Ben Kuhar to win the match for the Panthers. The two-time national qualifier cut to the chase, registering a takedown just 13 seconds into the opening stanza. Sheaffer seemed to be in control until Kuhar reversed and earned a three-point near fall to take a 5-2 left with less than 30 seconds left in the period.
Sheaffer quickly cut the deficit in the second period, escaping and taking Kuhar down to regain the lead at 6-5. Kuhar tied the match at 6-6 with an escape in the third and was able to hold off Sheaffer's relentless attempts for the pin, with the match coming to an end at 9-6 in favor of the No. 6 ranked heavyweight in the country. Sheaffer improved to 12-1 on the season with the decision.
The Panthers will resume action following Christmas, traveling to Evanston, Ill. to compete in the 46th Annual Midlands Championships. Day one of the two-day tournament begins Monday, Dec. 29 at 9:30 a.m.
No. 20 Northwestern 20, No. 24 Pitt 18
125 No. 3 Brandon Precin (NU) maj. dec. Chris Albright (Pitt), 11-2
133 No. 16 Jimmy Conroy (Pitt) fall Bobby Joyce (NU), 0:45
141 No. 10 Tyler Nauman (Pitt) dec. No. 6 Keith Sulzer (NU), 5-2
149 Marty Gould (NU) dec. Mark Powell (Pitt), 7-2
157 No. 16 Jason Welch (NU) maj. dec. Phil Sorrentino (Pitt), 12-4
165 Ethan Headlee (Pitt) dec. Dominic Marella (NU), 7-0
174 Robert Kellogg (NU) dec. David Sullivan (Pitt), 6-3
184 No. 2 Jake Herbert (NU) fall Zac Thomusseit (Pitt), 3:33
197 Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. John Schoen (NU), 2-1
285 No. 6 Zach Sheaffer (Pitt) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 9-6
