Pitt Ready for NCAA Championship
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 18, 2010
Pitt at NCAA Championship meet notes
Link to live scoring on NCAA.com
PITTSBURGH - Six University of Pittsburgh wrestlers will compete beginning Thursday in the NCAA Championship at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Pitt sends the most wrestlers to the Championship since 2000, when the Panthers had seven representatives.
Eastern Western League champions Anthony Zanetta (125), Tyler Nauman (141), Matt Wilps (197) and Ryan Tomei (285) join Zac Thomusseit (184) and at-large bid Eric Albright (149) as Pitt hopes to continue their successful season through the tournament and possibly add to its lengthy list of All-Americans.
Pitt at 17-1-1 set the school record for dual wins in a season with 15 and had a perfect 6-0 record in EWL action, the most league wins by the Panthers in a season. Pitt also recorded the best winning percentage (.921) since the 1955-56 team went undefeated 10-0.
Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks), a true freshman at 125, has recorded a 33-8 record on the season. In his first championship, he will meet up with Andre Gonzales (22-11) of Cal State Fullerton in the first round. Zanetta is fourth on the list for most wins posted by a freshman and has the most wins on the Pitt team this season.
At 141, Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), a two time EWL champion, will be making his second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. As a sophomore, Nauman (33-3) is seeded No. 10 and will face Cole Schmitt (20-16) of Wisconsin.
Nauman recorded a perfect dual season at 18-0, which ties the school record. Last year, Nauman, as a redshirt freshman, was one of four Pitt wrestlers that won his first round match up in the tournament, a 7-1 decision over Justin Accordino (Hofstra).
Albright (20-15) picked up Pitt's lone at-large spot and will make his second trip to NCAAs to face Mario Mason of Minnesota (19-10). The transfer from Virginia earned a spot on the Cavaliers' NCAA team in 2008.
Sophomore Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham), who has recorded a 20-8 record on the year, earns his first trip to the tournament at 184 and will face No. 2-seeded John Dergo (26-2) of Illinois in the opening round. Thomusseit placed second in his respective EWL bracket in a one-point decision.
At 197, Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) hopes to use the momentum from his EWL title as he heads to his first NCAA Championship. Wilps (31-8) will face No. 11 seed Patrick Bond (16-11) of Illinois.
Rounding out Pitt's representatives will be Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford), who has earned the eighth seed in his first-ever NCAA appearance. Tomei (32-5) will face Ziad Haddad (17-9) of North Carolina. Tomei leads the Panthers with 13 falls and Nauman is second with nine on the year.
The first and second session of the tournament, Thursday, March 18 will be broadcast on www.ncaa.com at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. Friday's session three will be available on ESPNU/ESPN360.com at 10:30 a.m. and session four on ESPNU at 7 p.m. The final two sessions of the tournament on Saturday, March 20 will be broadcast at 11 a.m. on ESPNU and 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU/ESPN360.com.