Forys Places Second at 2016 ACC Championship

Sunday, March 6

Charlottesville, Va.

11:00 AM

Pitt

Atlantic Coast Conference

Forys Places Second at 2016 ACC Championship

3/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

March 6, 2016

Final Brackets | Photo Gallery

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - At the conclusion of the 2016 ACC Wrestling Championship Sunday at the John Paul Jones Arena, five Pitt wrestlers earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament while sophomore Dom Forys and redshirt sophomore Ryan Solomon finish second and third, respectively.

"We were challenged and have five guys going to nationals so we're looking forward to it," head coach Jason Peters said. "I think it's good to get a couple freshmen going to nationals for the first time. It's exciting for them. It's also nice to see Nick Bonaccorsi qualify his in his last year and have one more shot at being an All-American."

At 133 pounds, Forys highlighted the afternoon session by defeating third-seeded Dennis Gustafson of Virginia Tech in a 13-5 major decision. The Pittsburgh native received a first round bye and officially punched his ticket to Madison Square Garden after his impressive semifinal win.

In the final round, Forys dropped a hard-fought battle to two-time ACC Champion George DiCamillo of Virginia, 8-4.

Freshman LJ Bentley was the second Panther to qualify for the national tournament at 125 pounds. The Twinsburg, Ohio native started his day by pinning North Carolina's Anthony Bosco in 6:32, but would drop a 4-2 decision to the No. 2-seed Sean Fausz of NC State in the semifinal. Bentley bounced back in the consolation semifinals as he defeated Duke's Thayer Atkins in an 8-2 decision, securing his trip to New York City. In his final match of the day, Bentley fell in the consolation finals to Virginia's Nick Herrmann, 6-5, placing the freshman fourth overall.

At 165 pounds, No. 4 seed and redshirt sophomore Cody Wiercioch went 2-1 on the day and upset Duke's No. 2 seed Jake Faust in the consolation semifinals. Wiercioch's 5-1 decision locked in his qualification to the NCAA tournament. The Muse, Pa., native dropped his first match of the day to Virginia Tech's Dave McFadden, 6-3, and met him again in the consolation final. Wiercioch earned a fourth-place finish after falling to McFadden 4-2.

Solomon was the fourth Panther to punch his ticket to The Garden this afternoon. The redshirt sophomore was off to a hot start in the opening round, defeating North Carolina's Cory Daniel in a 10-2 major decision. He fell in the semifinal round to the No. 2 seed Ty Walz of Virginia Tech, 4-2. Solomon dominated his final two matches in the consolation rounds, defeating Duke's Brendan Walsh 7-0 in the semifinals and pinning Virginia's Pat Gillen in 4:22 to earn a third-place finish and his qualification to nationals.

Redshirt senior Nick Bonaccorsi was the last Panther to punch his ticket to New York City today. Although finishing 1-2 in the championship, the Pittsburgh native come out on top in the fifth place match, 6-5, over North Carolina's Chip Ness.

TEAM SCORES

1. NC State - 90.0
2. Virginia Tech - 81.5
3. North Carolina - 56.5
4. Virginia - 44.0
5. Duke - 33.0
6. Pitt - 31.0

FINAL RESULTS

*125 Pounds

First Round: LJ Bentley (UP) fall Anthony Bosco (UNC), 6:32

Semifinals: Sean Fausz (NCSU) dec. LJ Bentley (UP), 4-2

Consolation Semifinals: LJ Bentley (UP) dec. Thayer Atkins (DUKE), 8-2

Consolation Finals: Nick Herrmann (UVA) dec. LJ Bentley (UP), 6-5

Fourth Place

*133 Pounds

First Round: Dom Forys, bye

Semifinals: Dom Forys (UP) maj. dec. Dennis Gustafson (VT), 13-5

Final: George DiCamilly (UVA) dec. Dom Forys (UP), 8-4