Pitt
North Carolina
No. 15 Pitt Hosts No. 18 North Carolina for Senior Night, Travels to No. 14 Iowa State
2/6/2025 5:33:00 PM | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH—The 15th-ranked Pitt wrestling team (9-3, 2-1 ACC) will face two Top 20 opponents this weekend, beginning with hosting No. 18 North Carolina (6-5, 2-1 ACC) for a Friday Night Dual on the ACC Network. The Panthers will travel to Ames, Iowa to face off against No. 14 Iowa State (8-4, 3-1 Big 12) Sunday afternoon.
Pitt has posted an 9-3 record in dual meets this season with seven of its 12 matches coming against nationally ranked opponents. The Panthers are 4-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
NOTABLES
- The Panthers will honor seniors Nick Babin and Reece Heller prior to the match on Friday night against North Carolina.
- Babin, a graduate transfer from Columbia, has played a vital role for the Panthers at 125-pounds this season. He has recorded a 7-4 record for Pitt and holds a 41-25 career record. Babin currently ranks at No. 23 in the InterMat rankings and at No. 20 in the NCAA Coaches' Ranking.
- Reece Heller, ranked at No. 13 in the InterMat rankings, is the highest ranked ACC wrestler at 184. He improved in the rankings after defeating Dylan Fishback at NC State on Feb. 1. Heller enters Friday winning 10 consecutive matches, including going 3-0 in ACC duals.
- Heller holds an 89-39 career record, including a 56-21 mark while at Pitt.
- Mac Stout has won 14 consecutive matches and is ranked No. 10 in the InterMat rankings at 197-pounds. Stout leads the Panthers with a 17-2 record, including a 10-1 record in dual meets and a 3-0 mark against ACC opponents.
- Pitt has seven individual wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in the first edition of the NCAA Coaches' Ranking.
- Pitt has four wins against Top 25 ranked opponents. The Panthers have faced seven ranked opponents in 12 duals this season.
- Pitt will face three ranked opponents in the remaining four matches of the regular season. The Panthers will face No. 18 North Carolina (Feb. 7), No. 14 Iowa State (Feb. 9), and No. 10 Virginia Tech (Feb. 14) to close out the season.
- The Panthers improved to 2-1 in ACC action with a 42-0 shutout victory over Duke on Saturday, Feb. 1. Pitt earned seven bonus point victories en route to winning all 10 bouts, totaling three matches won by major decision, three by a technical fall, and one by a pin.
THE SERIES
- The Panthers trail the all-time series to the Tar Heels 5-11 but are tied 3-3 when meeting in Pittsburgh.
- Pitt will travel to Ames, Iowa for just the third time in program history, trailing the all-time series 3-7 against the Cyclones. Pitt and Iowa State were scheduled to meet at the Hilton Coliseum last season before the match was canceled due to severe weather.
PITT PROBABLES
125: No. 23 Nick Babin
133: Tyler Chappell
141: Anthony Santaniello OR Briar Priest
149: No. 23 Finn Solomon OR Kade Brown
157: No. 23 Dylan Evans
165: Jared Keslar OR Kelin Laffey
174: No. 18 Luca Augustine
184: No. 13 Reece Heller
197: No. 10 Mac Stout
285: No. 13 Dayton Pitzer
Players Mentioned
