No. 16 Pitt Wrestling Demolishes Duke at Home

PITTSBURGH — The No. 16 Pitt Panthers wrestling squad dominated Duke in a 42-0 blowout at Fitzgerald Field House.

Pitt improves to 9-3 in duals this season, with home wins over Navy in the season opener on Nov. 2, 35-3, vs. then ranked No. 18 Lehigh, 21-12 on Nov. 24, Division II foe Pitt-Johnstown on Jan. 3, 32-8 and then ranked No. 15 Stanford in their ACC opener on Jan. 10, 24-15. Their sole home loss came vs. then ranked No. 5 Ohio State, 20-17 on Dec. 13.

They also finished 2-1 at the Rider Quad Meet in Lawrenceville, N.J. on Dec. 20. Pitt defeated both then ranked No. 24 Maryland, 25-12, and Rider, 28-12, while losing to No. 14 South Dakota State, 18-15.

Pitt is also 3-1 on the road this season, as they defeated rival in then ranked No. 22 West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Jan. 12 and lost to No. 6 NC State on Jan. 24.

"We scored a lot of points and that's what you like to see," Pitt wrestling head coach Keith Gavin said on the win. "No matter who you're wrestling, you're trying to be consistent with your preparation and your performance, but yeah, I thought for the most part, we did a good job of that."

No. 25 Panthers graduate student Nick Babin (7-4) started out the day with a 14-0 major decision after riding time over Blue Devils freshman Riley Rowan at 125 pounds.

Pitt redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell (3-4) would come from behind and use a late takedown to win an 8-6 decision over Duke sophomore Raymond Adams at 133 pounds.

Panthers redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello (9-8) won a 12-2 major decision after riding time over Blue Devils senior Christian Coleman at 149 pounds.

No. 22 Pitt redshirt sophomore Finn Solomon (11-6) also won a major decision, 18-6 after riding time, thanks to four near fall points and a reversal at the end, against Duke redshirt freshman SP O'Donnell.

The Panthers got some bigger wins, as their better wrestlers started competing towards the back hal of the lineup.

No. 24 Pitt redshirt freshman Dylan Evans (15-5) won a 20-4 technical fall (5:46) vs. Duke senior Logan Ferrerro at 157 pounds. Pitt redshirt sophomore Jared Keslar (7-8) then pinned Duke junior Nick Tattini (3:53) at 165 pounds.

174 pounds provided a much closer matchup than people anticipated with No. 19 Panthers redshirt junior Luca Augustine (13-5) going up against Blue Devils redshirt sophomore Gaetano Console.

Console got an early takedown, but Augustine fought back throughout, making a vital takedown late in the third period for the 5-4 decision.

"It's hard to win and he gave up an early takedown and, you know, you have to stay the course and he did a good job of that," Gavin said on Augustine. "Just staying the course and it kind of looked like, "alright, eventually he's going to get his score and he did. Good focus on his part and not freaking out when he gave up the takedown and to come from behind."

Pitt then had two technical fall victories with No. 14 graduate student Reece Heller (16-3) winning 17-2 (5:28) over Duke sophomore David Hussey at 184 pounds and No. 11 redshirt sophomore Mac Stout (17-2) winning 18-3 (3:30) over Duke sophomore Kwasi Bonsu at 197 pounds.

No. 13 Panthers redshirt sophomrore Dayton Pitzer (9-2) finished off the dual with a 6-2 decision after riding time over No. 29 Blue Devils redshirt sophomore Conner Barket at heavyweight.

"Good, I felt good," Pitzer said on his win. "It was nice. I felt like my wrestling was more sound than it has been the past couple of matches. So, it's been good. I've just been trying to stay focused on getting better every day and just competing hard."

Pitt previously had Binghamton on the road on their schedule on Feb. 2, but that dual is no longer taking place. Gavin said that it was a mistake, that they are only allowed 16 dates and that it worked out for both programs in the end.

Pitt will host their final home dual of the season and senior night vs. North Carolina on Feb. 7.

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