PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Three times the runner-up in the ACC Championship Tournament, the Panthers have a couple of top-seeds in Sunday’s conference title match starting at 11am at Virginia.
Pitt is 8-6 on the season, winners of two of its last three matches. On the season, five of the Panthers six match losses came against ranked teams.
Jake Wentzel goes for a third consecutive ACC title at 165 pounds and is coming off a season where he made it to the NCAA finals. The South Park High School graduate is the top seed and 14-5 this season.
Senior Nino Bonaccorsi, 197 pounds, finished second in the NCAA last year and is the second seed for this tournament after a 13-3 season. Bonaccorsi, a three-time NCAA qualifier, won the ACC championship last year and is a Bethel Park native.
The Panthers hottest wrestler this season is Cole Matthews. The 141-pound top seed is 15-2 on the season and ranked fifth in the nation.
“I think I’ve had a breakthrough year so far,” Matthews told 93.7 The Fan. “It’s not like I didn’t see if coming because all the time I put in and all of the consistency to my training and everyday life. It was bound to happen at some point.”
The redshirt junior comes from a historic wrestling program at Reynolds High School. He has won 11 consecutive matches this season, his only losses coming out of conference.
“My goal is to be an All-American and it’s not farfetched to say I can win nationals this year,” Matthews said. “Everyone has their own opinions, I will stick to mine and try to keep winning every match.”
Matthews wrestled part of the end of last season with a torn ACL. He said he couldn’t walk the first few days after the injury, but decided to push through. He didn’t want to allow ‘an easy excuse like a torn ACL’ (his words) keep him from competing.
Panthers have a trio of three seeds:
· Two-time ACC champ Micky Phillippi, Derry High School grad at 133 pounds
· North Hills High School grad, senior transfer Gage Curry (second most wins on the team with 14) at 125 pounds
Elijah Cleary has 12 wins and is the fourth seed at 157-pounds. Gregg Harvey is the fifth seed at 184 pounds with a ranked win this year. Dan Mancini has 13 wins, yet the sixth seed at 149 pounds and coming off a Fall victory against Duke. Hunter Kernan is the sixth seed at 174 pounds. He won his first seven matches of the season.