ACC newcomer No. 8 Pittsburgh handed No. 13 Virginia its first conference loss of the season Friday. The Cavaliers (13-3, 2-1 ACC) performed much better than the 25-9 score may indicate — five of Virginia’s losses were by two points or fewer.
Freshman Anthony Zanetta put the Panthers (10-1, 4-0 ACC) ahead with a 3-2 decision against sophomore Nick Herrmann. Redshirt sophomore Joseph Martinez then evened the score with a narrow 1-0 decision.
Pittsburgh took the next two matches and pulled away for good — freshman Edgar Bright earned the decision win against redshirt junior Joe Spisak and freshman Mikey Raccatio pinned sophomore Justin Van Hoose.
The Cavaliers attempted to counter as redshirt sophomore Blaise Butler and redshirt junior Nick Sulzer won by decision at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. However, they failed to capitalize on the momentum and lost the match’s four closing contests. Redshirt senior Stephen Doty lost by way of major decision and redshirt senior Jon Fausey, redshirt sophomore Zach Nye, and redshirt sophomore Ethan Hayes all lost by decision.
Hayes’ match went into a tie breaking period. Redshirt senior P.J. Tasser earned the escape point in the first half of overtime and then rode Hayes throughout the second period for the win.
The Cavaliers take the mat again Friday at 7 p.m. when they face Maryland.
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