Stottlemyer’s Pitt Panthers Jumps Up Poll to 11th, He Talks to Takedown

Posted on | November 17, 2011 | No Comments

PITTSBURGH – Pitt’s upset of then sixth-ranked Lehigh on Saturday, Nov. 12 did not go unnoticed in the national polls as the Panthers jumped six spots from 17^th to 11^th in the most recent NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Panthers ended the Mountain Hawks’ 26-match home winning streak with an 18-16 victory. Redshirt junior Matt Wilps, ranked sixth in the latest poll, clinched the win with a 4-3 come-from-behind win over No. 8 Joe Kennedy at 197 pounds.

Pitt won the first five bouts against Lehigh, receiving decisions from Anthony Zanetta, Shelton Mack, Travis Shaffer Tyler Nauman andDonnie Tasser. During that stretch, the Panthers held a 12-1 advantage in takedowns totaling a 24-2 scoring edge from the neutral position.

No other team from the Eastern Wrestling League appears in the top 25. Edinboro, which finished four spots behind Pitt’s championship team in the EWL Tournament last season, is listed as an honorable mention.

Lehigh dropped two spots to eighth. The Big Ten seems to be the dominant conference with six of the top 10 teams, including No. 6 Michigan, which Pitt will host at the Fitzgerald Field House in the home opener on Saturday. Iowa and Penn State are the top two teams, receiving six and three first-place votes, respectively. Other highly ranked Big Ten teams are No. 4 Minnesota, No. 7 Illinois and No. 10 Ohio State.

No. 3 Oklahoma State was the only team other than Iowa and Penn State to receive a first-place vote.

The Panthers are also receiving recognition in the individual rankings with six wrestlers listed in the WrestlingReport.com poll. Ranked for Pitt are Nauman (5^th at 141), Wilps (6^th at 197), Zanetta (15^th at 125), Ethan Headlee (16^th at 174), Mack (20^th at 133) and Tasser (32^nd at 157).

NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll (11/15/11)

Rank	School	Total	Prev. Rank
1	Iowa (6)	244	2
2	Penn State (3)	240	1
3	Oklahoma State (1)	230	3
4	Minnesota	223	4
5	Cornell	212	5
6	Michigan	194	7
7	Illinois	168	8
8	Lehigh	165	6
9	Missouri	162	9
10	Ohio State	149	13
11	Pittsburgh	140	17
12	Oklahoma	136	10
13	Maryland	125	T11
14	American	121	T11
15	Virginia Tech	113	14
16	Rutgers	108	T15
17	Northwestern	90	19
18	Oregon State	86	18
19	Wyoming	67	T15
20	Penn	49	25
21	Virginia	45	22
22	Stanford	43	21
23	Iowa State	24	20
T24	Nebraska	22	HM
T24	Central Michigan	22	23

Others Receiving Votes: Army, Boston, Binghamton, Boston, Cal Poly, Edinboro, Hofstra, Kent State, Michigan State, Northern Iowa, and Purdue.

Scott Casber
Founder/Host
Takedown Wrestling Radio and TV
USA Wrestling Weekly
515-707-8657