Feb. 16, 2002

PITTSBURGH-The Pittsburgh wrestling squad, No. 21 in the nation in the last National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, suffered its worst defeat in 18 years in a 32-2 loss to No. 11 West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., on Friday evening.

The Panthers (12-5, 4-2 Eastern Wrestling League) managed just one victory in the ten matches and the 30-point final margin was the largest in a loss since a 40-6 setback to Cleveland State in the 1983-84 season.

The Mountaineers opened the match with an overtime victory by 19th-ranked Billy Smith over junior Justin Giovinco (Norristown, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) at 149 pounds by a score of 4-2. WVU increased its lead to 6-0 when 10th-ranked Joe Carr controlled the 157-pound match over Zachariah Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) with a 7-2 win that included three takedowns.

In another overtime thriller, the Mountaineers' Tom McMath, ranked seventh in the country topped 20th-ranked Carl Fronhofer (Salem, N.Y./Salem), 3-1, to increase the lead to 9-0.

Redshirt sophomore Matt Catullo (Oakmont, Pa./Riverview) got behind third-ranked Greg Jones in the 174-pound match early and fell by a major decision count of 15-7 as the Mountaineers increased their lead to 13-0 after four matches.

Pittsburgh lost its fifth straight when Rob Black (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) managed just an escape point in a 6-1 loss to Ryan Wilman at 184 pounds. The Panthers broke the shutout in the 197-pound match when senior David Sandberg (Spokane, Wash./North Central) defeated Brent Miller by a score of 4-1 to cut the lead to 16-3.

West Virginia took the final four matches, however, starting with a pin by 19th-ranked Ryan Kehler over Jacob Lininger (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) in 22 seconds. The Panthers also lost a team point when Lininger was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

At 125 pounds, Nathan Kendjorsky defeated James Thornton (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), 8-3, to up WVU's lead to 25-2. Brandon Lauer got three more points for the Mountaineers when he edged senior Shawn Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity), 5-3, in the 133-pound match.

In the final match of the evening, 12th-ranked Shane Cunanan got a major decision over Blaise Mucci (Blairsville, Pa./Derry Area), 12-4, at 141 pounds.

Pittsburgh will close out its dual meet season with a home match against Edinboro on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Fitzgerald Field House. Fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys For Tots. Admission will be free for two for all those who donate.