March 7, 2010

MORGANTOWN. W.Va. - Four Pitt wrestlers claimed Eastern Wrestling League titles Sunday night in the championship tournament as the Panthers finished second (121.50) to Edinboro (135.5) at the WVU Coliseum.

Pitt's Anthony Zanetta, Tyler Nauman, Matt Wilps and Ryan Tomei each won their respective weight classes with Tomei being named the EWL Tournament Outstanding Wrestler for the meet.

With a successful morning session, the Panthers placed six in the finals and all 10 Pitt wrestlers advanced to the evening session.

At 125, freshman Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) got the night started right with a 4-2 decision over Shane Young of West Virginia to win the title.

Jimmy Conroy (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) advanced to the finals at 133, but fell 2-0 in a hard-fought match against John Trumbetti of Lock Haven. Conroy finished second in the tournament.

Sophomore Tyler Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) was looking to defend his title at 141 from last season and was successful as he earned a 6-2 decision over Greg Lewis of Clarion.

Eric Albright suffered a first round loss to Mike Rowe of West Virginia (12-5) and fell into the consolation bracket. Albright (York, Pa./Red Lion Area/Virginia) rebounded, however and fought back to the third place match, where he earned a little redemption, defeating Rowe in their re-match, 7-3 to take third.

In possibly the most hard-fought battle of the day for the Panthers, Donnie Tasser (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) took two injury timeouts, but turned a 4-2 deficit into a sudden victory, 6-4, win over Corey Carlo of Cleveland State to take fifth place at 157.

At 165, Adam Counterman (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) scored a takedown with just seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 2-2 in the fifth place final. Counterman took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a takedown in sudden victory to take fifth place with the 4-2 win.

David Sullivan (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./East Stroudsburg) met up with Derek Caldwell of Lock Haven in the fifth place match at 174. Sullivan controlled the match and went on to the 5-1 win.

Zac Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham) met up with Pat Bradshaw of Edinboro in the final at 184. The sophomore fell, 3-2, on a Bradshaw escape in the third period.

At 197, Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) earned his first EWL title with a 12-4 major decision over Alex Thomas of Clarion. Wilps needed just two wins on the day for the championship.

At the heavyweight, junior Ryan Tomei (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) ended his EWL season the way he lived the majority of it - with a pin. Tomei captured the title with a fall (6:25) over Brandon Williamson of West Virginia.

Pitt's automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament, held March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb., will be Zanetta, Nauman, Thomusseit, Wilps and Tomei. Additional qualifiers will be announced Wednesday, March 10.