Jan. 31, 2008

PITTSBURGH - The No. 20-ranked Pitt wrestling team locked up with the No. 23 Kent State Golden Flashes tonight at Fitzgerald Field House in a top-25 showdown. The Panthers caught some tough breaks, including three bouts that were lost in overtime, and were handed their third loss of the season by a score of 22-13.

In a match that began with the 197-pound contest, Pitt (10-3, 3-0) dropped the first six bouts, including back-to-back heart wrenching losses at 133 and 141, before Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) put some points on the board with a 5-3 decision over Kent's Jeremy Depoy at 149 pounds.

All-American and No. 5-ranked Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) followed Ciampoli's victory by pinning Sli Bostelman and slicing into the Golden Flashes 13-point lead. The fall marked Kocher's sixth of the season - which is tied for second on the team - and gave him 18 wins on the year.

Pitt appeared to be on the comeback trail when Ethan Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) extended his bout with No. 14 Kurt Gross to an extra frame with an escape in the third period. But the true freshman couldn't capitalize on the momentum and dropped another hard fought overtime decision for the Panthers by a count of 3-1.

No. 1 ranked Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) provided the only other highlight for Pitt tonight as he manhandled Kent's Chris Estep for seven minutes and earned a major decision by a score of 17-5. Gavin now has 22 victories this season and four decisions of eight points or more.

The Panthers will continue conference play next week when they travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take on West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8.