Pittsburgh Wrestling to Face Penn State at Petersen Events Center

12/3/2003

The Panthers and Nittany Lions will square off on Jan. 9, 2004 at 7:30 p.m.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh wrestling dual meet against Penn State on Friday, January 9 will be at the Petersen Events Center, opened in 2002 and the home of Panthers’ basketball. It will be the second wrestling meet for the Panthers at the new facility.

The Panthers and Nittany Lions will meet at 7:30 p.m. in a key Eastern showdown. Last season, the Panthers dropped a tough 25-15 decision to nationally ranked Iowa State in the first wrestling meet ever at the Petersen Events Center on Jan. 4.

"Wrestling Penn State is a huge meet for various reasons," Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer said. "Having it at the Petersen Events Center will give wrestling fans a chance to see the facility and it will give us a chance to get a good crowd in to watch what should be a great meet."

Pittsburgh is currently 2-1 in dual meets in 2003-04 and have several individuals ranked among the top 20 in their respective weight classes. Penn State has yet to wrestle in a dual meet this season and are ranked ninth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and 14th by InterMat.

The Panthers defeated Penn State, 18-12, in the last meeting between the schools during the 2001-02 season. This year’s dual meet, the 58th in the history of the series, will continue Pittsburgh’s longest wrestling rivalry.