Pitt Wrestling
Pitt’s Cole Matthews Reaches NCAA Quarterfinals
Out of four wrestlers, Cole Matthews was the only Pitt wrestler to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling tournament on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mi. No. 6 seed Matthews squeaked out a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Matt Kazimir of Columbia in overtime.
WINNER » @ColeMatthews9 👏
Championship Second Round » 141
IT WASN'T EASY. BUT HE DID IT.
Cole Matthews to the Quarterfinals 🏆#H2P » #PINZBURGH pic.twitter.com/gCqOMEaX7M
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) March 17, 2022
Matthews will face No. 3 seed, Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers, in the quarterfinals.
Micky Phillippi fell to Austin DeSanto of Iowa in the 133-pound weight class. After period one, DeSanto and Philippi were scoreless. DeSanto choose down to start period 2 and after Philippi rides for a while to start the period, DeSanto broke free and got out to a 3-0 lead to end the period. DeSanto got another takedown in the third and pulled away with a 5-2 victory.
At the 165-pound weight class, Carson Kharachla of Ohio State got out to a 4-1 lead over Jake Wentzel in the first period. Wentzel went on top to begin the second, but he couldn’t get any offense as his attempt to turn over Kharachla failed, and the Buckeye was rewarded two points for a reversal. Kharachla prevailed with a 7-1 victory.
No. 5 seed Nino Bonaccorsi got upset by No. 19 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in the 197-pound weight class. Bonaccorsi got an early single-leg takedown to go up 2-0. Bonaccorsi tried to get another single leg but couldn’t keep Hoffman in bounds. Stalling was warned to Ohio State. Bonaccorsi was in the down position to begin the second and earned a point with an escape. Hoffman countered with a takedown to tie the score at 3-3. Bonaccorsi and Hoffman both got a point for escapes in the third and were tied up at 4-4 after three periods. In overtime, Hoffman got a takedown and managed to pull off a stunner.
Phillippi, Wentzel and Bonaccorsi will continue with wrestlebacks on Friday.
