Thursday, December 5
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Pitt
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU, No. 10 Pitt Brawl In Home Opener
December 04, 2019 04:55 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team opens its home slate with the 65th edition of the Backyard Brawl against No. 10 Pitt on Thursday, Dec. 5. The bout is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum.
Fans can watch the match at WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App. Tony Onarato and Michael Minnich will have the call. Thursday's match will also be streamed live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats will be available for the match through TrackWrestling.com.
Thursday is Dollar Night, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each. Additionally, the team will hold a post-match autograph session on the concourse of the WVU Coliseum.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
"Our guys are excited to get back to the Coliseum and wrestle at home; I know I'm excited," second-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Pitt presents a challenge at every weight, but that's okay. We want to go out and see our guys compete and give ultimate effort."
The match marks the 65th meeting between the two schools in the longest-running series in WVU history. The two squads first squared off in 1934; 13 years after West Virginia started its program. The Panthers hold a 36-27-2 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the last two matches.
The Mountaineers knocked off No. 25 Pitt, 24-10, in the last meeting at the WVU Coliseum in 2018. However, the Panthers earned a 37-3 win over WVU at the Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh last season.
Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams enters the match riding a 10-match winning streak to begin the year including a 2-0 record in duals. The Coal City, West Virginia, native is ranked No. 11 by Intermat in the 197-pound division and sits at No. 18 and No. 19 by TrackWrestling and Open Mat, respectively. Adams leads the squad with two wins via technical falls this season.
Sophomore Caleb Rea is second on the squad with an 8-3 record at 141, and freshman Scott Joll ranks third with a 7-3 clip at 174. Rea and Joll are tied for the team lead with three pins this season.
West Virginia is 0-2 this season after falling to Big 12-foe Northern Colorado, 31-10, on Nov. 16 and No. 24 Army, 35-4, on Nov. 24.
The Panthers enter the bout on the heels of a 19-18 win over No. 7 Lehigh on Nov. 24. Pitt earned its first top-ten ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Coaches Poll since 2015 following the win over the Mountain Hawks.
Redshirt sophomore Micky Phillippi leads the Panthers with a 7-0 record this season. He boasts a No. 5 ranking in the latest Intermat rankings, released on Tuesday. The daunting Pitt lineup features six wrestlers that rank in the top 20 in their respective weight classes: No. 8 Nino Bonaccorsi (184), No. 9 Demetrius Thomas (285), No. 11 Jake Wentzel (165), No. 12 Taleb Rahmani (157) and No. 19 Cole Matthews (141).
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Fans can watch the match at WVUsports.com/Watch and the WVU Gameday App. Tony Onarato and Michael Minnich will have the call. Thursday's match will also be streamed live on FloWrestling.com. Live stats will be available for the match through TrackWrestling.com.
Thursday is Dollar Night, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each. Additionally, the team will hold a post-match autograph session on the concourse of the WVU Coliseum.
Fans can purchase tickets by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVUGAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum. All tickets are general admission.
To provide a safer environment for Mountaineer fans and to expedite entry into all ticketed WVU athletic events, the West Virginia Department of Intercollegiate Athletics enforces the NFL's Clear Bag Policy. The athletic department invites and encourages fans to visit WVUsports.com/clearbag for more information, to view pictures of permissible and non-permissible items and to obtain answers to frequently asked questions about the clear bag policy.
"Our guys are excited to get back to the Coliseum and wrestle at home; I know I'm excited," second-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Pitt presents a challenge at every weight, but that's okay. We want to go out and see our guys compete and give ultimate effort."
The match marks the 65th meeting between the two schools in the longest-running series in WVU history. The two squads first squared off in 1934; 13 years after West Virginia started its program. The Panthers hold a 36-27-2 lead in the all-time series, with the teams splitting the last two matches.
The Mountaineers knocked off No. 25 Pitt, 24-10, in the last meeting at the WVU Coliseum in 2018. However, the Panthers earned a 37-3 win over WVU at the Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh last season.
Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams enters the match riding a 10-match winning streak to begin the year including a 2-0 record in duals. The Coal City, West Virginia, native is ranked No. 11 by Intermat in the 197-pound division and sits at No. 18 and No. 19 by TrackWrestling and Open Mat, respectively. Adams leads the squad with two wins via technical falls this season.
Sophomore Caleb Rea is second on the squad with an 8-3 record at 141, and freshman Scott Joll ranks third with a 7-3 clip at 174. Rea and Joll are tied for the team lead with three pins this season.
West Virginia is 0-2 this season after falling to Big 12-foe Northern Colorado, 31-10, on Nov. 16 and No. 24 Army, 35-4, on Nov. 24.
The Panthers enter the bout on the heels of a 19-18 win over No. 7 Lehigh on Nov. 24. Pitt earned its first top-ten ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Coaches Poll since 2015 following the win over the Mountain Hawks.
Redshirt sophomore Micky Phillippi leads the Panthers with a 7-0 record this season. He boasts a No. 5 ranking in the latest Intermat rankings, released on Tuesday. The daunting Pitt lineup features six wrestlers that rank in the top 20 in their respective weight classes: No. 8 Nino Bonaccorsi (184), No. 9 Demetrius Thomas (285), No. 11 Jake Wentzel (165), No. 12 Taleb Rahmani (157) and No. 19 Cole Matthews (141).
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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