Edinboro Match Notes
 
PROBABLE LINEUPS

Edinboro Fighting Scots (0-0, 0-0 EWL)
125 - #18/#20 Kory Mines (R-Sr., 5-1, Bedford, Ohio/Maple Heights)
133 -  #1/#1 A.J. Schopp (R-Sr., 0-0,Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone Area)
141 - #2/#2 Mitchell Port (R-Sr., 5-0, Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area)
149 - #5/#5 Dave Habat (R-Sr., 5-0, Parma, Ohio/St. Ignatius)
157 - #14/#16 Austin Matthews (So., 5-0, Greenville, Pa./Reynolds/Clarion)
165 - Casey Fuller (R-Jr., 5-1, Hamlin, Pa./Western Wayne)
174 - Nick Mitchell (R-So., 4-1, Frewsburg, N.Y./Frewsburg Central)
        Patrick Jennings (R-Jr., 7-1, Ridge, N.Y./Longwood)
184 - #12/#7 Vic Avery (R-Jr., 4-0, Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro)
197 - Vince Pickett (Jr., 5-1, Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing)
Hwt. - Warren Bosch (R-Jr., 1-2, Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park)
          Forrest Christmann (R-Fr., 2-2, Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock)
          Billy Miller (Fr., 4-1, Perry, Ohio/Perry)

HEAD COACH: Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 184-68-5, 17th year) 
Rankings: InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News

Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0, 0-0 ACC)
125 - Dom Forys (Fr., 1-0, Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny)
133 - Nick Zanetta (R-Fr., 1-0 Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks)
141 - Ben Ross (Fr., 0-1, Pipersville, Pa./Pennridge)
149 - #13/#16Mikey Racciato (So., 1-0, Pen Argyl, Pa./Pen Argyl)
157 - Ronnie Garbinsky (R-Jr., 1-0, Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone Area)
165 - Eric Nutter (R-Jr., 1-0, Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic)
        Cody Wiercioch (R-Fr., 0-0, Muse, Pa./Canon-McMillan)
174 - Troy Reaghard (R-Sr., 1-0, Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny)
184 - #6/#5 Max Thomusseit (R-Sr., 1-0, St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham)
197 - #12/#7 Nick Bonaccorsi (R-Jr., 1-0, Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park)
Hwt. - John Rizzo (R-So., 1-0, Johnstown, Pa./Richland/Temple)


THE MATCH STORIES

After opening the 2014-15 campaign in the Clarion Open on Sunday, Edinboro will face former EWL rival Pittsburgh in the first dual match of the season. The Fighting Scots turned in a strong showing at Clarion, as four wrestlers captured first place in their respective weight classes and 11 placed. Mitchell Port was a surprise winner at 141 lbs., only because he was not expected to compete but made the drive from Philadelphia to Clarion after his match with Logan Stieber at the NWCA All-Star Classic was cancelled. Dave Habat (149 lbs.), Austin Matthews (157 lbs.), and Vic Avery (184 lbs.) were Edinboro's other champions. 

Edinboro comes off the finest season in school history. The 2013-14 Fighting Scots finished with an 11-3 record, winning the EWL and PSAC Championships. Seven national qualifiers then combined to help Edinboro finish fifth at the NCAA Division I National Championships, the highest finish in school history. Three Fighting Scots earned All-American honors -- A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.) and Mitchell Port (141 lbs.) for the second time and Dave Habat (149 lbs.) for the first time. Port placed third with Schopp and Habat coming in fourth.

The Fighting Scots own a 15-11 record in the all-time series with Pittsburgh after snapping a four- match losing streak to the Panthers last year. Prior to that Edinboro had run off 11 straight wins in the series. Edinboro prevailed a year ago at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse 17-16 on criteria 3.15.3 total match points. 

THE PITTSBURGH SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS 15-11
Edinboro snapped a string of four straight Pittsburgh victories a year ago with a 17-16 win over the Panthers. The victory came thanks to criteria 3.15.3, total match points, with Edinboro holding a narrow 50-49 advantage. In 2012-13 Pittsburgh prevailed 19-18. Prior to the string of Pitt wins Edinboro ran off 11 straight wins against the Panthers.

LAST MEETING
2013-14:  EDINBORO 17, PITTSBURGH 16 -- For the second year in a row the match came down to the heavyweight bout. Ernest James, who the year before dropped a 3-2 decision in a tiebreaker to Matt Wilps, defeated P.J. Tasser 3-0 in the final match of the evening. James came in ranked 17th and Tasser 19th. That left the two teams tied, with Edinboro prevailing by criteria 3.15.3. Four of the five matches featured nationally-ranked wrestlers from both teams, with the feature match at 184 lbs. Pittsburgh's Max Thomusseit, ranked sixth at the time, won a 4-1 decision over 15th-ranked Vic Avery. At 133 lbs., A.J. Schopp continued his rivalry with Pitt's Shelton Mack. Schopp, ranked secondm won a 1-0 decision over Mack. Top-ranked Mitchell Port was an 8-2 winner over 17th-ranked Edgar Bright.Another tight match took place at 125 lbs., with 19th-ranked Anthony Zanetta of Pitt holding off 18th-ranked Kory Mines 10-9. 

THE COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86)  is in his 18th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots. He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 184-68-5 record. Edinboro has had 12 top-20 finishes and four in the top ten at the NCAA Division I National Championships during his tenure. He has produced three national champions and 33 All-Americans. All told, Flynn has been named the EWL Coach of the Year six times and the PSAC Coach of the Year 12 times. last year Flynn captured nearly every Coach of the Year award, including being named the NWCA NCAA Division I Coach of the Year, WIN's Dan Gable Coach of the Year, and was InterMat's Co-Coach of the Year along with Minnesota's J Robinson.
 
PITTSBURGH -- Jason Peters (East Stroudsburg '98) replaced long-time head coach Rande Stottlemyre after the 2012-13 season after serving as an assistant coach for the Panthers for ten seasons. He helped lead Pittsburgh to three straight EWL Tournament titles and last year guided the Panthers in their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pittsburgh won the ACC dual championship a year ago and went on to finish 22nd at Nationals. 
 
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
The Panthers have an experienced lineup spiced with some promising young wrestlers. Fifth-year seniors Tyler Wilps and Max Thomusseit form a powerful one-two punch at 174 and 184 lbs. Wilps is a two-time NCAA qualifier who earned All-American honors a year ago with a seventh place finish at 174 lbs. Unfortunately, Wilps, who is ranked fifth by InterMat and TheOpenMat.com, had to pull out of the NWCA All-Star Classic due to an injury and is not expected to face the Fighting Scots. Thomusseit is a three-time national qualifier who has reached the Round of 12 twice at 184 lbs. He was 21-4 a year ago. He comes into the year ranked fifth by TheOpenMat.com and sixth by InterMat. Nick Bonaccorsi is a two-time national qualifier at 197 lbs. who is ranked seventh by TheOpenMat.com and 12th by InterMat. The redshirt junior was 24-14 a year ago and fell one win shy of All-American status. Ronnie Garbinsky was a national qualifier at 157 lbs. in 2014, ending the year with a 17-9 record. Another national qualifier in the Pitt lineup is Mikey Racciato at 149 lbs. He finished second at the ACC Championships to earn a trip to Nationals. Racciato is ranked 13th by TheOpenMat.com and 16th by InterMat after finishing 22-15 last year.