Edinboro Match Notes
 

The Lineups

EDINBORO Fighting Scots (4-2, 2-0 EWL)
 

			2015-16	Career
			Record	Record
125	Sean Russell	R-Fr.	12-2	12-2	Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hills
133	Tony Recco	Fr.	3-10	3-10	Lyndonville, N.Y./Lyndonville
141	Nate Hagan	Fr.	12-9	12-9	Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Central Catholic
149	Patricio Lugo	Fr.	15-0	15-0	Homestead, Fla./South Dade
157	Spencer Nagy	Fr.	15-8	15-8	Alliance, Ohio/Alliance
165	Casey Fuller	R-Sr.	14-0	59-49	Hamlin, Pa./Western Wayne
174	Patrick Jennings	R-Sr.	10-4	64-51	Ridge, N.Y./Longwood
184	Chris Laird	R-Fr.	3-10	3-10	Waterford, Pa./General McLane
197	Vince Pickett	Sr.	10-4	70-48	Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing
	Warren Bosch	R-Sr.	2-1	34-43	Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park
285	Billy Miller	R-Fr.	13-1	13-1	Perry, Ohio/Perry

 
PITTSBURGH Panthers (3-1, 0-0 ACC)
 

			2015-16
			Record
125	LJ Bentley	Fr	7-3	Twinsburg, Ohio
	Jake Gromacki	R-Fr.	9-2	Erie, Pa.
133	#19 Dom Forys	So.	8-1	Pittsburgh, Pa.
141	#9 Mikey Racciato	Jr.	5-1	Pipersville, Pa.
149	Robert Lee	Fr.	5-4	Waukauma, Wis.
157	Ronnie Garbinsky	R-Jr.	6-4	Tyrone, Pa.
165	Cody Wiercioch	R-So.	7-2	Muse, Pa.
174	TeShan Campbell	Fr..	6-3	Pittsburgh, Pa.
	Cam Jacobson	Fr.	8-6	Pittsburgh, Pa.
184	Zach Bruce	R-Fr.	4-6	Seneca, Pa.
197	Nick Bonaccorsi	R-Sr.	6-2	Bethel Park, Pa.
285	#19 Ryan Solomon	R-So.	4-2	Milton, Pa.
	John Rizzo	R-So.	6-4	Johnstown, Pa.

The Match Stories

Edinboro returns to dual meet action on Thursday after breaking over the weekend to win their fifth straight PSAC championship. As if facing a strong opponent in Pittsburgh isn't a big enough test, the Fighting Scots are taking final exams this week, as well. 

A young Edinboro team comes in with a 4-2 record, with both losses to nationally-ranked teams. The Fighting Scots opened the year in the EMU Duals, winning two of three matches. Ranked 24th to start the season, they defeated Olivet, 46-3, before falling to 22nd-ranked Ohio, 22-12. They ended the day with a 19-12 win over Northern Illinois. Edinboro opened EWL action with a 23-15 win at Clarion. That was followed by a 36-6 loss at 10th-ranked Lehigh on November 22. Edinboro defeated Bloomsburg, 37-12, in its first home dual on December 3.  The win over the Huskies was the 13th straight in EWL competition, dating back to 2012-13.

The Fighting Scots own a 15-12 record in the all-time series with Pittsburgh.  After snapping a four-match losing streak to the Panthers two years ago with an 17-16 win on criteria, Pittsburgh prevailed at McComb Fieldhouse a year ago, 25-13, for its fifth win in the last six meetinhgs. Prior to that, Edinboro had run off 11 straight wins in the series. 

With a lineup featuring four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, it was anticipated that Edinboro would see its string of four straight PSAC championships come to an end. But someone forgot to tell the Fighting Scots. Six wrestlers reached the finals, with all six coming away with titles, and a total of eight Fighting Scots placed. It all added up to a fifth straight championship for the Scots, who finished with 136.5 points to outdistance Lock Haven, who finished second with 118 points. Mercyhurst was third with 108.5 points in the 12-team field. While the emphasis has been on the freshmen this year, it was a trio of seniors who led the way. Casey Fuller won his second straight title at 165 lbs., while Vince Pickett was doing the same at 197 lbs. Patrick Jennings won his first championship at 174 lbs. The freshmen did their part, as well. Redshirt freshmen Sean Russell and Billy Miller finished first at 125 and 285 lbs., respectively, while true freshman Patricio Lugo took home the crown at 149 lbs. Freshman Spencer Nagy added a third place finish at 157 lbs., with fellow freshman Nate Hagan fourth at 141 lbs.     

Edinboro comes off a monumental 2014-15 campaign which saw the Fighting Scots post their highest finish ever at the NCAA Division I National Championships. Edinboro earned a spot on the stand for the first time, finishing in third place, with four wrestlers earning All-American honors. That came after a fifth place showing at Nationals in 2014. Unfortunately, three of those All-Americans – A.J. Schopp, Mitchell Port, and Dave Habat -- have departed, and with them a total of eight All-American certificates and 399 career wins. In addition, four-year starter Kory Mines and his 88 career victories are gone, leaving Flynn to replace close to 500 wins in the starting lineup. Throw Kasey Burnett-Davis, who was in-and-out of the Edinboro lineup during his career and had 64 wins, and Edinboro's five seniors accounted for 551 wins!

Not only was Edinboro forced to replace four seniors in last year's lineup, injuries have left the Fighting Scots with two more gaps. Most noteworthy is Vic Avery, the lone returning All-American at 184 lbs. Avery earned All-American honors for the first time a year ago thanks to a third place finish. The redshirt senior was forced to pull out of the NWCA All-Star Classic due to a knee injury suffered in practice, and has yet to compete this year. He was 34-7 last year and owns 83 career victories. He is ranked as high as second in the various national rankings. Austin Matthews has not competed since early last season due to knee injuries. A former transfer from Clarion, Matthews was off to great start last year with a 9-0 record. He would suffer a knee injury and miss the rest of the season and is still not ready to compete this year. The redshirt sophomore began the year ranked as high as fourth at 157 lbs. Warren Bosch just returned to the mat in the Mat Town Open two weeks ago.  Bosch was the starter at heavyweight a year ago and was expected to move back down to 197 lbs. and challenge Vince Pickett for the starting job. He was 16-20 last year.

The Fighting Scots have turned to youth in 2015-16, in part due to the graduation losses and in part due to the injuries to Avery and Matthews. The lineup to date has featured four true freshmen -- Tony Recco (133 lbs.), Nate Hagan or Tyler Vath (141 lbs.), Patricio Lugo (149 lbs.), and Spencer Nagy (157 lbs.) -- and three redshirt freshmen.  Sean Russell at 125 lbs. and Billy Miller at heavyweight were the two blue-chips of last year's recruiting class and have not disappointed. They are joined in the lineup by Chris Laird, who is filling in for Avery at 184 lbs.   

Vince Pickett and Avery are the only returning national qualifiers from a year ago. A senior, Pickett was 17-18 last year and made his first trip to Nationals. He has 70 career victories after getting off to a 10-4 start.

Head coach Tim Flynn is in his 19th season as head coach. Already the record-holder for career wins at Edinboro, Flynn joined the 200-win club with the victory over Northern Illinois. He owns a 202-75-5 record. Flynn was named the EWL Coach of the Year for the second straight year and seventh time overall last season. In addition, he was selected the PSAC Coach of the Year for the 13th time.  

Pittsburgh has a 3-1 record in duals. The Panthers opened the year in the Terrapin Duals, defeating Kutztown(46-6), Maryland (16-15), and West Liberty (41-0). Their lone loss came at the hands of 10th-ranked Lehigh by a 27-7 score. Pittsburgh and Edinboro were EWL rivals before the Panthers joined the ACC three years ago. Pittsburgh still features a strong lineup, with five former national qualifiers and five wrestlers ranked in the various polls. 

Speaking of the polls, Edinboro has seven wrestlers ranked in the various polls. Oddly enough, two have yet to take the mat this year. Vic Avery is ranked as high as second at 184 lbs. despite sitting out the first month of the season recovering from knee surgery. Austin Matthews is also still recovering from knee surgery but is ranked tenth at 157 lbs. by Amateur Wrestling News. Casey Fuller and Patricio Lugo have forged undefeated records at 165 and 149 lbs., respectively. Fuller, a redshirt senior and 14-0, has climbed to 11th in TheOpenMat.com rankings and is 19th according to the WrestlingReport.com. Lugo, a true freshman who is 15-0, is 16th in TheOpenMat.com and the Wrestling Report.com, and 20th in the Amateur Wrestling News polls. Vince Pickett is ranked 19th by WIN Magazine at 197 lbs., along with 32nd by the WrestlingReport.com. The latter ranks Sean Russell 18th at 125 lbs. and Billy Miller 21st at 285 lbs. 

THE PITTSBURGH SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS 15-12 
Pittsburgh has won five of the last six meetings following a 25-13 win at McComb Fieldhouse a year ago. Edinboro snapped a string of four straight Pittsburgh victories two years ago with a 17-16 win over the Panthers. Prior to the string of Pitt wins Edinboro ran off 11 straight wins against the Panthers.

LAST MEETING
2014-15: PITTSBURGH 25, EDINBORO 13 -- The two teams hooked up in the beginning of November a year ago, with Edinboro ranked 10th and Pittsburgh 14th at the time. The Fighting scots would grab an early lead thanks to wins in three of the first five matches, but the Panthers swept the final five bouts, including a fall at heavyweight. The Fighting Scots were also missing Dave Habat at 149 lbs. A.J. Schopp won by major decision at 133 lbs., and Mitchell Port picked up a fall at 141 lbs. Austin Matthews won by decision at 157 lbs. The highlight match of the evening came at 184 lbs., where Max Thomussiet edged Vic Avery, 5-3.  

THE COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 19th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots.  He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 202-75-5 record.  Edinboro has had 13 top-20 finishes and five in the top ten at the NCAA Division I National Championships during his tenure.  That includes the two best finishes in school history the last two years. The Fighting Scots made the podium for the first time at Nationals with a third place showing a year ago, and in 2014 they were fifth. He has produced three national champions and 37 All-Americans.  All told, Flynn has been named the EWL Coach of the Year seven times and the PSAC Coach of the Year 13 times. Two years ago, 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 in his first season guided the Panthers in their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pittsburgh won the ACC dual championship and went on to finish 22nd at Nationals, ending the year with a 13-3 record. A year ago the Panthers were 8-8 in duals and came in 21st at National. 

SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
The Panthers are similar to Edinboro in that they lost some impressive wrestlers, including Tyler Wilps, the national runner-up at 174 lbs. a year ago and a two-time All-American, and Max Thomusseit, who reached the round of 12 three times at 184 lbs. The 2015-16 Pittsburgh lineup balances a bit of experience with a bit of youth. Head coach Jason Peters has mixed in three freshmen into a lineup with five former national qaulifiers. That group is led by Mikey Racciato, a junior who competes at 141 lbs. Racciato is a two-time national qualifier who was the ACC champion at 149 lbs. last year. He comes in with a 5-1 record and is ranked ninth by InterMat and Flowrestling, and 13th by Amateur Wrestling News. Nick Bonaccorsi is also a two-time national qualifier and was the EWL champion at 197 in 2013 and was the 2013 EWL Freshman of the Year.  A redshirt senior, he has a 6-2 record. Heavyweight Ryan Solomon, a redshirt sophomore, was the ACC runner-up last year. He owns a 4-2 record and is ranked as high as 12th by Flowrestling, along with 19th by InterMat. Dom Forys was a national qualifier at 125 lbs. last year. The sophomore is ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and 19th by interMat at 133 lbs. with an 8-1 record. Ronnie Garbinsky, a redshirt junior with a 6-4 record, was a 2013 national qualifier at 157 lbs. Peters will choose between freshman LJ Bentley (7-3) and redshirt freshman Jake Gromacki (9-2), a former standout at Cathedral Prep, at 125 lbs.