Pitt versus Penn State; Jan 21st

[Badcat]

The Pitt versus Penn State rivalry is....well....it isn't, really. Lets face it, as much as we want it to be as great as the Football rivalry was in the 80"s, Pitt has done little to fuel this matchup.

Last season it ended in a 19-19 tie, and freshman Anthony Zanetta upset Brad Pataky at 125. Drama...exit stage Left.

Zanetta and Pataky will once again go head to head at 125. With Pataky coming off of injury, and Zanetta being a steady and solid wrestler, I'm giving the upset to Zanetta once again.

The Highlight of the event will be #4 Tyler Neuman vs #7 Andrew Alton. Being from Hershey, a stone's throw away from Middletown, I've followed Neuman's career very closely. With that being said, and as much as I want to see the District 3 stud win this one, I see Alton pulling out a close win here.

Here is the way I see this breaking down:

125: Zanetta dec Pataky (Pitt 3)
133: Long WBF Mack (PSU 6)
141: Alton dec Neuman (PSU 9)
149: Malinaro maj Johnson (PSU 13)
157: Taylor TF Tasser (PSU 18)
165: Vollrath dec Headlee (PSU 21)
174: Ruth WBF DeCiantis or Vaughn (PSU 27)
184: Wright dec M. Thomusseit (PSU 30)
197: Z. Thomusseit WBF Ruggear (Pitt 9)
Hwt: Tomei dec Wade (Pitt 12)

Final score: Pitt 12 PSU 30

[vaisforlovers]

At first you think this dual is just going to be a thrashing but there are a few marquis matches.
125 will tell us where Brad Pataky is and if Anthony Zanneta is continuing to right the ship
141 Nauman has proven to be very dangerous and has beaten Kellen Russell previously. Still i favor Alton.
84 will be a good measuring stick for where QW is after his injury as Thomusseit is no joke, but not on QWs level you would think.
Tomei v. Wade -Tomei is better IMO but still two top 10 guys.

[Gold]

Is it sure that Wright will be back for this?

[vaisforlovers]

I think that's the timetable cael gave.

[Herkey#1]

I think that's the timetable cael gave.

Take it with a grain of salt.

[welcomehome160]

125: Pataky dec Zanetta PSU 3 - 0

Zanetta is solid and upset Pataky last year, but I don't see that happening again now that Pataky a) knows he is in for a match and b) may be fighting for a starting spot

133: Long pin Mack PSU 9 - 0

Long dismantled 2 very good wrestlers this weekend in Morrill and Stephens. He looked very sharp and will only get better as he gets back into wrestling shape and works out everyday with PSU's murderer's row of lightweights

141: Alton dec Nauman PSU 12 - 0

Nauman is a big name but has put up underwhelming results this year. I think the match will be close, but expect AA to win

149: Molinaro mdec Johnson PSU 16 - 0

Molinaro will dominate this match in his usual fashion: a few takedowns and some back points with plenty of RT en route to a comfortable major.

157: Taylor tech Tasser PSU 21 - 0

Fittery teched Tasser in 6:09 so that's the number to beat!

165: Kemerer dec Headlee PSU 24 - 0

Headlee seems to have made the drop to 165. This should be a great match; I have been impressed with JK several times this season, in particular when he fed off the PSU home crowd in a SV win over Hatchett from Lehigh. I think the atmosphere will be electric after PSU dominates the first 5 bouts and JK rises to the occasion. If Vollrath gets the start I think the combination of him moving up a weight and Headlee having come down a weight could cause problems

174: Ruth mdec Vaughan/Counterman PSU 28 - 0

These two Pitt wrestlers split time at the Pitt Duals on the 9th, so I'm not sure which one will wrestle here (could even be Headlee and Counterman at 165). Both wrestlers are tough, although IMO Vaughan moreso. I think Ruth has a better chance to put up big bonus against Counterman but probably gets at least 4 with either wrestler

184: Wright dec Thomusseit PSU 31 - 0

Thomusseit is very solid and Wright may wrestle conservatively coming back from an injury, so I doubt there will be bonus points here. Thomusseit has wrestled top guys at the weight very closely this season so it could be a good match. That said, QW is a notch ahead of those guys when he's wrestling in top form and if this match happens again in March I'd predict bonus for Wright.

197: Thomusseit dec Ortega/Ruggear PSU 31 - 4

PSU is outmatched in this bout, although I think either Ortega or Ruggear can wrestle well enough to keep it to a decision. Ruggear may be a bit more likely to give up the mdec actually, since he wrestles more offensively than Ortega does.

Hwt: Tomei dec Wade PSU 31 - 7

would love to see Wade pull this out, and he probably has about a 40% chance to do so.


Looking this over I essentially wrote a near best case scenario for PSU. I could see 125, 141, 165, 184 (if Q isn't ready), and heavy all going the other way, but all things considered Pitt will be lucky to win 4 matches.

[Gantry]

I think if Alton can get out relatively quickly from bottom (Nauman is a hammer on top) then the match is his.

[RYou]

125: Pataky dec Zanetta PSU 3 - 0

Zanetta is solid and upset Pataky last year, but I don't see that happening again now that Pataky a) knows he is in for a match and b) may be fighting for a starting spot

133: Long pin Mack PSU 9 - 0

Long dismantled 2 very good wrestlers this weekend in Morrill and Stephens. He looked very sharp and will only get better as he gets back into wrestling shape and works out everyday with PSU's murderer's row of lightweights

141: Alton dec Nauman PSU 12 - 0

Nauman is a big name but has put up underwhelming results this year. I think the match will be close, but expect AA to win

149: Molinaro mdec Johnson PSU 16 - 0

Molinaro will dominate this match in his usual fashion: a few takedowns and some back points with plenty of RT en route to a comfortable major.

157: Taylor tech Tasser PSU 21 - 0

Fittery teched Tasser in 6:09 so that's the number to beat!

165: Kemerer dec Headlee PSU 24 - 0

Headlee seems to have made the drop to 165. This should be a great match; I have been impressed with JK several times this season, in particular when he fed off the PSU home crowd in a SV win over Hatchett from Lehigh. I think the atmosphere will be electric after PSU dominates the first 5 bouts and JK rises to the occasion. If Vollrath gets the start I think the combination of him moving up a weight and Headlee having come down a weight could cause problems

174: Ruth mdec Vaughan/Counterman PSU 28 - 0

These two Pitt wrestlers split time at the Pitt Duals on the 9th, so I'm not sure which one will wrestle here (could even be Headlee and Counterman at 165). Both wrestlers are tough, although IMO Vaughan moreso. I think Ruth has a better chance to put up big bonus against Counterman but probably gets at least 4 with either wrestler

184: Wright dec Thomusseit PSU 31 - 0

Thomusseit is very solid and Wright may wrestle conservatively coming back from an injury, so I doubt there will be bonus points here. Thomusseit has wrestled top guys at the weight very closely this season so it could be a good match. That said, QW is a notch ahead of those guys when he's wrestling in top form and if this match happens again in March I'd predict bonus for Wright.

197: Thomusseit dec Ortega/Ruggear PSU 31 - 4

PSU is outmatched in this bout, although I think either Ortega or Ruggear can wrestle well enough to keep it to a decision. Ruggear may be a bit more likely to give up the mdec actually, since he wrestles more offensively than Ortega does.

Hwt: Tomei dec Wade PSU 31 - 7

would love to see Wade pull this out, and he probably has about a 40% chance to do so.


Looking this over I essentially wrote a near best case scenario for PSU. I could see 125, 141, 165, 184 (if Q isn't ready), and heavy all going the other way, but all things considered Pitt will be lucky to win 4 matches.

Both like to open it up in the first period. This is going to be a very entertaining bout.

Note - this one is being broadcast on B10

[kr1963]

Is it sure that Wright will be back for this?

Yes