ASU is a big program, but they have faced some injury issues this year and I believe Pitt has the more well rounded lineup. This is a big chance for the Panthers to get a dual win in front of the home crowd.
125: #31 Camacho vs #11 Figueroa
Figueroa came into this season 18-0 in his collegiate career, across a redshirt year and a season as a backup. He is 2-2 on the year vs d1 competition but one of those loses was a INJ DEF at Midlands, and he has not wrestled since that occurred. He is listed as an OR on the ASU wrestling website, I am assuming he will go in this match and if he in fact does I have him as the definitive favorite. The Camacho we saw vs OKST was far from his best and Figs is a very very elite wrestler who, when healthy, is incredibly hard to beat. If the backup Tristan Mascerenas goes I would expect Camacho to get the win. With assumption of Figs going, ASU Favored.
133: #20 Santaniello vs #24 Chlebove
Chlebove is in his 5th year at ASU but his first as a starter. He is 13-4 on the season with all his losses coming to quality opponents. Vinny has the opportunity to pick up a solid win in what I expect to be a very tight match. Toss Up
141: #27 Matthews vs NR Dilbert
Cole needs to get back on track and this is the perfect opportunity for him. Dilbert is a a backup 133 who has been occasionally bumping to 141 as cover for ASU's injuries/redshirts. He is listed as the only probable for ASU in this dual. I would really expect Cole to win and would hope he can obtain bonus points. Pitt Favored.
149: #29 Solomon vs #4 Parco
Parco is a 3 time AA going for his 4th this season. He is 11-2 on the season with his best wins coming over Swiderski and D'Emilio. He took one surprising loss to Ty Whalen from Princeton who is grey shirting, but other than that he has looked very good this year and it is a tall task for Solomon to pull off the upset. ASU Favored
157: NR Keslar vs #5 Teemer
Teemer is a 2x AA who missed all of last season with injury, but has looked good in his return to the mat. He is 11-3 on the year, 1 of those losses being an injury default due to concussion protocol. His two losses in a full match are to Robb and Chittum, so there is not really any recent track record of him being vulnerable to unranked guys. I would expect Teemer to handle Keslar rather easily unfortunately and protecting bonus is going to be the goal in this match. ASU Favored.
First half: 1 Pit favored, 1 Toss Up, 3 ASU Favored. The first half is where ASU is strongest so I would expect it to possibly be a rough start for the Panthers, however there is a chance that we can keep it close in some of these matches and whether or not Figs goes at 125 could be a huge swing in our favor.
165: #11 Heller vs NR McLane
Chance McLane is listed as the probable starter for ASU and he is 4-5 on the year. He has some decent wins over NC State's Kovacs and Lock Haven's Bassett but I feel as if Holden is definitely a level above and should be able to get the second half off to a big start for the Panthers. Pitt Favored
174: #15 Augustine vs NR Valencia
Cael Valencia, brother of Anthony and Zahid, is expected to go at 174 for ASU. He is 6-6 on the year vs D1 competition and 6-7 overall with a loss to a D3 wrestler. Last year Luca beat him 14-1 at the Midlands. He seems to be a wrestler that is yet to make a jump and I expect for Luca to go out with bonus in mind. I am confident that Luca gets the job done. Pitt Favored.
184: #12 Heller vs #26 Negron
Negron is up to 184 this season, as he was all the way down at 165 last year. He seems to have adjusted to the weight well as he opened up the season with a win over returning UNC AA Gavin Kane. Overall he is 10-6 on the year with some decent wins but he has also lost to the majority of ranked opponents he has faced. Obviously Reece is an absolute wild card and that could get him into trouble here, but I do believe he will be able to control the match and come off on top of all the big exchanges. Pitt Favored.
197: #13 Stout vs NR Meissner
Meissner is 2-7 on the year and was on a 6 match losing streak going into his last match which he won. Mac keeps looking better and better as the season goes on and honestly may be our most aggressive offensive wrestler when you account for his immense size. I think Mac will get 5 or 6 team points in this bout. Pitt Favored.
HWT: #12 Pitzer vs #5 Schultz
The MAIN EVENT. A rematch from the match which put Pitzer on the map. He shut out Shultz 4-0 at Midlands last year in a dominating performance, highlighted by an amazing ride. Shultz was busy doing Greco stuff to start the season so he only wrestled 2 matches all year. A close loss to Yonger Bastida and an easy win over a kid from CSU Bakersfield. He is a three time AA who has placed, 4th, 2nd and then 7th in his career. This is a huge chance for Pitzer to bounce back and prove his win last year was not a fluke. I expect this match to come down to mat wrestling and likely be low scoring, as Schultz size as a massive heavyweight and upper body ability make him hard to score on from neutral. However he is just getting back into Folkstyle this season and could struggle on bottom against someone of Pitzer's ability on top. Toss Up.
2nd Half: 4 Pitt Favored, 1 Toss Up. 0 ASU Favored. This is a huge 2nd half for the Panthers, one where they can stage a comeback or pull away depending on how the first half goes. This second half run of being favored is huge and as long as everyone does what is expected of them it could go a long way.
Overall: 5 Pitt Favored, 2 Toss Up, 3 ASU Favored.
This meet will come down entirely to the 2 toss ups and the ability to get bonus when favored. An upset in either direction is likely a huge point swing. Personally I see the Panthers coming out on top and coming out aggressive tonight to make up for the lackadaisical showing in front of a record crowd last weekend. But if they have to lack of aggression and toughness that was apparent against OKST it could be a long afternoon.
125: #31 Camacho vs #11 Figueroa
Figueroa came into this season 18-0 in his collegiate career, across a redshirt year and a season as a backup. He is 2-2 on the year vs d1 competition but one of those loses was a INJ DEF at Midlands, and he has not wrestled since that occurred. He is listed as an OR on the ASU wrestling website, I am assuming he will go in this match and if he in fact does I have him as the definitive favorite. The Camacho we saw vs OKST was far from his best and Figs is a very very elite wrestler who, when healthy, is incredibly hard to beat. If the backup Tristan Mascerenas goes I would expect Camacho to get the win. With assumption of Figs going, ASU Favored.
133: #20 Santaniello vs #24 Chlebove
Chlebove is in his 5th year at ASU but his first as a starter. He is 13-4 on the season with all his losses coming to quality opponents. Vinny has the opportunity to pick up a solid win in what I expect to be a very tight match. Toss Up
141: #27 Matthews vs NR Dilbert
Cole needs to get back on track and this is the perfect opportunity for him. Dilbert is a a backup 133 who has been occasionally bumping to 141 as cover for ASU's injuries/redshirts. He is listed as the only probable for ASU in this dual. I would really expect Cole to win and would hope he can obtain bonus points. Pitt Favored.
149: #29 Solomon vs #4 Parco
Parco is a 3 time AA going for his 4th this season. He is 11-2 on the season with his best wins coming over Swiderski and D'Emilio. He took one surprising loss to Ty Whalen from Princeton who is grey shirting, but other than that he has looked very good this year and it is a tall task for Solomon to pull off the upset. ASU Favored
157: NR Keslar vs #5 Teemer
Teemer is a 2x AA who missed all of last season with injury, but has looked good in his return to the mat. He is 11-3 on the year, 1 of those losses being an injury default due to concussion protocol. His two losses in a full match are to Robb and Chittum, so there is not really any recent track record of him being vulnerable to unranked guys. I would expect Teemer to handle Keslar rather easily unfortunately and protecting bonus is going to be the goal in this match. ASU Favored.
First half: 1 Pit favored, 1 Toss Up, 3 ASU Favored. The first half is where ASU is strongest so I would expect it to possibly be a rough start for the Panthers, however there is a chance that we can keep it close in some of these matches and whether or not Figs goes at 125 could be a huge swing in our favor.
165: #11 Heller vs NR McLane
Chance McLane is listed as the probable starter for ASU and he is 4-5 on the year. He has some decent wins over NC State's Kovacs and Lock Haven's Bassett but I feel as if Holden is definitely a level above and should be able to get the second half off to a big start for the Panthers. Pitt Favored
174: #15 Augustine vs NR Valencia
Cael Valencia, brother of Anthony and Zahid, is expected to go at 174 for ASU. He is 6-6 on the year vs D1 competition and 6-7 overall with a loss to a D3 wrestler. Last year Luca beat him 14-1 at the Midlands. He seems to be a wrestler that is yet to make a jump and I expect for Luca to go out with bonus in mind. I am confident that Luca gets the job done. Pitt Favored.
184: #12 Heller vs #26 Negron
Negron is up to 184 this season, as he was all the way down at 165 last year. He seems to have adjusted to the weight well as he opened up the season with a win over returning UNC AA Gavin Kane. Overall he is 10-6 on the year with some decent wins but he has also lost to the majority of ranked opponents he has faced. Obviously Reece is an absolute wild card and that could get him into trouble here, but I do believe he will be able to control the match and come off on top of all the big exchanges. Pitt Favored.
197: #13 Stout vs NR Meissner
Meissner is 2-7 on the year and was on a 6 match losing streak going into his last match which he won. Mac keeps looking better and better as the season goes on and honestly may be our most aggressive offensive wrestler when you account for his immense size. I think Mac will get 5 or 6 team points in this bout. Pitt Favored.
HWT: #12 Pitzer vs #5 Schultz
The MAIN EVENT. A rematch from the match which put Pitzer on the map. He shut out Shultz 4-0 at Midlands last year in a dominating performance, highlighted by an amazing ride. Shultz was busy doing Greco stuff to start the season so he only wrestled 2 matches all year. A close loss to Yonger Bastida and an easy win over a kid from CSU Bakersfield. He is a three time AA who has placed, 4th, 2nd and then 7th in his career. This is a huge chance for Pitzer to bounce back and prove his win last year was not a fluke. I expect this match to come down to mat wrestling and likely be low scoring, as Schultz size as a massive heavyweight and upper body ability make him hard to score on from neutral. However he is just getting back into Folkstyle this season and could struggle on bottom against someone of Pitzer's ability on top. Toss Up.
2nd Half: 4 Pitt Favored, 1 Toss Up. 0 ASU Favored. This is a huge 2nd half for the Panthers, one where they can stage a comeback or pull away depending on how the first half goes. This second half run of being favored is huge and as long as everyone does what is expected of them it could go a long way.
Overall: 5 Pitt Favored, 2 Toss Up, 3 ASU Favored.
This meet will come down entirely to the 2 toss ups and the ability to get bonus when favored. An upset in either direction is likely a huge point swing. Personally I see the Panthers coming out on top and coming out aggressive tonight to make up for the lackadaisical showing in front of a record crowd last weekend. But if they have to lack of aggression and toughness that was apparent against OKST it could be a long afternoon.
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