UVA Match Notes at Pitt | Watch

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team (7-4, 0-2 ACC) continues ACC competition this weekend with a road dual at No. 10 Pittsburgh (7-3, 1-1 ACC) on Friday (Feb. 7) at 7 p.m. It will be the third consecutive dual against a top-10 opponent for the Cavaliers.

The match will be carried on the ACC Network and streamed live on the ESPN app to viewers who subscribe to a cable system that carries the ACC Network. Fans can also follow the action through live stats linked at VirginiaSports.com or by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWrestling).

VIRGINIA PROBABLE LINEUP (Rankings According to InterMat)
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller
133: Louie Hayes
141: Brian Courtney
149: Denton Spencer OR Michael Murphy
157: Justin McCoy
165: Cam Coy OR Krystian Kinsey
174: Victor Marcelli
184: Michael Battista
197: No. 10 Jay Aiello
HWT: No. 18 Quinn Miller

PITTSBURGH PROBABLE RANKING (Rankings According to InterMat)
125: 
Louis Newell
133: No. 6 Micky Phillippi
141: Cole Matthews
149: Luke Kemerer OR Dallas Bulsak
157: Taleb Rahmani
165: No. 12 Jake Wentzel
174: Gregg Harvey
184: No. 6 Nino Bonaccorsi
197: Kellan Stout
HWT: No. 8 Demetrius Thomas OR Cole Rickert
 
A LOOK AT THE PANTHERS
Pittsburgh enters the weekend dual with an overall record of 7-3 and is 1-1 in ACC competition after a win over Duke and a loss to No. 4 NC State last weekend. The Panthers dropped last Friday’s dual with the Wolfpack by a score of 21-12 at home. 

Pittsburgh has four wrestlers ranked in the latest InterMat rankings and are led by sixth-ranked Micky Phillippi at 133 pounds. Phillippi is 18-1 on the season and is on a five-match win streak. His lone loss came to Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle. 
 
THE SERIES WITH PITTSBURGH
Virginia and Pittsburgh have faced each other seven times in the history of the programs with the Panthers holding a 6-1 lead in the all-time series. Virginia’s win in the series came in 2015 when the Cavaliers claimed a 17-16 victory at home. Five of the seven duals with the Panthers have been decided by six points or fewer. 

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE PANTHERS
Virginia and Pittsburgh battled at Memorial Gym last season with the Panthers grabbing a 20-15 victory over the Cavaliers in that dual. With the Panthers holding to a 17-15 lead heading into the final weight class, Virginia’s Robert Patrick and Pitt’s Gregg Harvey went to the second round of tiebreaks before Harvey would claim the 3-2 decision to lock up the victory. Virginia got wins from Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.), Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas), Michael Murphy (Lookout Mountain, Tenn.) and Cam Coy (Jeannette, Pa.) in the outing. Mueller posted a tech fall, while Coy posted a major decision to put the Cavaliers within striking distance with one bout remaining.  

SECOND COACHES PANEL RANKINGS RELEASED WITH SIX CAVALIERS FEATURED
As the season begins to wind down and eyes begin to turn toward the NCAA Championships, the coaches panel rankings have been released by the NCAA and the Cavaliers have six wrestlers featured among the nation’s top-rated competitors in the second ranking released by the coaches panel.

The final coaches panel rankings are used as part of the selection criteria for individual selection to the NCAA Championships and are also used in determining seeding. The panel is comprised of 14 coaches with two coaches from each of the seven conferences. Coaches may only consider wrestlers who are designated as a starter in a weight class, have wrestled in at least five matches against Division I opponents and have wrestled within the last 30 days.

Hoos In The Coaches Panel Rankings
125: Jack Mueller – 2nd
133: Louie Hayes – 20th 
141: Denton Spencer – 31st
157: Justin McCoy – 27th
197: Jay Aiello – 7th 
HWT: Quinn Miller – 24th 

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will continue to wrestle on the road next weekend, traveling to face Duke in an ACC dual at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14.