Slow starts doom Pitt wrestling team against Edinboro, Michigan

Pitt's wrestling team had two big matches this week against ranked Edinboro and Michigan. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost both and fell to 12-3 on the season.

Part of the reason for the losses? Slow starts out of the gate.

Pitt's match against Edinboro was particularly agonizing. The match was tied 16-16 at the end of the match, but a tiebreaker for most total points came down to a single point (Edinboro won 50-49 there) and it cost the Panthers. If Pitt could have found a way to win an earlier match, though, they might have escaped with a team win.

The Panthers lost four of their first five bouts against Edinboro - the sole win coming from Anthony Zanetta at 125 pounds. Shelton Mack, Edgar Bright, Mikey Racciato, and Cole Sheptock all lost their matchups and that dug Pitt into a 13-3 hole.

Saturday was even worse for Pitt. Against Michigan, the Panthers lost their first five matches and the 15-0 hole proved to be too difficult to overcome. The Panthers fought back in the late middle/heavier classes, but fell just short at the end as P.J. Tasser couldn't defeat No. 2 Adam Coon.

Both opponents were very good teams. And, to be fair, Pitt had the lower-ranked wrestler in nine of those ten total bouts over the two days. But the slow starts were really difficult to watch and if Pitt found a way to win even one of those, their weekend may have been significantly different.

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