BLACKSBURG – 14th-ranked Korbin Myers' 5-3 upset over second-ranked Micky Phillippi of Pitt at 133 pounds lifted the No. 12 Hokies in a 27-6 victory over the No. 13 Panthers in front of 3,187 in Cassell Coliseum on Corps of Cadets Appreciation Night.
The Hokies (6-2) won eight of the 10 matches and have now won six straight duals. Pitt, who entered Friday with an 8-1 record, forfeited at 141 pounds but won at 157 and heavyweight. Tech returns to action on Sunday when it travels to No. 24 Lehigh for a dual set for 2 p.m.
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia Tech has now won 19 of its last 20 duals against ACC competition. The Hokies' lone defeat was the 19-15 loss to NC State on Feb. 16, 2018 last season in Raleigh.
- In a hotly contested bout at 133 that saw two coaches' challenges and an officials' review, Myers upset second-ranked Phillipi with a late reversal that iced a 5-3 decision.
- Myers led 3-2 late in the third period but Phillippi got the riding time over a minute that would've made it 3-3 at the end of regulation. In the final seconds, Myers got to a sitting position and gained leverage to score the reversal that extended his lead to 5-2. Phillippi got the riding time point but it didn't matter as Myers got the 5-3 upset decision.
- Redshirt sophomore Joey Prata got the match started with a 6-1 decision over Brendon Fenton.
- Following Pitt's forfeit at 141, redshirt senior Ryan Blees used two takedowns, an escape and the riding time point to take a 5-3 decision over Pitt's Robert Lee.
- The Hokies then took care of business from 165 through 197 as Mekhi Lewis, David McFadden, Zack Zavatsky and Tom Sleigh all won by decision to seal the win.
NO. 12 VIRGINIA TECH 27, NO. 13 PITT 6
125: Joey Prata (Virginia Tech) over Brendon Fenton (Pittsburgh) (Dec 6-1)
133: Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) over Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) (Dec 5-3)
141: Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech) over Unknown (For.)
149: Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) over Robert Lee (Pittsburgh) (Dec 6-3)
157: Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) over BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech) (Dec 7-4)
165: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) over Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) (Dec 6-3)
174: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) over Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) (Dec 7-3)
184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) (Dec 2-0)
197: Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) over Kellan Stout (Pittsburgh) (Dec 3-1)
285: Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) over Billy Miller (Virginia Tech) (Dec 11-7)
(1/25/2019) 2019 WRESTLING ACC OPENER vs. PITT