Vol. 105 Issue 99
@thepittnews Pecked away
Pittnews.com
Monday, January 26, 2015 CHESS MATES
Pitt falls to top-ten Cardinals at home
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Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer
Jonathan Kenny (left) competes against Madhavan Nar Keeran (right) in the final rounds of a tournament hosted by the Chess Club. Nate Smith | Staff Photographer
Students, faculty debate value of gen-eds Emma Solak Staff Writer Freshman Chad Boronky enrolled in Pitt’s College of Business Administration this fall to learn about information systems and supply chains. But now, in his second semester, he finds himself in a class about volcanoes and tectonic plates. CBA has general education re-
quirements for students, as do the rest of Pitt’s undergraduate schools and most universities across the country. According to the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ website, the goal is to provide liberal arts and pre-professional education for undergraduate students. However, some students at Pitt and other universities are dissatisfied with the gen-eds that the schools require
them to take. University committees, made up of Pitt faculty, decide gen-ed requirements and consider what students need to be successful members of society, according to Mary Beth Favorite, director of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences advising center. “It sounds cliché,” Favorite said. “But
Gen-eds
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The Show Goes On
Lupe Fiasco announced as PPC indoor concert headliner
Courtesy of Lupe Fiasco Facebook page
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
Lupe Fiasco to perform at Pitt Program Councilʼs Indoor Show Harrison Kaminsky News Editor The show will go on this March when Lupe Fiasco hits Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House. Fiasco, a prominent American rapper, performs for Pitt Program Council’s annual indoor show in the Fitzgerald Field House on March 28, PPC announced on Monday. Fiasco will be accompanied by David Burd, better known by his stage name, Lil Dicky, a comedian and rapper prominent on YouTube. The winner of PPC’s student hip-hop battle on Feb. 28 will open the show. PPC will begin selling tickets at its ticket office in the William Pitt Union on Feb. 2 for $5 each, and students can purchase up to five tickets each. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m. Fiasco has received three Grammy nominations in his career, including Best Rap Album, and released his fifth studio album, titled Tetsuo & Youth, last week. “The recent release of [Fiasco’s] new album makes Lupe Fiasco even more relevant
to pop culture,” said PPC’s special events director Kim Nguyen. During meetings, the Special Events Committee drafts a list of well-known performers they think will appeal to the
according to PPC’s executive board director Jon Lehan. PPC initiates polls to gauge students’ preferred genre, Lehan said, as opposed to specific artists.
Top Lupe Fiasco songs, by number of plays on Spotify
Courtesy of Lupe Fiasco Facebook page
student body, Nguyen said. Because weekly meetings can draw larger crowds, the Special Events Committee is a good barometer of student opinion,
1. Battle Scars 2. The Show Goes On 3. Old School Love (feat. Ed Sheeran) 4. Daydreaminʻ (feat. Jill Scott) 5. Superstar (feat. Matthew Santos) 6. Words I Never Said (feat. Skylar Grey) There are some limitations to what performances PPC can select, however. “When selecting acts, we are confined to just one date and do not have much flexibil-
ity,” Lehan said. “This is especially true for the Fitzgerald Field House, where we have to compete for space with athletics, city events and other student organizations.” Lehan said the Indoor Show has been an annual event on Pitt’s campus since 1999 when The Black Eyed Peas and The Roots performed. Following artist announcements by PPC, students sometimes post their displeasure with the chosen acts on social media. “You have to know that no matter who you choose to bring in for the concerts, there will be students who are displeased,” Lehan said. “We try to avoid it by choosing an artist that appeals to the vast majority of the student population.” Lehan could not disclose the price PPC paid for Fiasco to perform at Pitt because of contract stipulations, he said, although the performers’ respective agents set the price. PPC expects the show to sell out because of Fiasco’s popularity.
Lupe
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1
GEN-EDS they consider giving the students a wellrounded education.” The committees also consider what’s best for the students in their schools. For example, business students will have more specific math gen-eds than an Arts and Sciences student. “We don’t even consider [the math classes] gen-eds [for the business students],” Favorite said. “It’s just a core part of what they need for their major. Their gen-eds are more like literature and history.” For the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Favorite said, a committee of faculty, an undergraduate council of administrators, faculty and students, and a dean’s council all review the curriculum. According to the committee bylaws, the committees will hold at least two annual meetings in early October and late February. Faculty members also submit proposals for new gen-eds by the Nov. 1 deadline, Favorite said, and the undergraduate council reviews the proposals before the following
summer and fall terms. In a 2007 study at James Madison University, researchers interviewed a group of two female and four male sophomore students from a variety of majors about their feelings on gen-ed requirements. The stu-
graduate students, must fulfill a wide variety of requirements. A writing requirement calls for an introductory class and two writing-intensive classes. Other requirements call for courses in literature, the arts, creative expres-
“I could use it in my future, if I end up working for a company that deals with this subject.” Chad Boronky dents responded that gen-ed classes were a repeat of high school classes, delayed the start of taking major-related classes and produced a low level of commitment in both students and faculty. Students in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Pitt’s largest school, with almost 11,000 full-time and part-time under-
sion, philosophy, social science, historical change, three natural sciences, a sequence of two foreign language classes, three foreign culture/international courses, a non-Western culture and a formative or quantitative reasoning class. The quantity of subject requirements varies slightly by school, but according to
3 Favorite, they try to keep the requirements similar so students can more easily transfer between schools. Still in his first year, Boronky found gened requirements in the business school to be “frustrating,” he said, and hard to fit in his schedule. But the material could possibly, he thought, apply to his career path. “I could use it in my future, if I end up working for a company that deals with this subject,” Boronky said on Geology 0800. Boronky chose geology as his natural science requirement because it didn’t require lab work, and the course had a reputation among students of being an easily won ‘A.’ One reviewer on RateMyProfessor.com wrote it was a “Great way to get rid of a [Natural Science] gen-ed.” Another said, “easiest class ever.” Wasi Mohamed ran for Student Government Board president last semester and campaigned to change the way students take gen-eds at Pitt by giving students more choice in what classes they are required to take. After talking with students before run-
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 3
GEN-EDS ning for Board president, Mohamed, a senior studying neuroscience, history and philosophy of science and religious studies, found many peers opted for easy classes to fulfill their gen-ed requirements. Consequently, Mohamed said the atmosphere of the gen-ed classes is “the polar opposite” of the classes in his major. Low attendance rates and minimal class participation from himself and his peers were some notable differences. “If students hold this attitude when beginning a course, it is doubtful that the coursework will enhance the breadth of education offered at the University of Pittsburgh as intended,” Mohamed said in an email. Some students, like Clara Almy, enjoy the gen-ed requirements. Almy, who graduated in December with a degree in French language and literature, said she chose gen-eds that she found interesting, such as anthropology and political science. Those gen-ed classes led her to earn certificates in West European studies, gender studies and women’s studies and a minor in political science. It’s not uncommon for gen-ed classes to introduce students to new interests, Favorite said, and prompt them to add on a certificate or minor that they weren’t initially pursuing. FROM PAGE 2
LUPE
“We have been close to selling out the Indoor Show the last three years, but we did not sell out,” Lehan said. “However, we think that Lupe Fiasco is more of a draw to Pitt students than the performers we have had in the past.” When PPC books an artist, Nguyen said, it has to try to book one who sells the best. In the past, PPC has sold out of general admission tickets very quickly and has been able to sell a majority of the seating tickets. At last year’s Indoor Show, the headliner, Tyga, cancelled his appearance last minute because of flight complications. Local artist Chevy Woods stepped in to perform as the headliner. Nguyen said this occurrence was an
“For example, if you’re interested in Spanish language and you have to take a historical change gen-ed, you could take history of Latin America and do a Latin American studies certificate,” Favorite said. Other schools, like Brown University, don’t require students to take any gen-ed classes. Instead, students are encouraged to pick whatever classes interest them while completing a minimum of 30 Brown courses. If Mohamed had won the presidency, he said he would have implemented a plan similar to Brown’s. Contrasting Mohamed’s experience with gen-eds, Almy said that she enjoyed receiving a well-rounded education from Pitt. “I have all these little bits of knowledge, which is fun” Almy said. “I feel like I learned more in college because I had to take these random classes.” However, Almy admits that not everyone shared her experience with gen-eds. “People are way less invested in [geneds],” Almy said. “I noticed, in big classes, people are just taking it just to get a C to get their gen-ed, and you can definitely tell who is actually the major, because they’ll participate and sit in the front.” That doesn’t mean the students who aren’t taking the class for their major can’t benefit from it. “Not all knowledge has to be something you are going to use specifically,” Favorite said. externality that PPC could not foresee, and it was highly unusual for any of PPC’s live performance events. “If it happens again, we know how to handle the situation and will deal with the matter if it arises,” Nguyen said. Lehan said in the live performance industry, there are no concrete backup plans. “What happened last year was unfortunate, but we had no control over it, and we did our best to put on a great show given the circumstances. This year will be no different,” Lehan said. Lehan said the purpose of the more than 100 events PPC holds each year is to give Pitt students the opportunity to have an experience that they do not have the money or resources to seek on their own. “With the collaboration of our eight committees, we aim to provide a wide variety of social, educational and recreational events to the Pitt community,” Lehan said.
January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com
Harrison Kaminsky, News Editor news@pittnews.com
Matt Barnes, Opinions Editor letters@pittnews.com
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E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0
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The Pitt News Crossword, 1/26/2015
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ACROSS 1 Plant reproductive structure 9 Sharpens 14 Lindbergh nickname 16 Goat __: chaotic situation, in slang 17 European travel pass 18 “You Must Love Me” musical 19 NYC travel org. 20 Trig function 22 West end? 23 Internal walls 26 Lizard that can shed its tail 27 Passing event? 28 Book ending 30 Like 23 of Haydn’s symphonies 31 Standing losses? 32 Signifies 35 “What have we here?!” 36 School hallway warning 38 Fingers 39 Media section 40 Anthologies 41 Project 42 Number of single-syllable U.S. states 43 Cosmo, for one 44 One Direction singer Zayn __ 46 Kirkuk native 50 “Every Moment Counts” gp. 51 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient 53 Vow taker 54 8-Down and others 56 A carve turn may be taught in one 59 Bring forth 60 S-shaped sofa 61 Company with antlers in its logo 62 Things to obey, like 36-Across and 8-Down DOWN 1 Diets, with “down” 2 Bridge overseas 3 Slated
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Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the students, faculty or University administration. Opinions expressed in columns,- car toons and letters are not necessarily those of The Pitt News. Any letter - in tended for publication must be addressed to the editor, be no more than 250 words and include the writer’s name, phone number and University affiliation, if any. Letters may be sent via e-mail to letters@pittnews.com. The Pitt News reserves the right to edit any and all letters. In the event of multiple replies to an issue, The Pitt News may print one letter that represents the majority of responses. Unsigned editorials are a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, listed to the left. The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper for the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh. It is-pub lished Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. Complaints concerning coverage by The Pitt News, after first being brought to the editors, may be referred to the Community Relations -Com mittee, Pitt News Advisory Board, c/o student media adviser, 435 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260. The editor in chief has the final authority on editorial matters and cannot be censored, according to state and federal law. The editor in chief is selected by the Pitt News Advisory Board, which includes University staff, - fac ulty and students, as well as journalism professionals. The business and edito rial offices of The Pitt News are located at 434 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260.
1/31/15
By Ned White
4 R&B artist Des’__ 5 “As wicked dew as __ my mother brush’d”: “The Tempest” 6 1979-’80 Fleetwood Mac hit 7 Food stabilizers 8 Highway warning 9 Highway closer, perhaps 10 Highway lane, for short 11 Four-time Emmywinning actress 12 Four-stranded DNA structure 13 Scoundrels 15 Where “Hamlet” opens 21 Object 24 Spruces (up) 25 Like-minded orgs. 29 __ Bannon, Paul Newman role 31 Jerry who wrote lyrics for many Presley songs 32 How a stage line might be spoken 33 Rabble-rouser
Friday’s Puzzle Solved
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34 Champion of the common man 35 Successor to Anwar 36 Not laughing 37 Brandy designation 41 31-day mo. 44 Beaux-arts venue 45 Sports commentator Olbermann
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1/31/15
47 Adams who shot El Capitan 48 Repeat exactly 49 Novelist Hammond __ 52 Run 55 Big name in bar code scanners 57 Tin __ 58 Tommy Pickles’ dad in “Rugrats”
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EDITORIAL
OPINIONS
Evolving federal student loan policy prompts questions Between exams, papers and projects, college students must keep their eyes on the future, or, more specifically, their future college debt. In fact, student loan debt is at a record high of $1.1 trillion, while the average undergraduate borrower finishes school with almost $30,000 of debt. Now, however, there may be hope for college students facing such debt. A Jan. 24 New York Times article signals that there might be hope for such students. Legislative tweaks over the past decade may make borrowing money less of a burden on students, as the federal government starts accepting a larger role in lending money to students. The federal government began offering generous subsidies to private banks in the 1960s, according to The Times. These banks would then loan money to students. But, in the 1990s, President
COLUMN
Clinton allowed students to directly borrow from the U.S. Department of Education. If students took this option, they became eligible for an income-based repayment program that limited loan payments to 20 percent of the borrower’s income. Furthermore, any remaining debt after 25 years of payments was forgiven — which was not an option for those borrowing from private banks. Federal student debt policy continues to evolve today. In 2007, the federal government established a new IncomeBased Repayment program, which means you pay more if you make more, and lowered the cap of monthly payments to 15 percent of income, rather than the previous 20 percent. Additionally, the federal government would wipe out any remaining loan balances after just 10 years. Moreover, following the 2010 Afford-
able Care Act, the federal government no longer continued to subsidize private banks, with IBR rates becoming more generous to students. Such IBR and generous loan forgiveness programs appear attractive to college students, and the federal government should certainly address the growing student debt phenomenon plaguing America’s young adults. However, we must remember that such programs are financially costly to the American people as well. Balancing student loan generosity and being fiscally responsible is a challenging and complicated task. As concerned students and citizens, we must ask of our leaders, how much will these generous programs cost? Already dealing with more than $18 trillion of its own debt, is the federal government in a state to liberally lend out more mon-
ey to students and ask for less in return? Instead of creating a system of lending and owing large debts, the government should help to establish a society in which higher education is affordably priced for all of its citizens. Alternatively, it is the federal government’s responsibility to students today and tomorrow to not continue to plunge the country deeper and deeper into the red. Today, we cannot decisively say whether or not the federal government is or is not capable of fiscally responsibly carrying out its liberal student debt initiatives. However, it is of the utmost importance to society that students think deeply about the federal government’s role in aiding them in paying back loans. The first step in doing so is asking these questions. The more we ask, the closer we get to finding effective solutions to curbing student debt.
‘Papa Bear’
Or, how I learned to stop hating and respect Bill O’Reilly Stephen Caruso Columnist I don’t hate Bill O’Reilly. Honestly, as a liberal, I feel like I have to abhor the guy at times. The amount of snarky comments from my friends about him gave me the impression that I must at least dislike the man, if not curse him to the ninth circle of hell. Quite frankly, I’ve found that I far from dislike him. In fact, I respect him. As red-faced as he can get while screaming at a guest about how wrong he or she is, there is something I find quite endearing, and borderline admirable, in Papa Bear. His conviction is what draws my dad to O’Reilly’s show. If you ask my dad where he gets his information, he will proudly tell you
Fox News. This often makes me want to tear my hair out when I debate with him at the dinner table, as Fox is the only reputable source in his opinion. However, when he turns on Rupert Murdoch’s — media tycoon and owner of Fox News — personal mouthpiece, he usually goes straight for “The O’Reilly Factor.” Now, as much as I may respect O’Reilly, it doesn’t mean I think he is right. So when my dad starts pumping up the television volume in a passive-aggressive attempt to have me hear “No Spin Zone,” the lovely moniker Bill uses for his own program, I tend to jump up from wherever I am in the house to confront him. Needless to say, no one’s opinions end up changed, whether the topic O’Reilly is highlighting is welfare or rap music. But,
still, my dad has always insisted I should sit down and watch the show with him. “If you are such an open-minded liberal, why don’t you watch Bill O’Reilly as much as that idiot?” (That idiot being Jon Stewart). So, Dad, since I always send you the links to my articles, I decided I owed you one — what, with the whole co-signingmy-student-loans favor you did me — and decided to finally sit down and watch Bill O’Reilly last Thursday. I settled in a bit early, catching the tail end of another program — some talking heads profiling a woman who eats cereal out of a bath tub. The cereal program was quite the appetizer for my main course, and soon Bill was dominating the screen, announcing what was going to be on “The Factor” tonight. On the menu was Ferguson,
Mo., and Michael Brown, cyber security and Deflategate. What a show, I thought, as Bill went into his “Talking Points” on “race and corruption.” During this segment, Bill used the grand jury’s lack of civil rights charges against Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting as proof that the protesters, whom Bill called “rioters” or “looters” throughout the segment, should apologize for their actions, whether they looted or not. Bill also used this as an opportunity to attack Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader, calling him a charlatan and saying the Ferguson protests were “another terrible entry on Sharpton’s resumé.” Bill said, “You can’t convict a fellow American of anything unless you know the facts.”
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 6
CARUSO Then, he folded this point on Sharpton’s lack of respect for judicial authority into the success of the judicial system in the conviction of a New York politician, Sheldon Silver, for corruption. For O’Reilly, Silver was a legitimate criminal who deserved the negative attention, unlike all of the criticism that has been leveled at Darren Wilson following the shooting of Michael Brown. Bill gloated over the charges, also making sure to call Silver a “vile human being.” Personal insults aside, I thought Bill had something of a point. Maybe Americans do judge too heavily on emotion and circumstance, rather than fact. But then, in the immediate follow-up to these talking points, Bill let such emotional judgments slip right past him. He then had Rev. Jacques Degraff and Richard Fowler, an attorney and radio talk show host, respectively, on the show to argue with Bill about the lack of civil rights charges against Darren Wilson. As clips of looters breaking into convenience stores
played, O’Reilly sounded off triumphantly. For O’Reilly, the local grand jury had not convicted Darren Wilson, and the Justice Department would also not convict Wilson, so all of the protest had been meaningless. The two guests begged to differ. As Fowler said, “The federal investigation was about whether or not Darren Wilson violated Michael Brown’s civil rights.” The investigation had not, however, examined the conduct of the prosecutor of the Ferguson case, Robert McCulloch, of wrongdoing. So, with the prosecutor still not cleared of misconduct, there was no reason for protesters to apologize, as O’Reilly had wanted. Bill countered that the Justice Department investigation would have uncovered any problems in the prosecution of the case by McCulloch. His guests emphatically disagreed, and what could have been an interesting discussion on race in America
became a shouting match. O’Reilly started yelling “no it’s not!” at Fowler and Degraff. They countered that they were indeed right. Then the host dropped “you guys are wrong! You are just wrong.” Right before my eyes, the perfect O’Reilly screaming match developed. The overly emotional judgment that has driven Bill to call so many “pinheads” was back. As it would turn out, for all his bluster, O’Reilly was dead wrong. The Justice Department has only looked at Wilson and the Ferguson Police Department. And the police department investigation was still ongoing. It’s tough, after seeing examples of spin in the “No Spin Zone,” to say I still respect O’Reilly. But whenever I feel ready to write him off — like I wrote off Sean Hannity or
“Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh couldn’t engage a noted liberal like Stewart in such a candid fashion. Bill seems to embrace the chance to.”
7 Rush Limbaugh — I think of the times he’s called out Karl Rove for being a Republican shill, like over the VA mess or Rove’s own prediction skills. Or I think of how affably he handles his many guests’ appearances on “The Daily Show” or, even better, his debate with Jon Stewart. My dad and I sat silent before my laptop, watching the two titans of television duke it out, with each of our hero-worshiping tendencies in the balance. The fact that O’Reilly had the guts to go onstage in a college auditorium to debate a comedian reminds me that, deep down, he is a man of some decency. Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh couldn’t engage a noted liberal like Stewart in such a candid fashion. Bill seems to embrace the chance to. No matter how condescending he is, I do think O’Reilly is looking out for “the folks.” That doesn’t mean I need him looking out for me. I can handle that just fine. But keep being you, Bill. The world needs a few blowhards, and you are my second-favorite one. Stephen Caruso writes on varying topics, such as economics and social issues. He is also the Layout Editor for The Pitt News. Write to Stephen at sjc79@pitt.edu.
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
SPORTS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
What the Harrell? Montrezl Harrell adds 18 points to Terry Rozierʼs 26 as No. 10 Cards beat Pitt Jasper Wilson Senior Staff Writer A sell-out crowd resembling a sea of gold didn’t translate to great fortune for the Pitt men’s basketball team against a highly ranked opponent. Facing No. 10 Louisville on Sunday afternoon during a “Gold Out” promotion at the Petersen Events Center, the Panthers contained and stayed with the visitors for much of the first half, despite Louisville’s historic hot shooting, handling their fullcourt pressure defense well. But the Panthers’ eventual self-imposed mistakes presented a breakthrough opportunity for the Cardinals, which they took, building a lead that remained for the rest of the game, as Pitt lost 80-68. Louisville followed the lead of Cardinals’ point guard Terry Rozier early on, as the sophomore scored 11 of his team’s first 16 points and finished the half with 18, setting the tone for the rest of the guests’ success, according to Pitt forward Michael Young. “They just took off from there,” Young, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, said. In the opening period,
Louisville (16-3, 4-2 ACC) shot a superb 70.8 percent as a unit from the field, converting 17-24 of its overall attempts and 4-5 from 3-point range. The Cardinals’ end-ofgame field goal percentage of 65.2 is the best a team — home or away — has shot in Petersen Events Center history and the best an opponent has ever performed against a Jamie Dixon-coached team. Pitt guard James Robinson said one person’s shooting success becomes contagious. “Once you see the ball go in, you kind of get in that rhythm, and it spreads throughout the team,” Robinson said. “I guess that’s kind of what happened.” Rozier finished with a game-high 26 points, his shots finding the bottom of the basket no matter how Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon tried to slow him. “We played zone, and he got open looks in the zone. We played man, and he got some tough shots against the man,” Dixon said. “It wasn’t hard to figure out that he was a scorer — a big factor — and he just got going.” A follow-up statement
M Hoops
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LOUISVILLE’S MONTREZL HARRELL CONTESTS A SHOT BY MIKE YOUNG MEGHAN SUNNERS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com WEEKEND RECAP
Gymnastics, track and field compete on road
Pitt gymnastics competed in New Hampshire. Meghan Sunners | Staff Photographer
Alex Fischbein Staff Writer Pitt’s gymnastics team traveled to New Hampshire to compete this weekend, while the track and field team performed at the Youngstown State Invitational. Here’s how they fared. Gymnastics Pitt’s gymnastics team (2-4, 0-3 EAGL) traveled to Durham, N.H., to face off against the University of New Hampshire. Pitt had a couple bright moments in junior Lindsay Offutt and freshman Taylor Laymon’s routines, but they ended up losing by a score of 195.450-192.175. Offutt finished in a tie for first place in the floor event with a 9.800 score. Laymon also earned a share for first
place, as she achieved a score of 9.825, her highest of the season on the uneven bars. “I wanted to come out strong and keep the energy up for my team,” Laymon said. She led the way on the bars, but the team notched its lowest individual event score with just a 47.675. Pitt then moved to vault and slightly improved upon its bars score. Tracey Pearson, who tied for second on vault and finished third in the all-around with a season high of 38.600, led the Panthers. The sophomore said that she typically has the same mindset approaching events, but had to keep her team in mind.
Recap
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January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
WRESTLING
Panthers lose first-ever ACC match at No. 14 Virginia Chris Puzia Sports Editor
The Pitt wrestling team faced a blow on Sunday that it had yet to meet in its program: an ACC loss. The team’s first-ever ACC conference loss came against No. 14 Virginia, 17-16, on the road Sunday. The No. 10 Panthers (7-4, 2-1 ACC) won eight straight ACC matches dating back to 2013, when the team joined the conference, but an early deficit on Sunday proved too much to overcome. Pitt’s Dom Forys and Ben Ross lost the first two bouts of the day, putting the visiting Panthers in an early 7-0 hole. As has been the case for most of the season, Pitt’s ranked wrestlers own their individual bouts. No. 20 Mikey Racciato, No. 7 Tyler Wilps and No. 2
Wrestling
12 Nick Bonaccorsi and the No. 10 Panthers lost a close 17-16 defeat over the weekend . Nate Smith | Staff Photographer
T P N S U D O K U
Today’s difficulty level: Very Hard Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com
January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 9
RECAP
“I could have improved in a couple areas, but, all around, I think my score was fair,” Pearson said. The Panthers went on to score a 48.650 in the floor event, which turned out to be their best event of the night. Four different Panthers scored a 9.700 or better in the event and a few Pitt gymnasts finished with season-high scores. Finally, they ended the night on the beam with a score of 48.000. Freshman Dani Hall led the way for Pitt with a personal best of 9.725, but New Hampshire’s final event scores exceeded Pitt’s total. The gymnastics team’s next meet is against Kent State on Jan. 30. Track and Field Pitt had a great day at the Youngstown State Invitational with 10 athletes earning top finishes and Andrew Wells breaking a school record in the process.
The junior set a meet record and broke his previous personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 20.47 meters. His throw broke the previous meet record, which was set in 2013, by 1.11 meters. Wells also previously set the meet record last year at Virginia Tech with a throw of 20.20
Sophomore Brylan Slay took home first place in the men’s 400-meter dash. This was his fourth consecutive first-place finish in a meet, as he ran a personal best with a time of 48.10. Teammates Desmond Palmer and Donnell Taylor followed him in second and third, respectively.
“I wanted to come out strong and keep the energy up for my team.” Taylor Laymon meters . Keeping up with Wells’ success, Pitt took all three of the top spots in the men’s 400-meter dash and women’s 200-meter dash. The Panthers also won both the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles.
First-place finisher Zoey Whittington paced another one-two-three finish by the Panthers in the women’s 200-meter dash. Whittington finished with a time of 25.09, Khadeja Kearney earned a second-place finish with a 25.33 and Alyssa Wise came in third at 25.34.
11 On the men’s side of the 200-meter dash, Chris Tate finished in first with a season-best 21.66. Pitt assistant coach Adam Bray said before the meet that success on the track wouldn’t surprise him. “They have all been working very hard,” Bray said. “We get to see that improvement in person, and that is a fun thing to watch.” Kearney and Ashad Johnson Conley both won the 60-meter hurdles in the women’s and men’s sides, respectively. Kearney bolted a personal-record time of 8.66, and Johnson Conley also finished with a season-best 8.14. To close out the evening, Pitt brought home top finishers in both the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays. The team of Paige Lumley, Evann Thompson, Emily Schumacher and Caitlin Rolle won the women’s race in 3:58.25, while the men’s team of Avery Taylor, Palmer, Tate and Slay finished with a time of 3:15.46. The Panthers compete next in the Penn State Invitational in University Park, which will run Jan. 30-31.
12
January 26, 2015 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com
FROM PAGE 10
WRESTLING Max Thomusseit each won in the middle matches. Pitt’s only ranked wrestler to lose was No. 17 Nick Bonaccorsi, who dropped his bout to No. 19 Zach Nye, 2-1. The teams entered the last two bouts trailing 14-13, meaning the Panthers had to either win both bouts or score bonus points in a major decision to beat the Cavaliers (10-3, 2-0 ACC). Bonaccorsi took the mat at that point and went to sudden victory after a 1-1 tie through three periods. Nye earned one escape point in the first tiebreaker, giving him and Virginia the match win. Pitt heavyweight Ryan Solomon then had to win and earn bonus points for the Panthers to pull the match in Pitt’s fa-
vor. The redshirt freshman still won his individual bout 4-3 but, without bonus points for a major victory, Virginia still escaped with a one-point win. Thomusseit again dominated his opposition, earning a technical fall over Tyler Askey with a 21-6 win. The redshirt senior extended his undefeated dual meet record to 11-0 and sits at 19-1 overall on the season — his one loss this season came in a tournament. Wilps faced off against a fellow top-10 wrestler, No. 5 Blaise Butler of Virginia. Butler was coming off ACC Wrestler of the Week honors, but Wilps bested the junior 6-2 in the 174-pound weight class. Pitt’s road trip will continue to be grueling work in the near future. The Panthers are idle next week, but travel to Blacksburg to face No. 9 Virginia Tech on Feb. 6.
FROM PAGE 8
M HOOPS from Dixon about Rozier’s success also described his team’s defensive woes. “Zone, man, press, guarded ball screens different ways, nothing seemed to be effective in what we did,” he said. And yet despite that inability to stop the opposition’s offensive onslaught, Pitt (13-7, 3-4 ACC) kept the game close for the
avoid the game getting away from them, the Panthers did so when play restarted, scoring five unanswered points and holding Louisville scoreless for the first five minutes. But the comeback stalled short of completion and the window of opportunity closed. The Cardinals went on to lead by as many as 18 before eventually securing their victory. “We had a lot of opportunities to come back and bring the lead within the striking distance and make the game closer and
This is whose house? Pitt has a 13-3 record at home against top-10 opponents. But that streak is trending the wrong way for Pitt in recent years.
Date
Opponent
Result
Score
1/25/15
10 Louisville
Loss
80-68
3/15/14
6 Virginia
Loss
51-48
2/12/14
1 Syracuse
Loss
58-56
2/2/13
2 Syracuse
Win
65-55
1/28/12
9 Georgetown
Win
72-60
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majority of the opening period, in part by winning the rebounding battle, 14-12. It shot 41.2 percent from the field, but just 2-9 from 3-point territory. With 4:32 remaining before halftime, Louisville broke through, going on a 12-4 run to build a double-digit lead going into the break up 40-30. During that same span, the Panthers went 2-6 from the field and committed three turnovers against the press. “We started their run with us making mistakes,“ Young said. The advantage reached double figures after just 2:30 had passed. Needing to go on a run of their own to
give us a chance to win,” Young said. “I just don’t think we capitalized on a lot of the opportunities we had in the second half.” As the game wound to a close, many of the 12,508-strong crowd streamed for the exits, not waiting or wanting to see the end result. “It’s very disheartening to come up short in front of our fans like that,” Dixon said. Jamel Artis led Pitt with 18 points, while Robinson and Chris Jones finished with 16 and 12, respectively. Pitt plays again on Tuesday at Virginia Tech. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, and tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.