Washington, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford wrestling team began its 2023-24 campaign on Wednesday evening as they fell in two matches at the Washington and Jefferson Trimatch. The Panthers lost the first match to the hosts 40-13 and then fell to Fairmont State 37-18.

The Panthers faced a tough challenge to begin their season as they started the event against the hosts, and defending co-PAC champions from Washington & Jefferson. The Panthers struggled to find their footing early but finished strong, winning the last three contested bouts.

DJ Slovick got the Panthers on the board in impressive fashion, as he won his bout by a major decision score of 16-3 at 174. This was followed by another Panther win from Colton Gietler at 184. Gietler fell behind early but won his match by decision 14-8. Freshman Gavin Thompson had a strong collegiate debut, as he won his first career match by pinfall at 2:25.

The second match of the event was against Division II Fairmont State. The Panthers picked up three more wins in the match. Farhid Negahban got the Panthers' first win by a forfeit at 165. This was followed by two more wins for Slovick and Gietler. Slovick won again at 174, this time by a pin at 2:15. Gietler also picked up a win by pin, trapping his opponent at 1:35.

The Panthers start their season 0-2. They will be back in action on Tuesday, November 7th, when they host Penn State-Behrend in their only home event of the fall semester. The match begins at 7:00 p.m. in KOA Arena.