Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 160
Robert Morris men get home game vs. Cornell in 1st round of CIT
It turns out the Robert Morris women’s team’s victory Sunday in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game wasn’t the last at the North Athletic Complex. The men’s team will host Cornell at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). The North Athletic Complex is the...
Robert Morris women beat St. Francis for NEC title, return to NCAAsVideo
Robert Morris’ lead was crumbling and perhaps the season right along with it. The noise inside the Colonials’ North Athletic Complex on Sunday during the Northeast Conference championship game was almost overwhelming. Perhaps some nerves were rattled and some hearts were pumping faster than normal. All the momentum and energy...
Latrobe’s Ron Schirf set to return to NCAA Wrestling Championships — 62 years later
No matter how hard he tried, dutifully attending practice every day for four years at Latrobe, Ron Schirf never could master the game of football. But Schirf had another talent that got him into college and onto a national platform. He was that school’s best wrestler in the 1950s (the...
Pitt tandem choose wrestling over basketball, become championsVideo
When he was 14 at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo., Pitt wrestler Demetrius Thomas thought he wanted to play basketball. Lucky for him, two McCluer coaches conspired to make sure that didn’t happen. Years earlier, Micky Phillippi — just like any 6-year-old would do — dutifully followed his father...
Pitt will open 2019-20 ACC schedule Nov. 6 against Florida State at the Pete
The ACC’s move from an 18- to a 20-game conference schedule means games that matter most occur sooner next season, and that includes Pitt’s 2019-2020 opener Nov. 6 against Florida State at Petersen Events Center. The date is nearly two months earlier than the opening to the 2019 conference schedule...
Bryan Rust nears return, but where does he fit in Penguins’ lineup?Video
Only 11 regular-season games separate the Pittsburgh Penguins from the urgent, pressurized grind of the postseason, but for now these are hopeful — if busy — times for one of the NHL’s hottest teams. Especially for Bryan Rust (lower body), who joined Kris Letang (upper body) as injured Penguins who...
Dick Groat’s hunch about Jeff Capel comes true for Pitt
When Duke visited the Petersen Events Center last year to play Pitt, Jeff Capel couldn’t wait to get there. Then a Duke assistant and now the head coach at Pitt, Capel carried with him a bag of Duke gear he wanted to give to Dick Groat, one of the greatest...
Pitt hires new marketing firm for its 19 sports
In a move intended to help grow Pitt’s brand among its 19 sports in terms of what matters in big-time college athletics — corporate sponsorships and multimedia rights — the university’s athletic department signed a long-term deal Thursday with JMI Sports, a collegiate marketing firm. The new agreement is set...
Robert Morris men accept postseason invitation to CIT
It turns out the men of Robert Morris aren’t finished playing basketball. School officials announced Thursday that the team has accepted an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). The Colonials (17-16) lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, 66-62, last Saturday in a Northeast Conference semifinal game. Fairleigh Dickinson went on to earn...
Pitt basketball gets its 3rd verbal commitment
There’s an empty spot on the wall in Edwin Gonzalez’s office at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Next to it is a photo of former Pitt guard Ronald Ramon. If Gonzalez has his way, Justin Champagnie, the most recent member of Pitt’s 2019 recruiting class, will be joining...
In 40th and final year, Dick Groat reflects on broadcasting Pitt basketball
When Dick Groat got the news not long ago that this will be his last season offering analysis of Pitt basketball games on the radio, he didn’t immediately think about what he was losing. His thoughts first turned to his broadcast partner of 40 years, Bill Hillgrove. The two comprise...
Why Pitt’s 36-21 halftime lead in ACC Tournament win brought back memories
Did anyone notice the halftime score Tuesday night when Pitt defeated Boston College, 80-70, in the first round of the ACC Tournament? Boston College scored the first seven points of the game, but Pitt was dominant for the remainder of the first half and went to the locker room at...
Here’s how Duquesne’s Sincere Carry played 8 days after knee surgery
Sincere Carry bowed to a difficult truth Tuesday. “I probably should have rested,” he said. But Duquesne’s freshman point guard wasn’t apologizing for playing eight days after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Feb. 26. He had the doctor’s blessing, and he couldn’t endure watching another game from the...
Boston College staggers into ACC Tournament date with Pitt
Pitt players, coaches and fans won’t offer Boston College sympathy, but perhaps there’s another team in worse shape than the Panthers heading into the first round of the ACC Tournament. Pitt already shoved Notre Dame into last place with a 56-53 victory Saturday at Petersen Events Center. Next up is...
3 reasons Pitt might be fun to watch in ACC Tournament
The ACC is loaded with talented teams, with five of them ranked among the top 15 in the Associated Press poll and three — Virginia, North Carolina and Duke — legit Final Four hopefuls. Guess what? Pitt won’t meet any of those five if it’s fortunate enough to play two...
Injured Duquesne closes regular season with 78-67 loss to Dayton
With his young Duquesne team beaten down by injuries and facing adversity at the most crucial time of the year, Keith Dambrot is looking for answers. “I guess I better go to church more often or something,” he said. Duquesne concluded the regular season Saturday night, losing 78-67 to Dayton...
Pirates pitchers shelled in 10-1 loss to Twins
Pittsburgh Pirates pitching couldn’t solve the Minnesota Twins’ hitters Saturday in a 10-1 loss in Bradenton, Fla. Starter Clay Holmes allowed three hits and three runs — two earned — in three innings, and reliever Keone Kela had a horrific inning in the fifth, giving up four hits and four...
Freshman Trey McGowens snaps slump; Pitt beats Notre Dame to end skid
Jeff Capel had several reasons to smile Saturday. The final score, obviously, felt good for Pitt’s first-year coach. Pitt stopped a 13-game, nearly two-month losing streak with a 56-53 victory against Notre Dame at Petersen Events Center, escaping last place in the ACC. Now, the Panthers (13-18, 3-15) enter the...
Duquesne eliminates Saint Louis, 72-51, breezes into A-10 semifinals
Dan Burt didn’t expect sleep to come easily Friday night. “I’m sure the adrenaline will keep me up,” Duquesne’s women’s coach said. But after the Dukes pounded Saint Louis, 72-51, in an Atlantic 10 quarterfinal before 1,009 at Palumbo Center, Burt can be sure of this: “When you play like...
Dukes’ Amari Kelly suffers season-ending knee injury
Duquesne freshman forward Amari Kelly will miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee Wednesday night in the Dukes’ 85-75 loss at Saint Louis. Kelly, 6-foot-9, is the second member of Duquesne’s freshman class and front line to suffer a season-ending knee injury. Austin Rotroff, 6-10, was injured...
Pitt’s Rashad Weaver motivated by 9-year-old cancer survivorVideo
Rashad Weaver didn’t have a long speech prepared Friday for his Pitt teammates before the second day of spring drills. He only wanted a few seconds of their time. But, to him, what he had to say mattered as much as anything he’ll do this season. Weaver, a rising junior...
Pitt’s Jared Wilson-Frame wouldn’t mind turning back time
Many seniors who reach the end of their careers might wistfully ponder what it would be like to play one more season in college. Don’t include Pitt’s Jared Wilson-Frame in that group. He’s actually thinking bigger than that. He would gladly turn back the calendar and re-live all four of...
Penn State fires women’s basketball coach
Penn State women’s basketball coach Coquese Washington, who led the Lady Lions to three consecutive Big Ten regular-season championships from 2012-2014, was relieved of her duties Friday after 12 years on the job. Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said Washington is leaving the program under a mutual agreement with...
Pitt’s hope for Notre Dame game: Escape last place in the ACC
Pitt is on its way to a third consecutive losing season for the first time since 2000, but there is still an important matter to resolve Saturday. The Panthers (12-18, 2-15) can escape last place in the ACC by defeating Notre Dame (13-17, 3-14) at Petersen Events Center. A victory...
2 Duquesne seniors receive Atlantic 10 basketball accolades
Duquesne seniors Chassidy Omogrosso and Kadri-Ann Lass, who have led the Dukes into the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, were honored Thursday as the conference released its women’s basketball postseason honors. Omogrosso, a Blackhawk graduate, was named to the A-10 second team. Lass, a native of Estonia, was selected...
