Pitt softball and lacrosse open their seasons this weekend, while Pitt wrestling looks to continue its winning streak. Gymnastics and women’s basketball look to snap their losing streaks.
Softball
The Panthers will head to Clearwater, Florida, to open their season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, an annual tournament that brings together top collegiate teams. Over the course of the tournament, Pitt will face Kentucky and Morgan State on Friday, Southern Miss and Kennesaw State on Saturday and Tennessee on Sunday.
The Panthers are coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign that resulted in a 17-32 finish overall and a 6-18 finish in conference play. In 2025 though, the team has brought in 15 new players to round out the roster.
One player to look out for this season is incoming first-year Gwen Sparks. Sparks, who was named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List in January, comes out of Notre Dame High School in Ohio, where she finished her career with a 43-7 record and a 1.01 ERA.
On the other side of the plate, Sparks recorded a .348 career batting average with 12 home runs and 65 RBI. Sparks’ 17 no-hitters over her four-year career led her to win the Southern Ohio Conference Pitcher of the Year for four consecutive seasons.
Wrestling
This Friday, the No. 16 Panthers (9-3, 2-1 ACC) spend their second straight week at the Fitzgerald Field House, taking on North Carolina at 7 p.m. It’s Senior Night for Pitt, which will celebrate Nick Babin and Reece Heller before the match.
The Panthers are coming off a dominant win over Duke, shutting out the Blue Devils 42-0. Pitt won all 10 bouts en route to its ninth overall win and second ACC win of the season. Pitt recorded 26 takedowns while allowing Duke only two takedowns throughout the entire match.
No. 18 North Carolina (6-5, 2-1 ACC) heads to town after a close loss to its in-state rival, NC State, and will look to get back in the win column.
Lacrosse
The Panthers begin the 2025 campaign in St. Bonaventure, New York, as they open the season against the Bonnies this Saturday at 11 a.m. In only the program’s fourth year of competition, the Panthers come off a brutal 5-13 season, in which they won zero conference games.
This year, Pitt welcomes nine new players to the roster and is led by team captains Jill Fenech and Abby Thorne. Fenech and Thorne are both in their fourth season, and this is the second season of Fenech leading as a team captain. Thorne will enter her third season of captainship.
Additionally, Thorne was named to Team Australia’s roster in the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union APLU Championship, where she helped her team to a second-place finish in the tournament, qualifying the team for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
Gymnastics
The Panthers (3-3, 0-3 ACC) head to Raleigh for a Saturday afternoon matchup at 4 p.m. against No. 20 NC State (2-5, 1-1 ACC). Pitt will look to snap a three-match losing streak and pick up its first ACC win of the year against the Wolfpack. Last Friday night, the Panthers narrowly lost to No. 22 Clemson (3-3, 2-1 ACC) for the second time this season, losing 195.275-195.350.
However, Emily Todd and Darbi Simcox both recorded career highs in the uneven bars and beam events. Todd scored a career-high in bars and led the Panthers with a score of 9.850. Simcox, competing in her second career meet, put up a huge score of 9.875 in beam.
Women’s basketball
The Panthers (10-14, 2-9 ACC) head to Dallas to face SMU (10-14, 2-10 ACC) for the second time this season this Sunday at 3 p.m. Pitt made history the last time they faced the Mustangs by completing the largest regulation comeback in D1 women’s basketball history, overcoming a 31-point deficit. The Mustangs will seek revenge with both teams looking to pick up their third ACC win on the year.
The post Pitt athletics gears up for another busy weekend appeared first on The Pitt News.