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The University of the Cumberlands women lend a helping hand

9/30/2005
University of the Cumberlands Sports Information

The University of the Cumberlands (formerly Cumberland College) has one of the largest and most successful women's wrestling programs in North America. The Patriot ladies come to UC from all corners of the United States. Coach Kip Flanik (Cleveland, OH) has been very successful in finding and recruiting the nation's top wrestlers. Although there are close to fifty wrestlers from eighteen different states on the team, Coach Flanik could not ask for a closer group of student-athletes.

Horrified by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, junior Aquilla Hills (Charlotte, NC) and Coach Flanik joined together to form a relief effort for the hurricane's victims. After careful planning, Coach Flanik called a meeting to inform the team of their goals. The team supported the idea and was ecstatic to help.

Hills, along with several teammates, planned clothing drives in each of the dorms on campus. They also set aside an entire Saturday to accept donations outside of the local Wal-Mart and raise funds through a carwash. Without the team, Hills feels that the project would not have been successful. "I am very thankful that I have the opportunity to be part of such a loving team. The girls are always willing to help no matter what the situation may be," stated Hills. The ladies raised over $750 to help aid Katrina victims.

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Smith wins gold at wrestling worlds; Downing bronze

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) —9/30/05

Iris Smith of the United States won the gold medal in the women's 159-pound division Friday at the wrestling world championships.

China's Lili Meng defeated Martine Dugrenier of Canada for the women's 148-pound title while Hamid Soryan Reihanpour of Iran won the men's 121-pound Greco-Roman event.

Smith upset defending and five-time world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in a match that went the full three periods.

"I think my gold was important for the team," said Smith, a sergeant in the U.S. Army. "I wanted to hear the national anthem and see my flag raised.

Smith had tears in her eyes during the medal ceremony.

"It feels good," she said. "I was raised religious and I prayed before every match."

Japan won the women's team competition with 61 points, beating China (52) and the United States (42).

The United States won a bronze medal in the women's 148-pound category when Katie Downing defeated Ashlea McManus of Britain.

"I didn't come here for the bronze at all," said Downing, who lost in the quarterfinals to Dugrenier and had to beat Japan's Eri Sakamoto to reach one of the two bronze-medal matches.

"After I lost (to Dugrenier), I didn't feel like wrestling," Downing said. "I had to take the disappointment and use it to make me want to win even more."

Meng's victory over Dugrenier was the second gold of the tournament for the Chinese women and helped them secure second place in the team competition. Meng won the world title at 137 pounds in 2001.

"Now I don't want to think about anything else except resting," Meng said.

Soryan Reihanpour's victory over Park Eun-chul of South Korea gave him his second world title of the year, after winning the 121-pound junior crown in July.

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Japan women win three golds at worlds

BUDAPEST (AP) 10/1/05

Kaori Icho gets ahold of the leg of China's Jing Ruixue during the 63-kg final at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on Thursday. Icho won the gold medal.

Japan's Saori Yoshida recorded her 93rd straight victory Thursday, winning the gold medal in the women's 55-kg division at the Wrestling World Championships.

Japanese women also won the two other weight categories contested on the day, with Ayako Shoda taking the 59-kg competition, and Kaori Icho the 63.

The United States picked up two bronze medals in its best day so far at the tournament. Sally Roberts downed Poland's Anna Zwirydowska in the 59-kg division, while Sara McMann beat Russian Anna Polovneva at 63.

This event marked McMann's return to international competition after she was involved in a car crash in September 2004 which killed her boyfriend, three-time NCAA All-American wrestler Steven Blackford.

McMann won silver at last year's Athens Olympics and was second at the 2003 world championships.

In the 55-kg final, Yoshida defeated China's Su Lihui, winning her third straight world championship without conceding a single point in five matches. She is undefeated in international competition.

"I was a little bit nervous because I know that other people have been watching and studying me," said Yoshida, a gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Games. "I will keep working hard until the 2008 Beijing Olympics."

At 59 kg, Ayako Shoda beat Hungary's Mariann Sastin, whose silver was her country's first medal in women's world championships.

Shoda, who was world champion at 62 kg in 1999, said she was glad to be able to overcome Sastin despite the cheering from the home fans.

Kaori Icho beat China's Jing Ruixue for gold at 63 kg for her third consecutive world championship title. She also won gold at the Athens Olympics.

"Being the Olympic champion meant I was under a lot of pressure, so I was a little nervous before the tournament," said Icho, who thanked her sister Chiharu, also a wrestler, for her help during training.

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U.S. places second in medal count at World Championships with seven, behind only Russia with nine

10/2/2005
Fuller/Abbott/USA Wrestling

The United States wrestling team placed second in the medal count at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary, with seven overall medals in the three Olympic styles of wrestling.

Team USA won four medals in women’s freestyle, three medals in men’s freestyle and one medal in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling. The medals included one gold medal (won by women’s wrestler Iris Smith at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.) and six bronze medals.

Only Russia, with nine medals, had more medals than the United States. Russia had five gold medals, a silver medal and three bronze medal.

Host Hungary also won seven medals during the tournament, with four silver medals and three bronze medals. However, the United States finished second in the medal count because it had an individual champion.

Two nations had six medals, Japan and Cuba. A total of 28 nations won medals in the competition, which was held over seven days at the Laszlo Papp Sports Arena in Budapest.

FINAL MEDAL STANDINGS
1.Russia, 9 (5 gold - 1 silver - 3 bronze)
2. United States, 7 (1-0-6)
3. Hungary, 7 (0-4-3)
4. Japan, 6 (4-1-1)
5. Cuba, 6 (1-3-2)
6. (tie) Bulgaria, 5 (2-2-1)
6. (tie) China, 5 (2-2-1)
8. Ukraine, 4 (0-1-3)
9. Turkey, 3 (2-0-1)
10. (tie) Georgia, 3 (1-1-1)
10. (tie) Iran, 3 (1-1-1)
12. Belarus, 3 (1-0-2)
13. Canada, 3 (0-1-2)
14. Korea, 2 (0-1-1)
15. (tie) Germany, 2 (0-0-2)
15. (tie) Kazakhstan, 2 (0-0-2)
15. (tie) Mongolia, 2 (0-0-2)
18. Uzbekistan, 1 (1-0-0)
19. (tie) Azerbaijan, 1 (0-1-0)
19. (tie) Denmark, 1 (0-1-0)
19. (tie) France, 1 (0-1-0)
22. (tie) Armenia, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) Czech Republic, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) Finland, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) Kyrygyzstan, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) Norway, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) North Korea, 1 (0-0-1)
22. (tie) Romania, 1 (0-0-1)