The U.S. men's and women's compound teams maintained their No. 1 ranking in the elimination round on Friday and will travel to the Porec, Croatia marina for the championship of the 2010 Archery World Cup Stage 1 event. For the third consecutive day, the men's compound team was involved in a World record, where they tied the record held by the Netherlands by shooting a combined 238 points in the quarterfinal round, where they outlasted Germany, 238-230.
The opening round of the men's team elimination saw the American team down Brazil, 235-230. Reigning World and 2006 World Cup champion Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho), 2009 World Cup silver medalist Braden Gellenthien (Woodbridge, Va.), and Dave Cousins (Standish, Maine) crushed El Salvador, 233-212, in the semifinals. Team USA will face Denmark for the gold.
The American women's compounders breezed through the first two elimination rounds with strong victories over New Zealand and France, 224-207 and 222-209, respectively. The semifinals were a back and forth match with the Netherlands, where the Americans came out on top, 226-221. Representing Team USA are Erika Anschutz (Hamilton, Ohio), Jamie Van Natta (Toledo, Ohio), and Diane Watson (Hudson, Fla.), who will face a strong team from Russia in Saturday's finals.
The men's recurve team, which included two U.S. Olympians and a U.S. Olympic team alternate, opened the elimination round with an easy victory over Russia, 223-208. The team was led by three-time U.S. Olympian Vic Wunderle (Charlotte, N.C.), 2008 U.S. Olympian Brady Ellison (Chula Vista, Calif.), and 2008 U.S. Olympic team alternate Jake Kaminski (Chula Vista, Calif.) and faced a challenging foe in China in the quarterfinals. The highest scores of the quarterfinals came in the match between China and the United States. The match was tight in the beginning, with China leading by 2 points 56-54. A less than optimal performance in the second end gave the lead to China, 111-107. Both teams shot equal scores in the third and fourth end, allowing China to maintain its lead and win 224-220. China will shoot for the bronze medal in the team finals.
The U.S. women's recurve team, which featured 2008 U.S. Olympians Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) and Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, Fla.) as well as 2012 Olympic hopefully Heather Koehl (Chula Vista, Calif.), fell to Germany in the opening round of the elimination round, 204-201.
Saturday will feature numerous Americans shooting for gold in the World Cup Stage 1 that is highlighted by the all-American final in men's recurve between Ellison and Wunderle. Nichols and Ellison will shoot for the gold in the mixed recurve team final. Wilde and Anschutz will shoot for the bronze in men's and women's compound, respectively.
The Archery World Cup, which started in 2006, has been a popular event for FITA, the international federation for archery. The event allows organizers to select unique competition venues. In Porec, the athletes will shoot the final matches over the water in the beautiful marina. The Archery World Cup has grown into one of the annual premiere events for the international federation that attracts approximately 300 athletes from 30 countries at each of the various qualifying stages.
In 2010, the third stage of the 2010 World Cup will be hosted in Ogden, Utah, August 3-7. This leg is being organized by the Easton Sports Development Foundation, USA Archery, Ogden Weber Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Utah Sports Commission.
Team USA will be led by USA Archery National and Head Coach Kisik Lee (San Diego); assistant coach Michael Usherenko (Oakland, N.J.); and team manager Cindy Bevilacqua (West Chester, Pa.).
For results of the 2010 Archery World Cup in Porec, Croatia, click here.
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