July 12, 2009 - Belgrade, SERBIA- The USA College Archery Program proudly announces that the team of archers which represented the United States at the World University Games has won team gold and silver medals, and individual gold and bronze medals, at this international event in Belgrade, Serbia. After top-notch performances throughout this event, the United States team rose to the challenge in the finals to take a silver medal in the Mixed Team, Compound event; gold in the Mens' Team, Compound category; a bronze medal in the Women's Individual, Compound division and a gold medal in the Men's Individual, Compound category. The team that represented the United States at the World University Games faced the best college competitors in the world, with teams hailing from 41 countries, including Korea, Italy and the Russian Federation.
On the compound side, Erika Anschutz (University of Nebraska) was seeded fifth following the ranking round, and shot consistently throughout her eliminations to advance to the medal matches, where she defeated Albina Longinova (RUS) for the bronze medal. Teammate Brittany Lorenti (James Madison University), ranked fourth, shot well but was eliminated by Li-Ju Chen (TPE) in the 1/8th eliminations. Elissa Falconer (Miami University of Ohio), retired after the 1/16th eliminations. For the men, seventh-ranked Steve Gatto (Atlantic Cape Community College), successfully advanced to the semi-finals, where he shot a 115 to advance to the gold medal match against Italy's Pettanazzo. Gatto then secured the gold medal for the United States with a 118. Teammates Zachary Plannick (Penn College) and Steven Schwade (University of South Carolina) both shot well in the 1/32nd round, and retired after the 1/16th eliminations.
For the recurve archers, United States Olympic Team member Jennifer Nichols (Texas A&M University) advanced to the quarterfinals, and teammates Erin Mickelberry (University of Washington) and Amanda Nichols (Texas A&M University) completed the 1/16th and 1/32nd rounds, respectively. For the men, 2008 Olympic Team Alternate Jacob Wukie (James Madison University) and Glen Thomas (Pennsylvania College of Technology) retired following the 1/32nd elimination round, while teammate Timothy Meyers (Texas A&M University) successfully advanced, only to face 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Viktor Ruban (RUS) in the 1/16th, a match which Meyers lost by just two points.
The team events for this competition were shot on the "Hit and Miss" target, and the archers seemed to welcome the challenge. The second-ranked U.S. compound women's team shot well, advancing past Italy in the quarterfinals, before being eliminated in the semifinal matches. For the compound men's team event, Gatto, Plannick and Schwade advanced past host nation Serbia, then Canada, to face Mexico in the medal matches. The United States claimed the gold medal with a decisive 23-19 victory. The recurve women's team, ranked eighth going into the event, defeated Mexico in the 1/8th, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The recurve men's team also advanced past Mexico in the 1/8th elimination, only to face top-seeded Korea, who moved forward to the semi-finals. In the mixed team events, which featured a male and female archer of the same discipline, recurve teammates Jennifer Nichols and Jacob Wukie retired after the quarterfinal matches; compound archers Steve Gatto and Erika Anschutz advanced to the final matches and defeated Korea to win the silver medal.
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