Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Oregon) was crowned World Champion for the second year in a row on Nov. 6 as she won gold in the individual Women's Saber at the 2010 World Championships in Paris, France. En route to the victory she defeated one of her toughest opponents, Olga Kharlan of the Ukraine 15-11 in the finals.
Zagunis' teammate Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, New Jersey) reached the top 16 in the competition when she defeated the No. 4 seed, Ekaterina Diatchenko of Russia, 15-10 in the round of 32 before falling to Olena Khomrova of the Ukraine in a tough 15-14 defeat. Khomrova went on to earn a bronze.
On the men's side, U.S. men's foilists achieved historic results as Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, California) earned a bronze medal in the Individual Men's Foil and Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) placed fifth. The wins marked the first time that two U.S. men's foil fencers reached the quarterfinals at a Senior World Championships.
In the Individual Men's Saber event, Daryl Homer (Bronx, New York) reached the round of 16 to lead the men. He took down two hometown athletes, Bolade Apithy (15-14) and then Nicolas Lopez (15-14), both of France, before being eliminated by No. 2 seed Nicolas Limbach of Germany 15-5.
ALPINE SKIING: Dates set for 2015 World Skiing Championships
Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colorado), Bode Miller (Franconia, New Hampshire), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, California) and Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) along with Olympic bronze medalist Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, New York) headlined the 2011 U.S. Alpine Ski Team that was named Nov. 6 in Vail.
The 2015 FIS Alpine World Championships will be held in Vail and Beaver Creek Feb. 3-15, 2015. The dates were confirmed by the International Ski Federation this weekend in Switzerland. It will be the third time the Vail Valley will host alpine's premier biennial event.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Walsh, Branagh Finish Season with Gold in Phuket
U.S. beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh (San Jose, California) won her 39th career SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal as she and partner Nicole Branagh (Orinda, California) won the Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT on Nov. 7 in Phuket, Thailand.
The fourth-seeded duo fought their way through the consolation bracket after a second-round loss, and finished the 2010 international season by defeating 16th-seeded Marta Menegatti and Valeria Rosso of Italy, 21-23, 21-14, 15-11 in 1 hour, 3 minutes.
Walsh's 39th FIVB title gives her sole possession of the all-time lead in wins, having been tied with long-time partner Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, California) with 38 since the end of the 2008 season, the last time Walsh competed internationally before last week.
FIGURE SKATING: Mroz medals in Beijing
Men's figure skater Brandon Mroz (St. Louis, Missouri) won the silver medal a the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating SAMSUNG Anycall Cup of China in Beijing on Nov. 6. Mroz scored 216.80 total points, while Mirai Nagasu (Arcadia, California) was the top female American finisher as she just missed the podium with a fourth place finish and total of 146.23 points.
ROWING: U.S. Women's Eight Wins Fifth Consecutive World Title
The U.S. Women's Eight team won their fifth consecutive World Title with a time of 6:12.42 in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand on Nov. 7. The U.S. beat out second place Canada who finished with a time of 6:16.12, while Romania took bronze in a time of 6:18.96.
SKELETON: Antoine and Gabryszak Win Final Selection Race
Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin) won his second U.S. national skeleton team selection race on Nov. 6, while Kimber Gabryszak (Park City, Utah) won the first competition of her career on her home track in Park City, Utah.
Antoine eked out the win by a mere hundredth of a second with a total time of 1 minute, 40.68 seconds. The accomplished slider posted times of 50.18 and 50.50 seconds for the victory. John Daly (Smithtown, New York) finished in second with a combined time of 1:40.69.
In the women's competition, Gabryszak led the field by 0.21 seconds with a total time of 1:44.73 to win the first race of her sliding career with start times of 5.12 and 5.15 for runs of 52.32 and 52.41. Rebecca Sorensen (Fort Collins, Colorado) came in second with a total time of 1:44.94 followed by Annie O'Shea (Port Jefferson Station, New York) in third with a combined time of 1:45.04.
In other news, the U.S. qualified two women and three men for the World Cup tour. O'Shea and Gabryszak will represent the women, while Antoine, Daly and 2006 and 2010 Olympian Eric Bernotas (Avondale, Pennsylvania) will represent the men.
SPEEDSKATING: Elite and Aspiring Skaters return to Cleveland
Short track speedskating returned to the Cleveland Heights Community Center this past weekend, home of the 2004 and 2007 National Short Track Speedskating Championships.
More than 200 elite skaters and aspiring Olympians from around the U.S., Canada and Australia competed in the Short Track American Cup II and the Ohio Invitational Meet.
Top 5 American Cup II finishers were: Morgan Izykowski, Ana Pacanins, Kimberly Derrick, Alexis Burkholder, Erin Bartlett, Jonathan Garcia, Kyle Uyehara, John- Henry Krueger, Levi Kirkpatrick and Chris Creveling.
SOCCER: U.S. women top Costa Rica, still alive for WC berth
The United States women's national soccer team (WNT) earned third place in CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in a must-win game at Estadio Quintana Roo on Monday night.
Abby Wambach scored two goals, Lauren Cheney scored a goal and an assist and Lori Lindsey added two assists to lead the WNT to victory.
The win was made a necessity because of a loss to Mexico this past Friday that put the WNT on the brink of elimination from contention for the first time in five Women's World Cups.
The U.S. went ahead 1-0 in the 17th minute on Cheney's goal. Lindsey received the ball in the Costa Rica penalty area before playing to Cheney, who turned around a defender and fired a left-footed shot that deflected into the net.
Wambach made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute when she took a pass from Lindsey and volleyed with her left into the corner.
Wambach struck again five minute after the break to make it 3-0 when she fired a shot from the area just inside the far post. The goal came seconds after Costa Rica narrowly missed making it 2-1 when a ball struck the post beside U.S. goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.
The U.S. must now beat Italy in a home-and-away playoff to qualify for the World Cup in Germany next summer. The first leg will be on Nov. 20 in Padova, Italy.
Earlier in the tournament, The U.S. Women's National Team fell to Mexico 2-1 in the semifinal.
It was the first victory for Mexico against the USA in 26 matches between the countries. The U.S.'s lone goal came in the 25th minute from Carli Lloyd (Delran, New Jersey).
With the loss, the USA dropped to 19-1-0 and marks the first time the USA has failed to advance to the championship of a CONCACAF event. It was just the second loss in 60 matches under U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage and first since the opening game of the 2008 Olympic Games.
SWIMMING: Smit wins $50,000 on FINA World Cup
Olympian Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, New York) wrapped up the 2010 FINA World Cup by winning four medals - two gold and two silver - Nov. 6-7 in Stockholm, Sweden. Smit's efforts on the World Cup this year garnered her second place in the series' final rankings and a $50,000 prize.
In Stockholm, Smit took first in the 200m IM (2:07.17) and the 400m IM (4:28.59), and second in the 100m IM (1:00.24) and the 200m back (2:05.35).
American swimmers won 10 medals overall, including 5 gold, three silver and two bronze.
Peter Marshal (Atlanta, Georgia) also won two gold medals, in the 50m back (23.32) and the 100m back (50.79). Olympian Elaine Breeden (Lexington, Kentucky) accounted for the Americans' fifth gold in the 200m fly (2:04.26). Olympian Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) won a silver in the 100m fly (56.40) and a bronze in the 50m fly (26.00), while Randall Ball (Fair Oaks, California) finished with a bronze in the 50m back (23.82).
TRACK AND FIELD: Flanagan places 2nd in NYC, wins USA title in marathon debut
Shalane Flanagan (Portland, Oregon) turned in the highest place finish by an American woman at the ING New York City Marathon in 20 years, placing second in 2:28:40 and winning the 2010 USA Women's Marathon Championship on Nov. 7 in New York, New York in her marathon debut.
The Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist's performance was the best placing by an American at this race since Kim Jones finished second in 1990 in 2:30:50.
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, crossed the finish line in 2:28:20, 20 seconds ahead of Flanagan for first.
American Katie McGregor (Willoughby, Ohio) crossed the finish line as the second American, 11th overall in 2:31:01 to place second in the USA Championships and set a personal record, while Kathy Newberry (Williamsburg, Virginia) was the third American and 17th overall in 2:35:23.
On the men's side, Meb Keflezighi (Mammoth Lakes, California) led the USA as the top American in sixth place with a time of 2:11:38, with Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, Oregon) eighth in 2:12:33 and Jorge Torres (Wheeling, Illinois) 11th in 2:14:57.
TENNIS: Italy defeats U.S. to Win 2010 Fed Cup Title
The U.S. Fed Cup team competed hard this weekend, but fell to Italy 1-3 in the 2010 Fed Cup final at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.
The U.S.'s lone win came from world No. 67 Melanie Oudin (Marietta, Georgia) who kept the U.S. alive with a dominating 6-3, 6-1 upset over world No. 7 Francesca Schiavone on Nov. 6. The Italians clinched the victory when Flavia Pennetta defeated Coco Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe, California) 6-1, 6-2 to give Italy its second straight Fed Cup title.
VOLLEYBALL: Italy Gives U.S. Women First Loss at FIVB World Championship
The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team lost for the first time at the FIVB World Championship on Nov. 7, falling to fourth-ranked Italy 25-16, 24-26, 27-25, 27-25 in a second-round Pool F match in Nagoya, Japan despite a match high 25 points from Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas).
Team USA, ranked second in the world by the FIVB, is now 6-1 overall counting all its first-round matches. They will take on the Netherlands on Nov. 9 as the World Championships continue this week.
WRESTLING: Eight U.S. wrestlers win gold at Hargobind International in Canada
Eight U.S. wrestlers won gold medals at the Hargobind International on Nov. 6 in Surrey, British Columbia. Claiming gold medals in men's freestyle were: Shawn Bunch (Columbus, Ohio) at 60 kg/132 lbs , Lloyd Rogers (Iowa City, Iowa) at 74 kg/163 lbs, Raymond Jordan (Tempe, Arizona) at 84 kg/185 lbs, Wynn Michalak (Colorado Springs, Colorado) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs and Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio) at 120 kg/264.5 lb.
Sara Fulp Allen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs, Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Maryland) at 55 kg/121 lbs and Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minnesota) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs won gold in women's freestyle.
U.S. athletes also competed at the 2010 New York Athletic Club Greco-Roman International this weekend where the U.S. swept all seven gold medals.
The highlight of the weekend came from Joe Betterman (Colorado Springs, Colorado) as he won his second straight New York AC International Open at 60 kg/132 lbs. over Marco Lara (Colorado Springs, Colorado), 2-0, 1-4, 1-0. He was the only repeat champion from last year.
WEEKLY PREVIEW - NOVEMBER 9 - 15
HOCKEY: The 2010 Women's Team USA Hockey Team begins competition in the 2010 Four Nations Cup on Nov. 9 and will run through Nov. 13. Up first for the Americans, host nation Canada. The U.S. will also take on Finland and Sweden throughout the week.
FENCING: Mariel Zagunis and the U.S. women will fence in the Team Women's Saber event on Nov. 9 at the 2010 World Championships in Paris, France. The U.S. men will compete in the Team Men's Foil competition on Thursday, Nov. 11.
FIGURE SKATING: The Grand Prix of Figure Skating-Skate America takes place in Portland, Oregon Nov. 12-14.
GYMNASTICS: The 27th Trampoline World Championships are set to take place Nov. 11-13 in Metz, France.
SPEEDSKATING: The ISU Word Cup #1 of long track speedskating is set to take place Nov. 12-14 in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
TAEKWONDO: The 2012 Olympic Team Trails Phase I for Taekwondo will take place in Colorado Springs, Colorado Nov. 13-14.
VOLLEYBALL: The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team will take on the Netherlands on Nov. 9 and Brazil on Nov. 10 at the FIVB World Championships in Nagoya, Japan
