Arizona Cup: Mexico and the USA take gold medals

Recurve Men

 

There were some surprise exits early in the matches, including three quarters of USA’s World Cup team for Shanghai: Joe FANCHIN was stopped in a shocking 1/16 loss, while Jake KAMINSKI and Butch JOHNSON were both edged out in the 1/8 round.

 

World No. 1 Brady ELLISON (USA) was nearly stopped in the 1/8 round after a 5-5 tie with Californian Matthew ZUMBO, but prevailed in the tiebreaker to continue through quarter final and semi-final wins, clinching his spot in the final versus Luis ALVAREZ (MEX).

 

In the bronze medal matchup, it was Olympian Juan Rene Serrano (MEX) facing up and coming Jeremiah CUSICK (USA). CUSICK, who had edged out five-time Olympian JOHNSON earlier, was unstoppable, taking the bronze medal with a 6-0 shutout.

 

The final showdown between ALVAREZ and ELLISON was a true contest of talented archers, with each archer taking two set points early on, and then re-tying the score at 4-all. In the final end, ALVAREZ turned up the heat to take the gold medal.

 

“It was a good and intense match. I just focused on my technique, my timing,” explained ALVAREZ after the win. The gold medallist shared his advice for younger competitive archers: “Never give up. I have failed too many times. That is the only thing that is going to make you make it in the end.”

 

Recurve Women

 

Aida ROMAN and Mariana AVITIA, Mexico’s Olympic silver and bronze medallists respectively, shot their way through tough matches only to face each other in the semi-finals.

 

With a 7-3 victory, AVITIA clinched her spot in the gold medal matchup, while teammate ROMAN faced Gabriela BAYARDO (MEX) for bronze. BAYARDO ultimately won that medal with a 6-4 win.

 

The final was a flashback to London, with AVITIA and Khatuna LORIG (USA) meeting in a remake of the bronze medal match that gave the Mexican her first Olympic hardware last summer. Though LORIG took an early lead in this final, AVITIA came back to tie the match 5-all and won the gold medal with a closer-to-centre ten in the shoot-off.

 

Compound Men

World No. 1 Reo WILDE (USA) appeared to be virtually unstoppable yet again, shooting strong scores despite the wind, including a perfect 150 to win his semi-final meeting with Kevin WILKEY (USA). Mexico’s Julio Ricardo FIERRO faced Jesse BROADWATER (USA) in the other semi-final, but ultimately was stopped by the American, who went on to meet WILDE in the final.

 

FIERRO and WILKEY went on to prove that bronze medal matches can be just as exciting as watching a gold medal showdown. Giving fans a fantastic match to watch, the two tied the breezy match at 144-all before FIERRO took the tiebreaker win with an X to WILKEY’s 9.

 

In the final, BROADWATER and WILDE both brought their A-game to the field, tying the match for five consecutive ends before ending in a draw. In the one-arrow shoot-off that decided the match, BROADWATER shot an X to WILDE’s 10, claiming the gold medal.

 

“I did have to take some time off, and it kind of took some wind out of my sails,” explained BROADWATER, referring to the back injury that nearly side-lined him before the Vegas Tournament. “I am all better now and really looking forward to practicing for this outdoor season. I have got some confidence now, and just want to keep it rolling.”

 

Compound Women

 

This category had equally challenging matchups and just enough wind to keep things unpredictable. There were some surprising early exits, including USA’s Diane WATSON and World No. 3 Erika JONES.

Camilla SOEMOD (DEN) prevailed throughout all of her matches to meet Jamie VAN NATTA (USA) in the semi-final. Clearly hoping to shoot her way into the coveted No. 1 World Ranking spot, VAN NATTA edged out SOEMOD by two points to secure her position in the final, while the Danish went on to win the bronze versus Tristan SKARVAN (USA).

 

Gabriela TREVINO (MEX), who stopped favourite and compatriot Linda OCHOA earlier in the day, met VAN NATTA in the final, but had her hands full with the American, who took an initial lead, nearly lost it, and then regained points through the fourth and fifth sets to retake the lead. VAN NATTA ultimately won the gold.  

 

Other victories in the Sonoran Desert included gold medals for Mexico in the women’s compound and women’s recurve team events, with silver going to the USA in both. The USA took the gold in the men’s recurve and compound team events, with Mexico taking silver in each. Canada also clinched bronze medals in the men’s recurve and compound team events, as well as in the women’s compound team event.

 

For complete results, visit http://ianseo.net/Details.php?toId=373.

 

World Archery Communication