The U.S. Olympic Committee has announced its Twitter voting is now open for the September Male & Female Athletes of the Month and Team of the Month. Vote for Elena Pirozhkova Vote for Justin Ruiz Vote for U.S. Women’s World Wrestling Team Representing USA Wrestling are women’s freestyle wrestler Elena Pirozhkova, Greco-Roman wrestler Justin Ruiz and the 2010 U.S. Women’s World Team. Pirozhkova won a silver medal at 63 kg and Ruiz placed fifth at 96 kg at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships. The U.S. Women’s World Team placed fifth at the World Championships, with two medalists and five athletes in the top 10 of their class. Fans are encouraged to vote and re-tweet the poll links. SportsWoman of the Month for September 2010 Sport: Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Athlete: Elena Pirozhkova Position: 63 kg/138.75 lbs. in women’s freestyle wrestling Pirozhkova won a silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships on Sept. 9 in Moscow, Russia in women’s freestyle wrestling at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. Pirozhkova fell to Japanese legend Kaori Icho 1-1, 3-0 in the gold-medal match. Pirozhkova took a 1-0 lead in the finals before falling to Icho, who won her sixth World title. Icho is also a two-time Olympic champion. She won her first four matches to reach the finals. The Russian-born Pirozhkova, 23, beat two-time World silver medalist Lubov Volosova of Russia 1-0, 1-0 in the semifinals. She opened the tournament with a 21 second pin over Tatyana Zakharova of Kazakhstan, then defeated Maria Mendez of Spain, 1-0, 4-0. In the quarterfinals, she scored a come-from-behind win over Katerina Lopez of Cuba, 0-6, 4-2, 3-1. A USOTC resident athlete, Pirozhkova was competing in her third straight World Championships, winning her first medal. The U.S. won two medals at the World Championships, with Tatiana Padilla claiming a bronze medal at 55 kg. Pirozhkova grew up in Greenfield, Mass. SportsMan of the Month for September 2010 Sport: Greco-Roman Wrestling Athlete: Justin Ruiz Position: 96 kg/211.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman wrestling Ruiz placed fifth at the World Wrestling Championships in Greco-Roman wrestling in Moscow, Russia, on September 6. Ruiz finished the event with a 3-2 record. He opened with a 1-0, 1-0 win over Richard Karelson of Estonia. In the second round, he was defeated by eventual World silver medalist Timofej Dzeinichenka of Belarus, 1-0, 0-2, 0-4. Ruiz rebounded in the repechage rounds with two key wins, stopping Sabhui Humbatov of Azerbaijan, 1-0, 2-0 and 2008 Pan American Champion Yunior Estrada of Cuba, 1-0, 0-4, 1-0. In the bronze-medal match, Ruiz was edged by Jimmy Lidberg of Sweden, 0-1, 0-1. Lidberg was a 2009 World silver medalist and 2010 World bronze medalist. Ruiz was competing in his fifth Senior World Championships. He was a 2005 World bronze medalist. Ruiz was an All-American at the Univ. of Nebraska and originally a native of Salt Lake City, Utah. Team of the Month for September 2010 Sport: Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Team: 2010 U.S. Women’s World Championships Team The United States placed fifth in women’s freestyle at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 8-10. The competition featured the best women’s freestyle wrestlers in the world, and was the most important event of the year. The U.S. team was led by World silver medalist Elena Pirozhkova (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and World bronze medalist Tatiana Padilla (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. It was Pirozhkova’s first World medal, and Padilla’s second career World medal. Reaching a medal match and placing fifth was Kelsey Campbell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 59 kg/130 lbs. Also scoring team points by placing in the top 10 of their weight classes were Stephany Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids), who was 8th at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. and Jessica Medina (Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), who was 9th at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. The U.S. moved up one place in the final team standings, after placing sixth at the 2009 World Championships. 2010 U.S. Women’s World Team 48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Alyssa Lampe, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), dnp/20th 51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Jessica Medina, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 9th 55 kg/121 lbs. – Tatiana Padilla, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) – 3rd 59 kg/130 lbs. – Kelsey Campbell, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) - 5th 63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Elena Pirozhkova, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC) - 2nd 67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Kristie Davis, Oklahoma City, Okla. (New York AC), dnp/12th 72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Stephany Lee, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 8th Coach – Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. Coach – Link Davis of Oklahoma City, Okla. Coach – National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner of Colorado Springs, Colo. Coach - Assistant National Women’s Coach Izzy Izboinikov of Colorado Springs, Colo.