STEVENSON, MCCOY, BACHER HONORED AS THEMAT.COM WRESTLERS OF THE WEEK OF APRIL 17-23TheMat.com has named its National Wrestlers of the Week for April 17-23, 2000.
The winner of TheMat.com Junior Wrestler of the Week is Eric Stevenson of Newberg, Ore.
The winner of TheMat.com International Wrestler of the Week is Kerry McCoy (State College, Pa./New York AC)
The winner of TheMat.com Women's Wrestler of the Week is Sandra Bacher (San Jose, Calif./Dave Schultz WC)
TheMat.com will announce Wrestlers of the Week in a number of age group levels, which will be posted on the web page and promoted to the national media.
Junior Wrestler of the Week: Eric Stevenson, Newberg, Ore.
Stevenson was a double champion at 105.5 pounds, winning both the freestyle and Greco-Roman gold medals, at the Western Junior Regionals, held in Las Vegas, Nev., April 19-21. Stevenson scored pins in both gold-medal matches, pinning Ricardo Ramirez of Arizona in the freestyle finals in 1:26 and pinning Sterling Oglesby of Wyoming in the Greco-Roman finals in 56 seconds. Juniors are wrestlers in grades 9-12.
International Wrestler of the Week: Kerry McCoy, State College, Pa. (New York AC)
McCoy won the gold medal at 286 pounds at the U.S. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 21-22. He defeated 1999 World Champion Stephen Neal (Bakersfield, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) in the gold-medal finals, 3-2. McCoy had four victories in the tournament, including three technical falls, and outscored his opponents 34-2. McCoy was fourth in the 1998 World Championships.
Women's Wrestler of the Week: Sandra Bacher (San Jose, Calif./Dave Schultz WC)
Bacher won the gold medal at 149.75 pounds at the U.S. National Women's Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 21-22. Bacher is the defending World champion at this weight class. In the gold-medal finals, she defeated four-time World silver medalist Kristie Marano (Albany, N.Y./ATWA), 5-1. Marano dropped down from 165.25 pounds this year. Bacher won four matches in the tournament, including two pins. Bacher is also a three-time U.S. Olympian in judo.
TheMat.com is "The Ultimate Source for Real Wrestling." It is being developed into the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, which includes USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Coaches Association and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. The soft launch of the new page page is expected in April.
The goal of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance is to develop TheMat.com into the most comprehensive web page in the wrestling market, as well as one of the most popular sports sites on the entire internet.