Top stars Huyhn, Belisle, Evinger unbeaten after day one of NAIA Coaches North American Women’s Cham

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
02/28/2002


A number of the best individuals and teams in North America entered the first NAIA Coaches North American Women's Wrestling Championships, held at the Bison Field House in Great Falls, Mont.     The competition is being held alongside the 45th annual NAIA National Wrestling Championships for men which begins on Friday morning.    Three of the top-ranked individuals in the most recent TheMat.com North American Women's College Rankings remain unbeaten. They are Carol Huyhn of Simon Fraser at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Lyndsay Belisle of the Univ. of British Columbia at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. and Tonya Evinger of Missouri Valley College at 59 kg/130 lbs.    Huyhn, who placed second in the 2001 Women's World Championships, scored three straight technical falls. She beat Heather Ball of Simon Fraser, 11-0, Monica Harris of Missouri Valley, 13-0 and Kristen Fujioka of Pacific, 10-0.    Belisle, who has placed fourth in the Women's World Championships, also dominated her three opponents. She scored pins over Kathleen Takeda of Simon Fraser and Becky Cisneros of Missouri Valley, and added a 12-0 technical fall over Sarah White of Simon Fraser.    Evinger won won two matches handily, a 10-0 technical fall over Kiersten Hyatt of Missouri Valley and a pin over Jessica Peterson of Douglas College.    Competition is held at the eight weight classes used for women's college wrestling in the United States. Six of the eight weight classes are being contested in a roundrobin format, with the other two in a championship bracket.    A gold-medal finals match has been determined at 55 kg/121 lbs., where Malissa Sherwood of Missouri Valley will battle Angela Mah of Simon Fraser in Friday's finals. Mah won two matches to reach the finals, while Sherwood won her only bout in the semifinals with a fall in just 18 seconds.    The tournament features a number of teams ranked in the Top 20 of TheMat.com North American Women's College Wrestling Poll. They include No. 1 Missouri Valley College, No. 3 Simon Fraser, No. 6 Pacific Univ., No. 17 Douglas College and No. 19 Menlo College.    The fifth and final round of competition will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena, immediately following the morning session of the NAIA Nationals for men.