UPDATE: Short, Kelly, Berube and Bernard win pools at FILA Junior World Championships

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John Fuller (USA Wrestling)
08/24/2003


Four U.S. women's wrestlers advanced out of their respective pools at the FILA Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday, keeping their medal chances alive.    Advancing to the next round of competition are Liz Short (Lombard, Ill./UM-Morris) at 44 kg/97 lbs., two-time U.S. Senior Women's National Team member Mary Kelly (Mahomet, Ill./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich./Cumberland College) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.    Short was dominant in her pool matches, winning by technical superiority over Heather Ball of Canada and pinning Natasha Vasileva of Russia early in the second period. She will wrestle Lyudmila Balukhka of Ukraine tomorrow in a quarterfinal match.    Kelly defeated Meri Karapetyan of Armenia by fall and Vanessa Brown of Canada by a 9-3 decision before losing her final pool bout to Tatiana Armbruster of Germany. Kelly advanced out of her pool by having more classification points (8) than Armbruster (7).    Kelly advances to the semifinals where she will meet the winner of Larissa Oorzak of Russia and Nicoleta Badea of Romania.    Berube defeated Elina Vaseva of Bulgaria 7-1 and Maria Mueller of Germany by a 13-2 technical superiority to win her pool. She will next face Jakhar Geetika of India in the quarterfinals.    Bernard, like Kelly, also advanced based on classification points. She pinned Anastasia Dezhneva of Russia in the second period while trailing in the match to send her into the semifinal round. Her opponent is yet to be determined.    The U.S. Junior Women's Team is coached by Rusty Davidson of Grants Pass, N.M. and Kip Flanik of Williamsburg, Ky.    The next round of competition will take place on Monday. TheMat.com will continue to provide results and updates throughout the FILA Junior World Championships.    FILA Junior World Championships  at Istanbul, Turkey  August 24-25  U.S. Women's Results  44 kg/97 lbs. - Liz Short, Lombard, Ill. (UM-Morris)  tech. fall Heather Ball, Canada, 13-2, 2:33; by fall over Natasha Vasileva, Russia, 3:38    48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Mary Kelly, Mahomet, Ill. (Dave Schultz WC)  by fall over Meri Karapetyan, Armenia, 2:33; dec. Vanessa Brown, Canada, 9-3; lost dec. Tatiana Armbruster, Germany    51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Debbie Sakai, Miliani, Hawaii (Rainbow Wahine WC)  lost dec. Sachiko Akasaka, Japan, 6-3; lost dec. Mata Paciorek, Poland, 5-0    55 kg/121 lbs. - Cathy Migita, Honolulu, Hawaii (Rainbow Wahine WC)  lost tech. fall Sylvia Bilenska, Poland, 11-0, 2:57; by fall over Huilin Kao, Taipei, 3:19    59 kg/130 lbs. - Brandy Rosenbrock, St. Claire Shores, Mich. (Michigan WC)  dec. Larisa Djata, Romania, 9-7; dec. Olena Komarova, Ukraine, 6-4; lost fall Yuan Yuan Jiao, China, 5:23    63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Alaina Berube, Escanaba, Mich. (Cumberland College)  dec. Elina Vaseva, Bulgaria, 7-1; tech. fall Maria Mueller, Germany, 13-2, 6:00    67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)  lost dec. Katarzyna Jaworska, Poland, 6-3; by fall over Anastasia Dezhneva, Russia, 4:11    72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Juanita Russell, Galway, N.Y. (TNT)  lost dec. Marina Gastl, Austria, 6-3; lost tech. fall Alena Staradubtseva, Russia, 15-5, 5:27; tech. fall Carita Stenberg, Finland, 11-1