Simon Fraser remains No. 1 in TheMat.com North American Women’s Poll, as Cumberland moves up to No.
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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
02/24/2004
The February 2004 TheMat.com North American Women's College Wrestling Rankings for teams and individuals has been released. Simon Fraser Univ. of British Columbia, Canada retained the top ranking in North America. The team is coached by Mike Jones, and received all five first place votes. Simon Fraser won the Canada West Championships, a qualifying event for the CIS Canadian National Championships in March. Ranked No. 2 is Cumberland College, a NAIA school in Kentucky, coached by Kip Flanik. Cumberland moved up on spot in the poll from last month. Cumberland placed second behind Simon Fraser at the International Women's Duals held at Pacific Univ. in February. Dropping to No. 3 is the Univ. of Calgary, from Alberta, Canada. Calgary is coached by Mitch Ostberg. Calgary placed second behind Simon Fraser in the Canada West Championships. Holding the No. 4 spot again is Missouri Valley College, an NAIA school coached by Carl Murphree. Missouri Valley placed third in the International Women's Duals, but had a dual meet win over Simon Fraser during the competition. Claiming No. 5 is Brock Univ. from Ontario, Canada, which won the OUA Championships, the qualifying event for the CIS Championships for teams in Ontario. Brock is coached by Richard DesChateles. Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 McMaster Univ., No. 7 Pacific Univ., No. 8 Univ. of Minnesota-Morris; No. 9 Lakehead Univ. and a tie at No. 10 between the Univ. of Saskatchewan and Menlo College. The team making the biggest jump was Western Ontario, which leaped from No. 19 to No. 13 this month. Western Ontario placed second in the OUA Championships women's division. A total of 20 teams were ranked, and other teams receiving votes were also recognized. The entire poll can be found at: http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=666 The team ranking poll is elected by a panel of women's college coaches, three from Canada and two from the United States. Eligible for ranking are college varsity and club women's wrestling programs. The No. 1 ranked wrestlers were split evenly between U.S. and Canadian colleges, with each nation having four top-ranked athletes. The four U.S. No. 1 athletes are Mary Kelly of MacMurray at 48 kg (105.5 lbs.), Suekoiyla Shelly of Cumberland College at 55 kg/121 lbs., Toccara Montgomery of Cumberland College at 72 kg (158.5 lbs.) and Stephany Lee of Missouri Valley College at 80 kg (176 lbs.) The Canadian college athletes with No. 1 rankings are Sara White of Simon Fraser at 51 kg (112.25 lbs.), Emily Richardson of Simon Fraser at 59 kg (130 lbs.), Tara Hedican of Guelph at 63 kg (138.75 lbs.) and Martine Dugunier of Concordia at 67 kg (147.5 lbs.) The February 2004 North American Women's College Individual rankings can be found at: a href="http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=669 The individual rankings are selected by TheMat.com, with assistance from coaches. Athletes who are considered for ranking are eligible full-time college students, and are members of their college women's varsity or club program, or a member of their college men's wrestling team. Women's wrestling is a growing sport in Canada and the United States on the college level. The International Olympic Committee has named women's freestyle wrestling as the newest sport added to the Summer Olympic Games program. The United States and Canada are among the most successful women's wrestling nations in the world. Copyright 2004 by USA Wrestling and TheMat.com.