Surviving Group A: What the USA faces in its pool at the Women’s World Cup in Russia this weekend
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Victoria Anthony, shown working for a fall at the 2017 World Championships, will be among the experienced stars on Team USA at the Women's World Cup this weekend. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
The draws for the 2017 Women’s World Cup in Russia came out on Sunday, and the United States drew into the more difficult of the two pools for competition, which will be held in Cheboksary, Russia, Dec. 1-2.
Since there was no Women’s World Cup in 2016, United World Wrestling used the results from the 2015 Senior World Championships to determine the field for this event. The top two nations from the 2015 Worlds in Las Vegas were split apart, champion Japan and runner-up China, and the rest of the nations were randomly drawn into pools.
Team USA drew into Group A, which included Japan, host Russia and Sweden. Based upon the 2015 World Championships, these teams were No. 1 Japan, No. 3 United States, No. 5 (tie) Russia and No. 8 Sweden. That would appear to be very balanced based upon the teams from way back then.
However, based upon placements at the 2017 World Championships, the overall balance is a bit lopsided. Group A includes No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 9 Sweden and No. 11 Russia. Group B (based on 2017 Worlds) features No. 4 Mongolia, No. 7 China, No. 14 Ukraine, and an Azerbaijan team that did not score a single team point in the 2017 Worlds.
Team USA will have to be at its best to win its pool and advance to the finals. The last time the United States won the Women’s World Cup was 2003, with a victory over Japan in the championship finals.
Here is a look at the teams in Group A, which will battle it out on Friday, Dec. 1. The USA will have three matches that day. The results from these pool matches will determine what placement each team will compete for on Saturday against the appropriate team from Group B. Here is a quick look at the Group A expected lineups.
UNITED STATES
The United States is bringing a strong team to Russia for World Cup, featuring six of its eight 2017 World Team members, plus two others with Senior World experience. The biggest hammers are three-time World champion and five-time World medalist Adeline Gray at 75 kg, plus two-time World silver medalist Alli Ragan at 60 kg. Gray is back on the mats this fall after a year recovering from surgeries and has looked good in her early events back on the mat.
Besides Ragan, the other members of the 2017 Senior World Team on the roster are Victoria Anthony at 48 kg, Haley Augello at 53 kg, Mallory Velte at 63 kg, Tamyra Mensah-Stock at 69 kg and Victoria Francis at 75 kg. None of these other 2017 World Teams have won a Senior World medal, but all have strong international achievements both on the Senior and age-group levels.
Throw in 2016 Senior World Team member Sarah Hildebrandt at 55 kg, and the USA has a World Teamer in every weight except 58 kg, which features three-time age-group World medalist Kayla Miracle, who is No. 2 on the USA ladder behind Olympic champion Helen Maroulis. Also at 55 kg is Jacarra Winchester, who boasts a University World medal. With two extra athletes on the team, Coach Terry Steiner has some options on how to deploy his athletes in a dual meet setting. But based upon Senior-level success, Team USA has as much experience and achievements as any team in Group A.
United States roster
48 kg - Victoria ANTHONY, 2x World Team member, 2x Junior World champion
53 kg - Haley AUGELLO, 2017 World Team, 2016 Olympic Team
55 kg - Sarah HILDEBRANDT, 2016 World Team
55 kg - Jacarra WINCHESTER, 3rd in 2014 University Worlds
58 kg - Kayla MIRACLE, 2x Junior World medalist, 1x Cadet World medalist
60 kg - Alli RAGAN, 2x World silver medalist, 2x Junior World bronze
63 kg - Mallory VELTE, 2017 World Team
69 kg - Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK , 2017 World Team, 2016 Ivan Yarygin champion (RUS), 2nd in 2014 University Worlds
75 kg - Victoria FRANCIS, 2017 World Team, 2014 Junior World bronze
75 kg - Adeline Maria GRAY, 3x World champion, 5x World medalist, 2016 Olympian
JAPAN
The Japanese lineup is a mix of Senior-level stars and young talents who could be part of the future of Japan’s team, as it seeks to continue to dominate international women’s wrestling. As far as World Cup teams, this one is leaning towards younger athletes, with a few proven stars that can match up with anybody. The team is led by a pair of Senior World champions, 2017 World champion Yui Susaki at 48 kg and 2016 World champion Mayu Mukaida at 53 kg. The team is anchored at 75 kg by three-time Junior World and three-time Cadet World champion Masako Furuichi at 75 kg. It is how the athletes in the middleweights perform which will determine if Japan can win Group A. There are no Senior World medalists in five of the weight classes. Yurika Ito (63 kg) was a Junior and University World champion. Past Cadet World medalists include Yukako Kawai (60 kg) and Miwa Morikawa (69 kg). Momoka Kadoya (55 kg) and Akie Hanai (58 kg) have senior-level achievements, but not at the highest levels. Japan is always tough, even when using younger athletes who give their program great depth. However, depending upon the matchups with the other teams in the pool, Japan could have some close dual meets.
What Team USA must do to win: A win over one of the big stars at 48 kg, 53 kg and 75 kg would go a long way towards a USA team win. Adeline Gray has the experience edge at 75 kg against Furuichi, but will need to be sharp to win that bout. Victoria Anthony has wrestled Susaki, and if she figures out a strategy for that match, she could also win there. The USA will need to be very strong in those middle weights. In addition, if the match ends up 4-4, bonus points in any victory could also be a big deal.
Japan lineup
48 kg - Yui SUSAKI, 2017 World champion, 3x Cadet World champion
53 kg - Mayu MUKAIDA, 2016 World champion, Second in 2017 Worlds, 2016 Junior World champion
55 kg - Momoka KADOYA, Fifth in 2016 Asian Seniors, 5th in 2015 Junior Worlds
58 kg - Akie HANAI, Third in 2017 Asian Indoor Games, 3rd in 2017 Ivan Yarygin (RUS)
60 kg - Yukako KAWAI, 8th in 2017 World Championships, 3rd in 2014 Cadet Worlds
63 kg - Yurika ITO, 2014 Asian Senior champion, 2012 University World champion, 2011 Junior World champion
69 kg - Miwa MORIKAWA, 2nd in 2016 Cadet World Championships
75 kg - Masako FURUICHI, 3x Junior World champion, 3x Cadet World champion
RUSSIA
Host Russia has a few things going for it during this Women’s World Cup. First, they are competing on their home mats, which always helps a team at a major event like this. Also, Russia has listed two athletes per weight class, and should have the ability to adjust its lineup for dual meets, keeping the athletes fresh and selecting specific athletes based upon matchups. The leading stars on the roster are three-time World silver medalist Irnia Ologonova (55 kg) and two-time World bronze medalist Alena Perepelkina (75 kg). The age-group achievements include four past Junior World champions, Valeriya Chepsarakova (48 kg), Natalia Malysheva (53 kg), Anastasia Bratchikova (69 kg) and Khanum Valieva (69 kg). University World champions on the roster include Veronika Chumikova (58 kg) and Yulia Prontsevitch (60 kg). All of the other athletes have solid resumes on the Senior and age-group levels.
What Team USA must do: There is no way to know who Russia will send out to compete against the United States, so the team must be ready regardless of individual opponents. The USA had an extended training camp in Russia this past summer before the World Championships, so many of its athletes have trained with women on the Russian National Team. Learning from that camp could give one of the nations an edge. The USA will have to fight and scrap in every single match, looking for wins from their most experienced wrestlers while also seeking to win any close matches where the experience levels are similar.
Russia
48 kg - Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA, 3rd in 2013 University World Games, 2009 Junior World champion
48 kg - Anzhelika VETOSHKINA, 3rd in 2011 Cadet Worlds
53 kg - Natalia MALYSHEVA, 1st in 2016 Russian Nationals, 5th in 2014 Worlds, 2014 Junior World champion
53 kg - Stalvira ORSHUSH, 7th in 2017 Worlds, 1st in 2017 Russian Nationals
55 kg - Mariia GUROVA, 7th in 2017 Worlds, 1st in 2017 Russian Nationals, 5th in 2010 and 2011 Worlds
55 kg - Irina OLOGONOVA, 3x World silver medalist, 3rd in 2010 Junior Worlds
58 kg - Veronika CHUMIKOVA, 2016 University World champion
58 kg - Khadizhat MURTUZALIEVA, 7th in 2017 Ivan Yarygin (RUS)
60 kg - Uliana TUKURENOVA, 2017 Medved champion (BLR), 9th in 2017 U23 Worlds
60 kg - Yulia PRONTSEVITCH, 2016 World Team, 2nd in 2017 Ivan Yarygin, 2012 University World champion
63 kg - Tatiana SMOLIAK, 5th in 2017 U23 Worlds
63 kg - Anzhela FOMENKO, 2016 University Worlds champion,
69 kg - Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA, 5th in 2013 Worlds, 3x World Team member, 2008 Junior World champion
69 kg - Khanum VELIEVA, 2017 Junior World champion, 5th in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2014, 2016 Cadet World champ
75 kg - Alena PEREPELKINA, 3rd in 2005 and 2006 Worlds, 2008 Olympian, 2x Cadet World champion
75 kg - Kristina SHUMOVA, 5th in 2017 Junior Worlds
SWEDEN
Of the three Group A teams, Sweden is bringing the least experienced group. These athletes look to be the future of the Swedish program, athletes who should be ready for the 2020 Olympics and beyond. 2015 Junior World champion Elin Nilsson (58 kg) headlines the roster, which has quite a bit of age-group international achievements. Therese Persson (60 kg) was on the 2016 Senior World Team, and has won World medals on the Junior and Cadet levels. Other past Junior World medalists are Moa Nygren (63 kg) and Denise Makota-Stroem (75 kg). Alexandra Sandahl (69 kg) was a Cadet World medalist.
What the USA must do to win: The USA can’t overlook the Swedes because it has a young lineup. The USA light weights have considerably more experience and achievements than the Swedish entries, so wins by Anthony at 48, Augello at 53 and either Hildebrandt or Winchester at 55 kg could set the tone for a USA victory. On paper, the USA should do very well with their matchups, but Sweden’s young talent should come to prove something. If the USA wants to be in the finals, it has to take care of business against Sweden. If there ends up a tie within the pool, every match in every dual meet takes on more importance in any tiebreaker.
Sweden lineup
48 kg - Malin Lovisa LJUNGSTROEM, 7th in 2017 Grand Prix of Germany
53 kg - Emma BROBECK, 5th in 2017 Nordic Championships
55 kg - Szilvia PETER, 3rd in Grand Prix of Germany
58 kg - Elin Johanna NILSSON, 3rd in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2015 Junior World champion
60 kg - Therese PERSSON, 2016 World Team, 3rd in 2015 Junior Worlds, 2nd in 2012 Cadet Worlds
63 kg - Moa NYGREN, 3rd in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2nd in 2015 Junior Worlds, 2nd in 2012 Cadet Worlds
69 kg - Alexandra SANDAHL, 3rd in 2015 Cadet Worlds
75 kg - Denise MAKOTA STROEM, 3rd in 2017 Junior Worlds
Group B will feature some individual star athletes among the teams. Azerbaijan will be led by three-time Olympic medalist and past World champion Mariya Stadnik at 48 kg. China will feature 2008 Olympic champion Wang Jiao at 69 kg and Olympic medalist as past World champion Sun Yanan at 48 kg. Mongolia has a young lineup led by World medalist Purevsuren Ganbaatar at 69 kg. Ukraine is also entering a youthful team, led by World medalist Iryna Khariv at 58 kg.
U.S. fans can watch the Women’s World Cup live on Trackwrestling. Cheboksary is eight hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time.
Event Schedule (local time – eight hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time)
Friday, December 1
10:00 a.m. – Pool competition, Session 1
12:00 noon – Pool competition, Session 2
5:00 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies
5:30 p.m. – Pool competition, Session 3
Saturday, December 2
1:00 p.m. – 7th/8th place match and 5th/6th place match
2:00 p.m. – 3rd/4th place match
3:00 p.m. – 1st/2nd place championship match
4:00 p.m. – Award ceremonies
The draws for the 2017 Women’s World Cup in Russia came out on Sunday, and the United States drew into the more difficult of the two pools for competition, which will be held in Cheboksary, Russia, Dec. 1-2.
Since there was no Women’s World Cup in 2016, United World Wrestling used the results from the 2015 Senior World Championships to determine the field for this event. The top two nations from the 2015 Worlds in Las Vegas were split apart, champion Japan and runner-up China, and the rest of the nations were randomly drawn into pools.
Team USA drew into Group A, which included Japan, host Russia and Sweden. Based upon the 2015 World Championships, these teams were No. 1 Japan, No. 3 United States, No. 5 (tie) Russia and No. 8 Sweden. That would appear to be very balanced based upon the teams from way back then.
However, based upon placements at the 2017 World Championships, the overall balance is a bit lopsided. Group A includes No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 9 Sweden and No. 11 Russia. Group B (based on 2017 Worlds) features No. 4 Mongolia, No. 7 China, No. 14 Ukraine, and an Azerbaijan team that did not score a single team point in the 2017 Worlds.
Team USA will have to be at its best to win its pool and advance to the finals. The last time the United States won the Women’s World Cup was 2003, with a victory over Japan in the championship finals.
Here is a look at the teams in Group A, which will battle it out on Friday, Dec. 1. The USA will have three matches that day. The results from these pool matches will determine what placement each team will compete for on Saturday against the appropriate team from Group B. Here is a quick look at the Group A expected lineups.
UNITED STATES
The United States is bringing a strong team to Russia for World Cup, featuring six of its eight 2017 World Team members, plus two others with Senior World experience. The biggest hammers are three-time World champion and five-time World medalist Adeline Gray at 75 kg, plus two-time World silver medalist Alli Ragan at 60 kg. Gray is back on the mats this fall after a year recovering from surgeries and has looked good in her early events back on the mat.
Besides Ragan, the other members of the 2017 Senior World Team on the roster are Victoria Anthony at 48 kg, Haley Augello at 53 kg, Mallory Velte at 63 kg, Tamyra Mensah-Stock at 69 kg and Victoria Francis at 75 kg. None of these other 2017 World Teams have won a Senior World medal, but all have strong international achievements both on the Senior and age-group levels.
Throw in 2016 Senior World Team member Sarah Hildebrandt at 55 kg, and the USA has a World Teamer in every weight except 58 kg, which features three-time age-group World medalist Kayla Miracle, who is No. 2 on the USA ladder behind Olympic champion Helen Maroulis. Also at 55 kg is Jacarra Winchester, who boasts a University World medal. With two extra athletes on the team, Coach Terry Steiner has some options on how to deploy his athletes in a dual meet setting. But based upon Senior-level success, Team USA has as much experience and achievements as any team in Group A.
United States roster
48 kg - Victoria ANTHONY, 2x World Team member, 2x Junior World champion
53 kg - Haley AUGELLO, 2017 World Team, 2016 Olympic Team
55 kg - Sarah HILDEBRANDT, 2016 World Team
55 kg - Jacarra WINCHESTER, 3rd in 2014 University Worlds
58 kg - Kayla MIRACLE, 2x Junior World medalist, 1x Cadet World medalist
60 kg - Alli RAGAN, 2x World silver medalist, 2x Junior World bronze
63 kg - Mallory VELTE, 2017 World Team
69 kg - Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK , 2017 World Team, 2016 Ivan Yarygin champion (RUS), 2nd in 2014 University Worlds
75 kg - Victoria FRANCIS, 2017 World Team, 2014 Junior World bronze
75 kg - Adeline Maria GRAY, 3x World champion, 5x World medalist, 2016 Olympian
JAPAN
The Japanese lineup is a mix of Senior-level stars and young talents who could be part of the future of Japan’s team, as it seeks to continue to dominate international women’s wrestling. As far as World Cup teams, this one is leaning towards younger athletes, with a few proven stars that can match up with anybody. The team is led by a pair of Senior World champions, 2017 World champion Yui Susaki at 48 kg and 2016 World champion Mayu Mukaida at 53 kg. The team is anchored at 75 kg by three-time Junior World and three-time Cadet World champion Masako Furuichi at 75 kg. It is how the athletes in the middleweights perform which will determine if Japan can win Group A. There are no Senior World medalists in five of the weight classes. Yurika Ito (63 kg) was a Junior and University World champion. Past Cadet World medalists include Yukako Kawai (60 kg) and Miwa Morikawa (69 kg). Momoka Kadoya (55 kg) and Akie Hanai (58 kg) have senior-level achievements, but not at the highest levels. Japan is always tough, even when using younger athletes who give their program great depth. However, depending upon the matchups with the other teams in the pool, Japan could have some close dual meets.
What Team USA must do to win: A win over one of the big stars at 48 kg, 53 kg and 75 kg would go a long way towards a USA team win. Adeline Gray has the experience edge at 75 kg against Furuichi, but will need to be sharp to win that bout. Victoria Anthony has wrestled Susaki, and if she figures out a strategy for that match, she could also win there. The USA will need to be very strong in those middle weights. In addition, if the match ends up 4-4, bonus points in any victory could also be a big deal.
Japan lineup
48 kg - Yui SUSAKI, 2017 World champion, 3x Cadet World champion
53 kg - Mayu MUKAIDA, 2016 World champion, Second in 2017 Worlds, 2016 Junior World champion
55 kg - Momoka KADOYA, Fifth in 2016 Asian Seniors, 5th in 2015 Junior Worlds
58 kg - Akie HANAI, Third in 2017 Asian Indoor Games, 3rd in 2017 Ivan Yarygin (RUS)
60 kg - Yukako KAWAI, 8th in 2017 World Championships, 3rd in 2014 Cadet Worlds
63 kg - Yurika ITO, 2014 Asian Senior champion, 2012 University World champion, 2011 Junior World champion
69 kg - Miwa MORIKAWA, 2nd in 2016 Cadet World Championships
75 kg - Masako FURUICHI, 3x Junior World champion, 3x Cadet World champion
RUSSIA
Host Russia has a few things going for it during this Women’s World Cup. First, they are competing on their home mats, which always helps a team at a major event like this. Also, Russia has listed two athletes per weight class, and should have the ability to adjust its lineup for dual meets, keeping the athletes fresh and selecting specific athletes based upon matchups. The leading stars on the roster are three-time World silver medalist Irnia Ologonova (55 kg) and two-time World bronze medalist Alena Perepelkina (75 kg). The age-group achievements include four past Junior World champions, Valeriya Chepsarakova (48 kg), Natalia Malysheva (53 kg), Anastasia Bratchikova (69 kg) and Khanum Valieva (69 kg). University World champions on the roster include Veronika Chumikova (58 kg) and Yulia Prontsevitch (60 kg). All of the other athletes have solid resumes on the Senior and age-group levels.
What Team USA must do: There is no way to know who Russia will send out to compete against the United States, so the team must be ready regardless of individual opponents. The USA had an extended training camp in Russia this past summer before the World Championships, so many of its athletes have trained with women on the Russian National Team. Learning from that camp could give one of the nations an edge. The USA will have to fight and scrap in every single match, looking for wins from their most experienced wrestlers while also seeking to win any close matches where the experience levels are similar.
Russia
48 kg - Valeriya CHEPSARAKOVA, 3rd in 2013 University World Games, 2009 Junior World champion
48 kg - Anzhelika VETOSHKINA, 3rd in 2011 Cadet Worlds
53 kg - Natalia MALYSHEVA, 1st in 2016 Russian Nationals, 5th in 2014 Worlds, 2014 Junior World champion
53 kg - Stalvira ORSHUSH, 7th in 2017 Worlds, 1st in 2017 Russian Nationals
55 kg - Mariia GUROVA, 7th in 2017 Worlds, 1st in 2017 Russian Nationals, 5th in 2010 and 2011 Worlds
55 kg - Irina OLOGONOVA, 3x World silver medalist, 3rd in 2010 Junior Worlds
58 kg - Veronika CHUMIKOVA, 2016 University World champion
58 kg - Khadizhat MURTUZALIEVA, 7th in 2017 Ivan Yarygin (RUS)
60 kg - Uliana TUKURENOVA, 2017 Medved champion (BLR), 9th in 2017 U23 Worlds
60 kg - Yulia PRONTSEVITCH, 2016 World Team, 2nd in 2017 Ivan Yarygin, 2012 University World champion
63 kg - Tatiana SMOLIAK, 5th in 2017 U23 Worlds
63 kg - Anzhela FOMENKO, 2016 University Worlds champion,
69 kg - Anastasia BRATCHIKOVA, 5th in 2013 Worlds, 3x World Team member, 2008 Junior World champion
69 kg - Khanum VELIEVA, 2017 Junior World champion, 5th in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2014, 2016 Cadet World champ
75 kg - Alena PEREPELKINA, 3rd in 2005 and 2006 Worlds, 2008 Olympian, 2x Cadet World champion
75 kg - Kristina SHUMOVA, 5th in 2017 Junior Worlds
SWEDEN
Of the three Group A teams, Sweden is bringing the least experienced group. These athletes look to be the future of the Swedish program, athletes who should be ready for the 2020 Olympics and beyond. 2015 Junior World champion Elin Nilsson (58 kg) headlines the roster, which has quite a bit of age-group international achievements. Therese Persson (60 kg) was on the 2016 Senior World Team, and has won World medals on the Junior and Cadet levels. Other past Junior World medalists are Moa Nygren (63 kg) and Denise Makota-Stroem (75 kg). Alexandra Sandahl (69 kg) was a Cadet World medalist.
What the USA must do to win: The USA can’t overlook the Swedes because it has a young lineup. The USA light weights have considerably more experience and achievements than the Swedish entries, so wins by Anthony at 48, Augello at 53 and either Hildebrandt or Winchester at 55 kg could set the tone for a USA victory. On paper, the USA should do very well with their matchups, but Sweden’s young talent should come to prove something. If the USA wants to be in the finals, it has to take care of business against Sweden. If there ends up a tie within the pool, every match in every dual meet takes on more importance in any tiebreaker.
Sweden lineup
48 kg - Malin Lovisa LJUNGSTROEM, 7th in 2017 Grand Prix of Germany
53 kg - Emma BROBECK, 5th in 2017 Nordic Championships
55 kg - Szilvia PETER, 3rd in Grand Prix of Germany
58 kg - Elin Johanna NILSSON, 3rd in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2015 Junior World champion
60 kg - Therese PERSSON, 2016 World Team, 3rd in 2015 Junior Worlds, 2nd in 2012 Cadet Worlds
63 kg - Moa NYGREN, 3rd in 2017 U23 Worlds, 2nd in 2015 Junior Worlds, 2nd in 2012 Cadet Worlds
69 kg - Alexandra SANDAHL, 3rd in 2015 Cadet Worlds
75 kg - Denise MAKOTA STROEM, 3rd in 2017 Junior Worlds
Group B will feature some individual star athletes among the teams. Azerbaijan will be led by three-time Olympic medalist and past World champion Mariya Stadnik at 48 kg. China will feature 2008 Olympic champion Wang Jiao at 69 kg and Olympic medalist as past World champion Sun Yanan at 48 kg. Mongolia has a young lineup led by World medalist Purevsuren Ganbaatar at 69 kg. Ukraine is also entering a youthful team, led by World medalist Iryna Khariv at 58 kg.
U.S. fans can watch the Women’s World Cup live on Trackwrestling. Cheboksary is eight hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time.
Event Schedule (local time – eight hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time)
Friday, December 1
10:00 a.m. – Pool competition, Session 1
12:00 noon – Pool competition, Session 2
5:00 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies
5:30 p.m. – Pool competition, Session 3
Saturday, December 2
1:00 p.m. – 7th/8th place match and 5th/6th place match
2:00 p.m. – 3rd/4th place match
3:00 p.m. – 1st/2nd place championship match
4:00 p.m. – Award ceremonies
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