Anthony, Nette and Moore to compete for gold at Matteo Pellicone

Photo of Kollin Moore by Justin Hoch, jhoch.com.

ROME – Three Americans advanced to their respective finals of the 2021 Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, including women’s freestylers Victoria Anthony and Abby Nette and men’s freestyle wrestler Kollin Moore. Medal matches will take place later today at noon ET on FloWrestling.

Hayden Zillmer will compete for bronze in the second session, and Tony Nelson has likely secured silver after round-robin action.

Competing in a Nordic style bracket at 50 kg, two-time Senior World Team member Victoria Anthony began the morning with a solid pool performance, defeating Patricia Bermudez of Argentina, 10-0, followed by an injury default win over Valentina Islamova Brik of Kazakhstan. Anthony was leading 4-2 at the time of the injury. Moving on to the semifinals, Anthony faced two-time World silver medalist and World No. 1 Emilia Vuc of Romania, who she smashed in a first-period 10-0 victory. For gold, Anthony will take on 2020 Individual World Cup bronze medalist Miglena Selishka of Bulgaria.

Joining Anthony in a pursuit for gold is National Team member Abby Nette, who is competing in a three-person round-robin at 59 kg. She only had one match in the morning session, which she dominated, shutting out Rebecca De Leo of Italy, 10-0, in 1:18. Her second-session bout will determine the gold-medal winner as she faces 2019 Grand Prix of Germany silver medalist Diana Kayumova of Kazakhstan, who also went 1-0 in the morning session.

In men’s freestyle, U23 World silver medalist Kollin Moore lit up the 97 kg bracket, landing a spot in the finals after two statement wins. To open his day, Moore downed 2019 Junior World bronze medalist Feyzullah Akturk of Turkey, 12-1. In the semifinals, Moore shut down two-time Asian bronze medalist Alisher Yergali of Kazakhstan with a 9-0 decision. For the title, Moore will face 2019 World silver medalist and two-time World bronze winner Alireza Karimimachiani from Iran.

Also wrestling at 97 kg, Hayden Zillmer looks to join Moore on the podium as he will battle for bronze later today. Zillmer faced Karimimachiani in his opening bout but fell, 6-3. Because the Iranian advanced to the finals, Zillmer was pulled into the bronze bout, where he will take on 2017 Junior World bronze medalist Ibrahim Ciftci from Turkey.

Representing the USA at 125 kg, Tony Nelson completed his tournament, wrestling in a five-man round robin and collecting at 3-1 record. In his first match, he defeated Sumit Sumit of India, 2-0, and kicked up his offense in the second round, powering through Kazakhstan’s Yusup Batirmurzaev, 14-4. In the third round, Nelson fell to 2014 Junior World champion Amar Dhesi in a 5-0 decision. But Nelson bounced back in his final match of the day, defeating Oleg Boltin from Kazakhstan, 7-1. There is still one match to be contested at 125 kg, but it appears Nelson will finish with a silver medal in Rome.

2021 MATTEO PELLICONE INTERNATIONAL

March 4-7, 2021 | Rome, Italy

U.S. women’s freestyle results
50 kg: Victoria Anthony (Tempe. Ariz./Sunkist Kids) – GOLD MATCH
WIN Patricia Bermudez (Argentina), 10-0
WIN Valentina Islamova Brik (Kazakhstan), injury default (4-2)
WIN Emilia Vuc (Romania), 10-0
vs. Miglena Selishka (Bulgaria)

59 kg: Abby Nette (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) – GOLD MATCH
WIN Rebecca De Leo (Italy), 10-0
vs. Diana Kayumova (Kazakhstan)

U.S. men’s freestyle results
97 kg: Kollin Moore (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC) – GOLD MATCH
WIN Feyzullah Akturk (Turkey), 12-1
WIN Alisher Yergali (Kazkhstan), 9-0
vs. Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran)

97 kg: Hayden Zillmer (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC) – BRONZE MATCH
LOSS Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-3
vs. Ibrahim Ciftci (Turkey)

125 kg: Tony Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC) – SILVER
WIN Sumit Sumit (India), 2-0
WIN Yusup Batirmurzaev (Kazakhstan), 14-4
LOSS Amar Dhesi (Canada), 5-0
WIN Oleg Boltin (Kazakhstan), 7-1