2008 World University Wrestling Championships

July 4, 2008 Olympian Zilberman highlights Canadian roster

OTTAWA (CIS) – Olympic-bound David Zilberman of Montreal highlights a roster of 14 student-athletes who will represent Canada at the 8th world university wrestling championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, July 9-13.

The Canadian roster is comprised of five individual champions and 10 medallists from the 2008 Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships held last March in Calgary. The 14 wrestlers have combined for 40 CIS medals thus far over their varsity careers.

The 10-time CIS men’s team champion Brock University Badgers and the Simon Fraser Clan, crowned CIS women’s champions five of the past six years, will be well represented in Greece with four wrestlers – current or graduates - apiece.

They will be joined by three Saskatchewan Huskies, a pair of Calgary Dinos, and Zilberman, who wrestled at Concordia from 2003-04 to 2006-07 and has since transferred to McGill to pursue an education degree.

Zilberman, who will participate in his first Summer Olympics in August and will wrestle at 96 kilograms in Thessaloniki, is a two-time medallist at the biennal world university championships, having claimed silver both in 2006 in Mongolia and 2004 in Poland. He also represented Canada at the 2005 Summer Universiade in Turkey.

Rounding out the men’s roster are the Simon Fraser trio of Raj Virdi (55 kg) of Surrey, B.C., Bo Gregson (66 kg) of Kamloops, B.C., and Arjan Bhullar (120 kg) of Richmond, B.C., Saskatchewan teammates Ryley Walker (60 kg) of Eston, Sask., and Jeff Adamson (74 kg) of Saskatoon, as well as Brock’s Alex Brown-Theriault (84 kg) of Ottawa.

Bhullar claimed a bronze medal at the 2006 world university championships. Virdi (2005-06), Gregson (2004-05) and Zilberman (2003-04) are all former CIS male rookies of the year in wrestling.

On the women’s side, Canada will count on the Brock triumvirate of Alana King (48 kg) of Thorold, Ont., Jessica Bondy (51 kg) of Windsor, Ont., and Michelle Fazzari (59 kg) of Caledonia, Ont., Calgary teammates Justine Bouchard (63 kg) of Wetaskiwin, Alta., and Vanessa Wilson (72 kg) of Calgary, Simon Fraser’s Miranda Dick (55 kg) of Kamloops, and Saskatchewan alumni Megan Buydens (67 kg) of Saskatoon.

King captured a silver medal in Mongolia in 2006. Dick is the reigning CIS most outstanding female wrestler, while Fazzari was CIS female rookie of the year back in 2005-06.

The Canadian delegation will be led in Greece by team leader Todd Hinds from the University of Saskatchewan, coaches Marty Calder from Brock, Justin Abdou from Simon Fraser, Paul Ragusa from Calgary and Victor Zilberman from Concordia, and medical chief Surinder Budwal.

A three-time CIS coach of the year, Zilberman was inducted as a builder into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame earlier this year. Calder is a six-time CIS coach of the year, including five nominations for his work with the Badgers men’s team, while Hinds has won the award on one occasion.

Canadian referee Lenis Thokle will also be at the championships.

Canada amassed seven medals (3 silver, 4 bronze) at the 2006 world university championships, and five medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) in 2004.

TEAM ROSTER

Women

Men

STAFF

OTHERS

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca

2008-07-09

FISU Championships - RESULTS

Thessaloniki, GREECE July 9 - 13

MEN'S FREESTYLE

66 kg - Bo Gregson (12 entries) L vs Josh Churella (USA) 0-4, 0-3 Eliminated

60 kg Ryley Walker (9 entries) L vs Abylav Teltayev (KAZ) 0-1, 4-3, 5-3 (KAZ) lost in the semis Eliminated

74 kg Jeff Adamson (16 entries) L vs Keith Gevin (USA) 0-2, 6-0, 0-1 Eliminated

84 kg - Alex Brown-Theriault (10 entries) L vs Jake Herbert (USA) 0-6, 0-6 Eliminated

120 kg - Arjan Bhullar (5TH) L vs Dmytro Kyslenko (UKR) 0-1, 0-1 L vs Dmytro Kyslenko (UKR) 0-1, 0-1 L vs. RUS 0-1, 0-1

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE

67 kg Megan Buydens BRONZE MEDALIST (8 entries) W vs Valeriia Zlatova (UKR) 3-0, 1-0 L vs Natalia Kuksina (RUS) 0-1, 2-0, 0-1 W vs Ashelea McManus (GBR) 2-0, 1-2, 5-0

2008-07-14

CANADIAN WOMEN PERFORM AT FISU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Canada’s women’s team at the 2008 World University Wrestling Championships held July 10 to 13, 2008 in Thessaloniki, Greece came up with a great effort and secured six medals in seven weight classes. Leading the way were Simon Fraser graduate Miranda Dick and University of Calgary’s Justine Bouchard. Dick won gold in the 55kg weight class while Bouchard was first at 63kg.

"Miranda finished off a great university career by winning a world title," said SFU Coach Justin Abdou of Dick's accomplishment. "It's astonishing to look at the season she has put together, winning at both Canada West and the CIS meets, being named the MVP of both those competitions and now winning a world university title. She demonstrated her maturity as a wrestler today; making adjustments in the final two matches and coming up with two hard fought victories."

For Bouchard, the win was equally impressive as she won three matches in a row including the final over Oxana Shalikova of the Ukraine.

Four Canadian women won bronze medals at the event including; Vanessa Wilson (U of Calgary), Megan Buydens (U of Saskatchewan), Jessica Bondy (Brock U) and Alana King (Brock U).

Canada and the USA finished tied in medals each with six. The USA took the team title based on three gold medal finishes (3-1-2) over Canada’s two gold medals (2-0-4). Russia was third with four medal finishes (1-3-0).

Standings By Weight Class

51kg 1. FULP-ALLEN K. USA 2. GILEVA Olga RUS 3. BONDY Jessica CAN (Brock) 3. FUJIMO Maki JPN

55kg 1. DICK Miranda CAN (Simon Fraser) 2. KRUZA Malgorzata POL 3. SU Ying-Tsu TPE 3. SZABO Ernese HUN

59kg 1. TSYRENOVA Zhargalma RUS 2. POUMPOURIDOU Sofia GRE 3. LUCAS Othella USA 3. HOU Min Wein TPE 10. FAZZARI Michelle CAN (Brock)

63kg 1. BOUCHARD Justine CAN (Calgary) 2. SHALIKOVA Oxana UKR 3. BERUBE Alaina USA 3. TAKAHSI Marina JPN

67kg 1. PIROZHKOV Elena USA 2. KUKSINA Natalia RUS 3. BUYDENS Megan CAN (Saskatchewan) 3. SZERKENCSE Monika HUN

72kg 1. LEE Stephany USA 2. BUKINA Ekaterina RUS 3. WILSON Vanessa CAN (Simon Fraser) 3. BERTOKI Justine FRA

The Men’s Freestyle team competed prior to the women. The top finishers were Arjan Bhullar of Simon Fraser at 120kg (5th) and Ryley Walker of Saskatchewan at 60kg (7th).