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(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Two tiebreakers and a furious fourth-round rally were among the highlights during women's semifinal competition Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, setting the stage for the women's finals Thursday night at the 2008 U.S. Future Stars National Championships.
The first tiebreaker came in the bantamweight (119 lbs) class, where Cynthia Moreno (Phoenix, Ariz.) jumped out to a 5-1 lead over Raelene Pineda (San Bernardino, Calif.) after one round. After bouncing back in the second to close the gap, Pineda still found herself down, 10-8, entering the fourth and final round. When the final bell sounded, the score was even, 13-13, forcing a tiebreaker. (To break a tie after four rounds, officials refer to the computerized scoring system, which looks at the scores given to each boxer by the five judges at ringside. From there, the highest and lowest scores received by each boxer are eliminated, and the remaining three scores are tallied, and the boxer with the highest total wins.) After going to the scores, Moreno was declared the winner.
Moreno will face 2007 National Champion Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) Thursday night in the women's final. Cruz pulled away from Kayla Combs (Lubbock, Texas) in the last three rounds, outscoring Combs 15-5 on her way to a 20-10 decision.
The second tiebreaker came in the featherweight (125 lbs) division, where Alexandria Cardenas (San Angelo, Texas) earned the decision over Cherrie Moyer (Garden City, N.Y.). Like Moreno, Cardenas held the lead through the first three rounds before Moyer came back, and briefly took the lead. Cardenas came back to tie the score at 19 before the final bell, and ultimately advance to Thursday night's final, where she'll face Jody-Ann Weller (Pomona, N.Y.). Weller held a 2-1 lead after three rounds over Diedra Rhodes (St. Louis, Mo.) before opening up her offense in the fourth and winning, 9-3.
Perhaps the biggest match of the session came in the light middleweight (154 lbs) class, where two-time national champion Lisa Kuronya (Portland, Maine) squared off with three-time middleweight national champion Franchon Crews (Capitol Heights, Md.). Crews dominated the action early, using a series of solid right hands to take a 10-1 lead after the first round. The lead was up to 25-12 entering the fourth round when Kuronya stormed back. She scored 15 in the round, but Crews' five points were enough to stave off the comeback attempt, and she moves on to the finals with a 30-27 win. Crews will face Grace Parks (Bellingham, Wash.), who earned the victory over Bambi Manzo (Baytown, Texas) when the referee stopped the contest in the third round.
In the pinweight (101 lbs) division, Sylvia Villapondo (Houston, Texas) used a seven-point third round to build a 12-9 lead over Sadie Roberts (Hudson, Iowa). Villapondo held on to win, 15-14, and will face Samantha Guzman (Oak Park, Ill.) in the finals. Guzman outscored Brittany Walker (Beach Island, S.C.) 21-8 in the second and third rounds on her way to a 31-16 win.
The light flyweight (106 lbs) division, two-time national champion Marlen Esparza built an early lead over Katherine Rodriguez (Riverside, Calif.) and never looked back, closing with an 11-point fourth round to earn a 31-11 victory. She'll face Melissa McMorrow (San Francisco, Calif.), who advanced by walkover.
The flyweight (110 lbs) division final will feature two boxers coming off strong performances Wednesday. Five-time national champion Cheryl Houlihan (Santee, Calif.) used a strong defensive outing to move past Jasmine Springwater (Wichita, Kan.), 16-2, while Amaris Quintana (San Diego, Calif.) came out firing against Gina D'Andrea (Baltimore, Md.), scoring 26 points in the first three rounds in a 27-9 win.
The light bantamweight (114 lbs) division will see a familiar face in the final, as well. Sacred Downing (Trenton, N.J.) stopped Nicole Pasillas (Aurora, Colo.) 55 seconds into the second round, and will face Keisher McLeod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the final. McLeod outscored Amy Sowers (Bozeman, Mont.) 6-0 in the first round, and it would be all the offense she needed as she advanced with a 13-5 win.
In lightweight (132 lbs) division competition, three-time national champion Caroline Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will be aiming for her fourth title after stopping Athena Saunders (Atlantic City, N.J.) in the second round. Barry will take on Katonya Fisher (Bakersfield, Calif.) in the finals. Fisher jumped out to a large lead over Jessica Chambers (Tacoma, Wash.) and never let up, winning 23-6.
In light welterweight (138 lbs) action, No. 1 ranked Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) used an explosive second round to stop Ishika Lay (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the second. The two boxers battled to a tie after the first round, 7-7, before Underwood used her speed to overwhelm Lay for the win. Underwood will go on to face Wendy Casey (Binghampton, N.Y.) in Thursday night's final. Casey was down 6-4 entering the fourth round against Kimberly Rose (San Diego, Calif. - Pal), but used a strong fourth round (6-2) to come back and win the bout, 10-8.
After her big comeback on Tuesday, Brittany Inkrote (Red Lion, Pa.) did not suffer a letdown Wednesday, defeating Jackie Peterson (Vancouver, Wash.) in their welterweight (145 lbs) semifinal. Inkrote used a 6-1 second round to take control of the match, and earned her spot in the finals with a 17-11 victory. She will face Vanessa Jackson (Columbus, Ohio), who overpowered Christina Swanson (Hollywood, Fla.) on her way to a 23-6 win.
In the lone semifinal in the heavyweight (189 lbs) division, Tiffany Hearn (Louisville, Ky.) used a strong offense to build an 8-3 lead over Nikki Cane (Wendell, N.C.) after one round, and then let her defense do the rest, shutting Cane out over the final three rounds to win 18-3. Hearn will face Denise Rico (Los Angeles, Calif.) in the final match of Thursday night's women's finals session.
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