By Ryan Maquiñana
Day two of the inaugural U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women was devoid of surprises Tuesday night at Pend Oreille Pavilion in Airway Heights, Wash.
In the flyweight division, six-time national champion Marlen Esparza of Houston, Tex., and rival Christina Cruz of New York City will meet once again on Thursday after winning their respective Winners’ Bracket quarterfinal bouts.
The most publicized lightweight has been five-time national champ Queen Underwood of Seattle, and she did not disappoint, cruising to victory and setting up a meeting with N'yteeyah Sherman of Ohio in the 132-pound Winners’ Bracket quarters.
As far as the middleweights were concerned, Claressa Shields of Flint, Mich., continued her march through the Open level, penciling herself in for a Winners’ Bracket quarterfinal against Pittsburgh, Pa.’s Tika Hemingway with another victory.
Six other fighters stared down the barrel of elimination and stayed alive with triumphs on Tuesday, while six more joined them in the Challengers’ Bracket and another six saw their Olympic dream come to an end. These 12 fighters meet on Wednesday, and the losers will head home.
The six unbeaten women earn a day’s rest and return to action on Thursday.
Wednesday’s action can be seen live at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT on Universal Sports Live Stream.
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
(Challengers’ Bracket fights are elimination bouts)
FLYWEIGHT (112 LBS.) – WINNERS’ BRACKET
Marlen Esparza (Houston, Tex.) def. Alex Love (Monroe, Wash.), 22-12
Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) def. Tyrieshia Douglas (Baltimore, Md.), 20-15
FLYWEIGHT (112 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Taversha Norwood (Marietta, Ga.) def. Cynthia Moreno (Phoenix, Ariz.) by walkover
Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, Texas) def. Latonya King (Harrison Township, Mich.), 14-13
LIGHTWEIGHT (132 LBS.) – WINNERS’ BRACKET
Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) def. Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.), 27-20
N'yteeyah Sherman (Barberton, Ohio) def. Tiara Brown (Lehigh Acres, Fla.), 32-24
LIGHTWEIGHT (132 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Bertha Aracil (Yonkers, N.Y.) def. Lisa Porter (Northridge, Calif.), 16-13
Asia Stevenson (Washington, D.C.) def. Patricia Manuel, (Long Beach, Calif.) by walkover
MIDDLEWEIGHT (165 LBS.) – WINNERS’ BRACKET
Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) def. Andrecia Wasson (Centerline, Mich.), 31-12
Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh, Pa.) def. Tiffanie Hearn (San Diego, Calif.), 19-15
MIDDLEWEIGHT (165 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) def. Dara Shen (Alexandria, Va.) by medical DQ
Raquel Miller (San Francisco, Calif.) def. Tiffanie Ward (Hacienda Heights, Calif.), 23-12
WEDNESDAY’S BOUT SCHEDULE
(Challengers’ Bracket fights are elimination bouts/
Winners’ Bracket resumes Thursday)
FLYWEIGHT (112 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Tyrieshia Douglas (Baltimore, Md.) vs. Taversha Norwood (Marietta, Ga.)
Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, Texas) vs. Alex Love (Monroe, Wash.)
LIGHTWEIGHT (132 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Tiara Brown (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) vs. Bertha Aracil (Yonkers, N.Y.)
Asia Stevenson (Washington, D.C.) vs. Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDDLEWEIGHT (165 LBS.) – CHALLENGERS’ BRACKET
Tiffanie Hearn (San Diego, Calif.) vs. Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.)
Raquel Miller (San Francisco, Calif.) vs. Andrecia Wasson (Centerline, Mich.)
Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBayArea.com). He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at norcalboxing.net or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
