Choi Wins Silver, Ahn Bronze at Arizona Cup

Thursday, April 4

Phoenix, Ariz.

All Day

Columbia University

Arizona Cup

Michelle Ahn (left) and Eunice Choi (right)

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics

4/9/2024 2:44:00 PM | Archery

Results

Pair of first-years podium in first outdoor event

PHOENIX — First-years Eunice Choi and Michelle Ahn each earned podium finishes to highlight the Columbia archery team's performance at the 2024 Arizona Cup. The competition took place over the weekend at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility.

Competing in the Recurve U21 Women's Division, Choi qualified first out of 40 archers with a score of 631 to earn the elimination bracket's No. 1 seed. Ahn qualified third with a score of 609. Both Choi and Ahn then won each of their first three elimination matches to advance to the semifinals.

In the semis, Choi defeated Janna Hawash in five ends, 6-4, to earn her spot in the gold-medal match. Ahn was tied 2-2 with Abigail Kippes after the first two ends before ultimately falling, 6-2.

Choi's gold-medal match against Kippes went the distance and was decided by the narrowest of margins. Tied, 4-4, after four ends, the bout went to a fifth end where Kippes edged Choi, 26-25, to take the end and win the match, 6-4. That result earned Choi the silver medal, while Ahn came back from 4-2 down to defeat Hawash in five ends, 6-4. Ahn won the fifth and final end, 24-23.

"Overall, it was super impressive and I'm proud of our performances," Columbia head coach Derek Davis said. "The weather shifted for the U21s and U18s – it got cold and windy – so to put up those kinds of scores and fight through it… I couldn't be more proud of both of them."

Sophomore Lillian Han and junior Judith Gottlieb competed in the Recurve Senior Women's Division, going up against some of the best archers and professionals in the world. Han qualified 18th out of a pool of 51 while Gottlieb qualified 26th. Both won their 1/32nd round match to advance to the 1/16th round.

Sophomore Giselle DeSousa tested herself against the professional ranks as well, competing in the Compound Senior Women's Division. DeSousa, who represented Portugal at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships, earned a bye into the 1/16th round, where she had a fantastic comeback to defeat No. 15 seed Maris Tetsmann, 143-142. DeSousa won the final end, 30-27, to complete the comeback. She then went up against the No. 2 seed, Olivia Dean, in the 1/8th round, falling by a score of 145-138.

"To me, this was a good start to the outdoor season," Davis continued. "Those numbers are a good jumping-off point and it makes me feel more confident about going into regionals in two weeks."

USA Archery Collegiate Target Regionals take place April 20-21 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Recurve U21 (Junior) Women (40 archers)
- Eunice Choi
    - Qualified 1st
    - 1/32nd Round: Bye
    - 1/16th Round: Choi (1) def. Park (32): 6-0
    - 1/8th Round: Choi (1) def. Slen (16): 7-3
    - Quarterfinals: Choi (1) def. Goods (8): 7-3
    - Semifinals: Choi (1) def. Hawash (5): 6-4
    - Gold Medal: Kippes (2) def. Choi (1): 6-4

- Michelle Ahn
    - Qualified 3rd
    - 1/32nd Round: Bye
    - 1/16th Round: Ahn (3) def. McGraw (30): 7-3
    - 1/8th Round: Ahn (3) def. Artz (14): 6-4
    - Quarterfinals: Ahn (3) def. Flores (11): 7-3
    - Semifinals: Kippes (2) def. Ahn (3): 6-2
    - Bronze Medal: Ahn (3) def. Hawash (5): 6-4

Recurve Senior Women (51 archers)
- Lillian Han
    - Qualified 18th
    - 1/32nd Round: Han (18) def. Sternfeld (47): 6-2
    - 1/16th Round: Tateyama (15) def. Han (18): 6-2

- Judith Gottlieb
    - Qualified 26th
    - 1/32nd Round: Gottlieb (32) def. Kelley (39): 6-0
    - 1/16th Round: K. Kim (7) def. Gottlieb (26): 6-0

Compound Senior Women (38 archers)
- Giselle DeSousa
    - Qualified 18th
    - 1/32nd Round: Bye
    - 1/16th Round: DeSousa (18) def. Tetsmann (15): 143-142
    - 1/8th Round: Dean (2) def. DeSousa (18): 145-138

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