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Chronicling Coco Gauff’s week as US Open champion

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Anthony Gharib | ESPN

It’s been quite the week for Coco Gauff.

The 19-year-old American won the US Open on Saturday, her first ever Grand Slam victory. She became the youngest American to win a major tournament since Serena Williams won the US Open in 1999 at 17.

From a phone call with President Joe Biden to another primetime showing in New York, here’s a look inside Gauff’s whirlwind week since becoming champ:

Saturday: Gauff thanks New York crowd

Since her US Open debut in 2019, Gauff’s been the crowd favorite in the Big Apple. It became even more evident during her championship run this year, the fans showing their support throughout each match.

Gauff paid them back moments before lifting the trophy, showing how much the fans in New York meant to her.

“Last but not least, thank you to New York,” she said. “Thank you to you guys. You guys pulled me through this gas fire. The supporters that I have mean so much to me, so thank you all. And thank you to everyone who made this tournament possible.”

Saturday: Presidential congratulations

The 46th President offered his congratulations on X, formerly known as Twitter, but also made a phone call to the teenager. Gauff shared a snippet of their conversation in a video on TikTok. “Coco, this is Joe Biden,” the President said. “Congratulations.”

Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama also congratulated Gauff on X:

“The support I have gotten is incredible,” said Gauff, according to the Associated Press. “Obviously, from President Obama and former First Lady Michelle is crazy that they were here my first-round match, and now I’m a different person now.”

Sunday: Prime-time football in the Big Apple

From the hard court to the gridiron, Gauff took in “Sunday Night Football” between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Gauff, a Miami Dolphins fan, posed on the field with Saquon Barkley and Eli Manning before the game.

Monday: Appearance on NBC’s “Today Show”

After a night at MetLife Stadium, Gauff had a quick turnaround for a live interview on Monday morning’s “Today Show.”

She touched on the emotions of becoming a Grand Slam champion in her home country, how her brothers missed her call after winning and what it felt like laying on the hard court after being champion.

“It felt like it hit all at once because I didn’t want to tell myself it was match point on the match point. I didn’t want to start shaking,” Gauff said. “So when it happened and … it was over, my previous matches it’s taken me six, seven match points to win and that was on the first one, so I was a little bit shocked. And I couldn’t breathe either.”

At 19 years old, Coco Gauff reaches first-ever US Open SF

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Scott Sode | US Open

WHAT HAPPENED: American tennis keeps rolling at the 2023 US Open. At just 19 years old, American Coco Gauff has reached her first-ever US Open semifinal with an absolute clinical 6-0, 6-2 victory over No. 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko.

The pair had split their two previous meetings, though the Latvian scored a straight-set victory in their last encounter, in Round 4 at the Australian Open in January. That first set was quite close, however, with Ostapenko saving four break points at 4-3 and then breaking Gauff at 6-5 to ultimately swing the momentum of the match in her favor. In order to come out on top in today’s contest, the American would need to remain solid, weather a barrage of winners and take advantage when her streaky opponent started to miss.

Ostapenko, conversely, would need to keep her unforced errors low, in the same range as what she committed in her fourth-round upset of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek (20)—as opposed to the amount she produced in the second round against Elina Avanesyan (80).

And at the beginning of the match, Ostapenko could not keep the stat sheet clean. She hit half the unforced errors she hit total in her previous match in just the first three games to immediately go down a double break to the American in just nine minutes.

Credit Gauff, however, who from the very beginning committed to chasing every ball down. Desperate to make anything work, Ostapenko tried going for an uncharacteristic drop shot on break point in her next service game; Gauff sprinted up to the ball and easily put it away to break again. She claimed the first set in just 20 minutes, and Ostapenko headed off court to regroup.

The second set looked as if it might mirror the first, as Gauff broke Ostapenko in her first two service games. But the Latvian—who became the third woman in history to win four straight three-set matches to reach the US Open quarterfinals—began to find the court and produce the winners that propelled her to her victory over Swiatek. She reeled one of those breaks back and held for the first time, and even earned a break point opportunity at 3-2 with another shot for which she is not necessarily known: a lob.

But Gauff stayed tough, delighting the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium with her trademark speed and holding steady. She held her serve, then broke Ostapenko again as the No. 20 seed began to spray her shots again. She capably came back from a 0-30 deficit on her final service game and hit an incredible forehand winner to end a 17-shot rally to become a first-time US Open semifinalist.

WHAT IT MEANS: American tennis is in good hands. After becoming the first American teenager since Serena Williams to reach back-to-back US Open Grand Slam quarterfinals, Gauff is now the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since the 23-time Grand Slam champion achieved the feat in 2001. The No. 6 seed next faces the winner of the match between Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Muchova. Gauff holds a 1-0 edge over both players, most recently beating Muchova just a month ago to take the title in Cincinnati. She came through a tight three-setter against Cirstea in the second round of the 2020 Australian Open.

MATCH POINT: The summer of Gauff continues. The American has now won 10 matches in a row, which ties her previous career-best win streak.

Paralympic Gold Medalist Morgan Stickney Persevered to Graduate College

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Charlotte McKinley | Biola University

LA MIRADA, CALIF. — After seven years, countless surgeries and perseverance through suffering, Tokyo 2021 Paralympian Morgan Stickney will graduate from Biola University on May 5, 2023.

Stickney started college in 2016 ranked as a top-20 American freestyle swimmer and swam on Biola’s swim team as a freshman in 2016. Soon after, pain from a previously broken sesamoid bone in her left big toe quickly worsened leaving her unable to compete or swim. In 2017, she developed a staph infection in her foot and the then-20-year-old made the difficult decision to amputate her foot.

Just weeks after her surgery, Stickney was in the pool again. However, similar pain started in her right foot due to a mysterious cardiovascular condition that blocked blood flow to her lower legs. Stickney had to amputate her right foot and became a bilateral amputee.

Stickney kept training and won two Paralympic gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relay for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Recently, she set a new American record in the women’s S7 400 freestyle at the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series in Minneapolis. Throughout her training and suffering through surgeries and recovery, she continued to work on her college degree.

“Morgan’s courage, perseverance and deep faith in God have helped her persevere, and we are honored to present her with her hard-earned degree,” said Dr. Barry H. Corey, President of Biola.

Stickney will graduate with a B.S. in Applied Psychology on May 5, 2023 at 7 p.m.

CEO of the YouVersion Bible App, Bobby Gruenewald, is the commencement speaker for both of Biola’s Spring Commencement ceremonies. Gruenewald serves on the Leadership Team at Life.Church as the Pastor, Innovation Leader and Founder.

For those unable to attend in person, a live stream of the ceremonies will be available on the Biola website, and on Biola’s Facebook.

For more information or press passes, please contact Sarah Dougher, media relations coordinator, at sarah.m.dougher@biola.edu.

FOR MEDIA: Upon arrival to campus, please call (949) 521-1829.

Biola University

13800 Biola Ave.

La Mirada, CA 90639

2023 PARA WORLDS DAY 2: USA’S MORGAN STICKNEY SMASHES WORLD RECORD IN WOMEN’S S7 400 FR

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James Sutherland | Swim Swam

Five world records fell during the second day of competition at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester, including Morgan Stickney obliterating one mark to give the United States its first gold medal of the competition.

Stickney, 26, put up a time of 4:54.28 to win gold in the women’s 400 free S7, knocking nearly five seconds off the previous world record in the process.

Stickney’s time broke the previous mark of 4:59.02 set by Australian Jacqueline Freney in 2012, and she also broke her own American Record of 5:03.16 set earlier this year in Minneapolis.

Three of Tuesday’s world records came in the 100 freestyle, with two male and one female marks going down.

In the men’s 100 free S4, Israel’s Ami Omer Dadaon clocked 1:18.94 to erase the record of 1:19.26 he set earlier this year at the Para Swimming World Cup in Berlin.

In the S6 category of the men’s 100 free, Italian Antonio Fantin also broke his own world record, bringing his 1:03.65 mark from last year’s Worlds down to 1:02.98 to successfully defend his title.

On the women’s side, China’s Jiang Yuyan brought the 100 free S6 record sub-1:11 for the first time, as she put up a time of 1:10.86 to knock off the previous mark she shared with Ukrainian Yelyzaveta Mereshko (1:11.07), with the two swimmers having tied for bronze (in the S7 category) in the event at the 2021 Paralympics.

The lone non-freestyle world record broken on the day came in the men’s 100 fly S11, where Ukraine’s Danylo Chufarov logged a time of 1:00.66 to lower the 15-year-old mark of 1:01.12 set by Spain’s Enhamed Enhamed in 2008.

With six gold and eight total medals after the opening day, Italy led the medal table early on, and they extended that on Tuesday, now sitting atop the heap with nine gold and 15 total medals.

Leading things off for Italy on the day was Federico Bicelli, who won the men’s 400 free S7 in a time of 4:40.55 to top Argentine Inaki Basiloff (4:40.96).

Following Bicelli’s lead for the Italians was Fantin, who claimed the men’s 100 free S6, and they also had a victory from Stefano Raimondi, who topped the men’s 200 IM SM10 in 2:10.41. Raimond’s win marked a successful title defense, having won the event last year in Portugal, and he also won silver in Tokyo.

China had a strong showing on the day, moving up to second on the medal table after winning four golds and seven total medals on Tuesday to bring their cumulative tally up to 7/17.

In addition to Jiang’s win in the women’s 100 free S6, China also had Lu Dong set a new Championship Record in the women’s 50 back S5 (38.21), and Yuan Weiyi topped the men’s 50 back S5 in a time of 32.73, leading a 1-2-3 sweep.

The Chinese team then capped the night off by winning the mixed 4×50 free relay 20pts in 2:18.58, setting a new Championship Record.

Great Britain also had a strong day, including a podium sweep in the women’s 100 back S14 as they rank third on the medal table, tied with China with seven golds while trailing by one in terms of overall medal count.

Read more: 2023 PARA WORLDS DAY 2: USA’S MORGAN STICKNEY SMASHES WORLD RECORD IN WOMEN’S S7 400 FR

MEDAL TABLE THROUGH DAY 2

RANKNATIONGOLDSILVERBRONZETOTAL
1Italy92415
2China76417
3Great Britain74516
4Australia43310
5Canada4026
6Brazil34512
7Ukraine3339
8Germany3216
9Netherlands2305
10Hungary2002
11Spain15410
12United States1348
13Mexico1203
14Israel1012
15Greece1001
Republic of Korea1001
17Japan0336
18France0224
19Argentina0134
20Azerbaijan0112
New Zealand0112
22Colombia0101
Croatia0101
Ireland0101
Kazakhstan0101
South Africa0101
27Cyprus0011
Denmark0011
Switzerland0011
Turkiye0011

ALL DAY 2 MEDALISTS

Men’s 400 Freestyle S7

Women’s 400 Freestyle S7

  • Gold: Morgan Stickney (USA) – 4:54.28 WR
  • Silver: Ahalya Lettenberger (USA) – 5:22.27
  • Bronze: Sabrina Duchesne (CAN) – 5:31.17

Men’s 100 Freestyle S4

  • Gold: Ami Omer Dadaon (ISR) – 1:18.94 WR
  • Silver: Cameron Leslie (NL) – 1:22.56
  • Bronze: Takayuki Suzuki (JPN) – 1:22.91

Women’s 100 Freestyle S4

  • Gold: Tanja Scholz (GER) – 1:22.18
  • Silver: Lidia Vieira Da Cruz (BRA) – 1:29.43
  • Bronze: Gina Boettcher (GER) – 1:30.31

Men’s 50 Backstroke S5

  • Gold: Yuan Weiyi (CHN) – 32.73
  • Silver: Wang Lichao (CHN) – 32.92
  • Bronze: Guo Jincheng (CHN) – 33.71

Women’s 50 Backtroke S5

  • Gold: Lu Dong (CHN) – 38.21
  • Silver: He Shenggao (CHN) – 41.44
  • Bronze: Sumeyye Boyaci (TUR) – 43.32

Men’s 150 IM SM3

  • Gold: Ahmed Kelly (AUS) – 2:58.59
  • Silver: Marcos Rafael Zarate Rodriguez (MEX) – 3:19.28
  • Bronze: Emmanuele Marigliano (ITA) – 3:29.03

Women’s 150 IM SM3

  • Gold: Tanja Scholz (GER) – 2:53.18 CR
  • Silver: Marta Fernandez Infante (ESP) – 3:03.87
  • Bronze: Ellie Challis (GBR) – 3:13.13

Men’s 100 Freestyle S6

  • Gold: Antonio Fantin (ITA) – 1:02.98 WR
  • Silver: Talisson Henrique Glock (BRA) – 1:04.73
  • Bronze: Daniel Xavier Mendes (BRA) – 1:05.14

Women’s 100 Freestyle S6

  • Gold: Jiang Yuyan (CHN) – 1:10.86 WR
  • Silver: Anna Hontar (UKR) – 1:13.48
  • Bronze: Nora Meister (SUI) – 1:14.45

Men’s 200 IM SM10

  • Gold: Stefano Raimondi (ITA) – 2:10.41
  • Silver: Col Pearse (AUS) – 2:13.68
  • Bronze: Alexy Saffy (AUS) – 2:16.07

Women’s 200 IM SM10

  • Gold: Bianka Pap (HUN) – 2:28.58
  • Silver: Lisa Kruger (NED) – 2:30.15
  • Bronze: Faye Rogers (GBR) – 2:31.50

Men’s 100 Back S8

  • Gold: Inigo Llopis Sanz (ESP) – 1:05.32
  • Silver: Kota Kubota (JPN) – 1:06.40
  • Bronze: Sam Downie (GBR) – 1:08.36

Women’s 100 Back S8

  • Gold: Alice Tai (GBR) – 1:12.11
  • Silver: Xenia Francesca Palazzo (ITA) – 1:19.40
  • Bronze: Tupou Neiufi (NZL) – 1:20.35

Men’s 100 Fly S11

  • Gold: Keiichi Kimura (JPN)  – 1:03.66
  • Silver: Uchu Tomita (JPN) – 1:04.28
  • Bronze: Mykhailo Serbin (UKR) – 1:07.29

Men’s 100 Fly S12

  • Gold: Douglas Matera (BRA) – 58.28
  • Silver: Stephen Clegg (GBR) – 58.41
  • Bronze: Raman Salei (AZE) – 58.73

Women’s 100 Fly S12

  • Gold: Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (BRA) – 1:05.68
  • Silver: Maria Delgado Nadal (ESP) – 1:06.87
  • Bronze: Alessia Berra (ITA) – 1:06.98

Men’s 100 Back S14

  • Gold: Benjamin Hance (AUS) – 57.26 CR
  • Silver: Gabriel Bandeira (BRA) – 59.05
  • Bronze: Alexander Hillhouse (DEN) – 59.86

Women’s 100 Back S14

  • Gold: Bethany Firth (GBR) – 1:05.80 CR
  • Silver: Poppy Maskill (GBR) – 1:05.87
  • Bronze: Georgia Sheffield (GBR) – 1:08.61

Men’s 100 Breast SB13

  • Gold: Taliso Engel (GER) – 1:03.26 CR
  • Silver: Nurdaulet Zhumagali (KAZ) – 1:05.16
  • Bronze: David Henry Abrahams (USA) – 1:05.55

Women’s 100 Breast SB13

  • Gold: Rebecca Redfern (GBR) – 1:15.01
  • Silver: Colleen Young (USA) – 1:15.89
  • Bronze: Olivia Chambers (USA) – 1:18.45

Men’s 200 IM SM9

  • Gold: Timothy Hodge (AUS) – 2:12.74 CR
  • Silver: Ugo Didier (FRA) – 2:17.15
  • Bronze: Federico Morlacchi (ITA) – 2:21.26

Women’s 200 IM SM9

  • Gold: Zsofia Konkoly (HUN) – 2:35.91
  • Silver: Nuria Marques Soto (ESP) – 2:36.67
  • Bronze: Sarai Gascon (ESP) – 2:37.13

Mixed 4×50 Free Relay 20pts

  • Gold: China – 2:18.58 CR
  • Silver: Brazil – 2:23.65
  • Bronze: Ukraine – 2:25.93

Stickney’s second world title caps four-medal final night for Team USA in Manchester

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KRISTEN GOWDY | USA Paralympic Swimming

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM – Team USA brought home four more medals, including a second title of the meet from Morgan Stickney (Cary, North Carolina), as the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships concluded with a seventh day of competition at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

World championships rookie Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) added a silver medal, while

Paralympians McClain Hermes (Dacula, Georgia) and Elizabeth Marks (Colorado Springs, Colorado) each brought home bronze to bring Team USA’s total on the meet to 25.

The Americans wrapped competition finishing 8th in the overall medal count. Chambers led the charge with six medals, while Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California) earned five. Stickney and Jessica Long (Baltimore, Maryland) won two gold medals apiece to lead Team USA.

Already a world champion in the 400-meter freestyle S7, Stickney sprinted to her second world title of the meet in the 100-meter freestyle S7 in convincing fashion. Her time of 1:09.29 was nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I don’t get to sprint very often, so it’s always fun to get to do that. These are some amazing competitors I get to go against, and it was a really fun race.”

Stickney’s win is her fourth career world championships gold medal. The two-time Paralympic champion will look to qualify for her second Paralympic Games next summer.

“It’s so fun to be here and so fun to be a part of Team USA,” she said. “I’m so excited to see what training looks like and what the next year has to bring.”

Teammate Julia Gaffney (Mayflower, Arkansas) earned a spot in the 100-meter freestyle S7 finals alongside Stickney, but elected not to compete in the evening session. Her preliminary time of 1:15.97 would have ranked her sixth in the finals. Gaffney has had a busy meet, earning three medals in five events.

The two-time Paralympian Hermes swam to her first world championships medal since 2017, securing bronze in the women’s 400-meter freestyle S11 with a time of 5:18.66.

For Hermes, the medal was redemption after a fourth-place finish in the event at the 2022 world championships.

“I had a really good prelim swim today, and knew I had to keep it together for the finals,” Hermes said. “I did something similar last year where I swam really fast in the morning and then fell apart at night, so I knew that I needed to go out strong and hold onto it. I’m really happy to go another personal best time tonight and to get a medal.”

Hermes attributed her medal in part to her recent shift to training as a dual-sport athlete in both swimming and paratriathlon. She recently graduated from Loyola University Maryland and has transitioned to living at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“My training has really changed,” she said. “I learned how to ride a bike and run in the last year, and that has really benefitted my training. I’m swimming less, but I’m doing so much more cardio and cross-training that it’s really impacting my swimming for the better. It’s really great to be competing in two sports right now and seeing growth in both.”

The medal is Hermes’ sixth career world championships podium.

Chambers, meanwhile, completed a perfect six-for-six podium performances in her world championships debut, taking her second consecutive silver medal in the women’s 200-meter individual medley SM13. Chambers wrapped her meet with a time of 2:28.23, putting herself comfortably in the silver medal position.

The 20-year-old will return home with four bronze medals to accompany her two silvers in what has been a dominant and well-rounded first world championships. She won medals in three freestyle events, plus butterfly and breaststroke, then put it all together for her individual medley medal tonight.

She will seek her first Paralympic Games berth next summer.

Teammate and Paralympic medalist Colleen Young (St. Louis, Missouri) returned to the pool for her final race of the meet and placed fifth behind Chambers. Young won silver in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke SB13 earlier in the week, adding her 12th career world championships medal.

The five-time Paralympic medalist Marks swam to her second bronze medal of the meet, snagging a podium finish in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S6 competition. Marks’ time of 36.80 was just .3 seconds off the silver medal pace, and just over two seconds behind the world record and gold medal-winning time set by Yuyan Jiang of China.

Marks also earned bronze in the 200-meter individual medley SM6 earlier in the week. She adds her fourth and fifth world championships medals to her resumé in Manchester as she tries for her third Paralympic Games next summer.

Paralympic silver medalist David Abrahams (Havertown, Pennsylvania), already a Manchester medalist in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke SB13, just missed his second medal of the week in the men’s 200-meter individual medley SM13. Abrahams put together a strong second half of the medley in the breaststroke and freestyle legs and was just out-touched at the wall, finishing .29 seconds off the bronze medal pace. Abrahams is set to return to Harvard University for his senior season on the men’s swimming team.

After winning a bronze medal in last night’s 200-meter freestyle, Paralympic silver medalist Leanne Smith (Salem, Massachusetts) finished her meet with a fifth-place result in the women’s 100-meter freestyle S3. She swam to a time of 2:05.61 in her sixth race of the week.

Team USA’s mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay finals team, comprised of Stickney, Jaffe, Jamal Hill (Inglewood, California) and Audrey Kim (Salt Lake City, Utah) combined for a fifth-place finish in the mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay 34 pts. to cap the meet for the Americans. Team USA swam to a time of 4:12.75.

The prelims relay team of Jaffe, Hill, Lizzi Smith (Muncie, Indiana) and Long finished second in their heat to qualify Team USA’s finals team into the evening session.

Hill also earned a fourth-place finish in the men’s 50-meter freestyle S9 just before competing in the relay finals. The Paralympic bronze medalist missed the podium by just .16 seconds in one of the closest Team USA finishes in Manchester. He and Stickney both raced both individual and relay races on the day.

Lizzi Smith, who swam in the prelim relay and qualified for the women’s 50-meter freestyle S9 final in the morning session, took a sixth-place finish in the event final. The three-time Paralympic medalist’s top finish of the week was fourth in the women’s 100-meter butterfly S9.

Paralympian Lawrence Sapp (Waldorf, Maryland) earned a seventh-place finish in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S14 competition, his signature event and only race of the meet. Sapp swam nearly identical times between his prelim and his final, finishing in 58.10 and 58.09, respectively.

Rounding out Team USA’s results was Paralympic champion Hannah Aspden (Raleigh, North Carolina), who wrapped her meet with a sixth-place finish in her heat of the women’s 50-meter freestyle S9.

With 2023 Para Swimming World Championships competition concluded, Team USA turns to its next major meet: the 2023 ParaPan American Games in Santiago, Chile, this November. Follow U.S. Paralympics Swimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates on the team.

For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.

Team USA Medals – August 5

GOLD
Morgan Stickney – women’s 100-meter freestyle S7

SILVER
Olivia Chambers – women’s 200-meter individual medley SM13

BRONZE
McClain Hermes – women’s 400-meter freestyle S11
Elizabeth Marks – women’s 50-meter butterfly S6

Montgomery County Resident Brings Home Two Gold Medals at US National Karate Championships

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Patrick Herron | Moco Show

Fabianna Herrera, instructor/Sensei at Senshi Karate Do in Montgomery Village, won the National Gold Medal in two categories – Women’s 16-34 Kata and Style Specific, at this year’s USANKF Karate Championships, which was held July 13-16th in Richmond, VA. Seventeen of Fabiana’s students also competed in junior divisions, bringing home a Total of 22 Medals – 7 Gold, 8 Silver, and 7 Bronze. The USANKF Karate Championships saw competitors from across the United States, including several who have represented the country at the Olympic Games. It is considered the most significant event on the Olympic circuit for karate.

Fabianna is a 2020 graduate of Clarksburg High School and started her karate journey at the age of seven, when she began training with her parents, David Abraham and Karla Flores, owners of the Senshi Karate dojo.  Over the past decade she has participated in numerous competitions, including a Gold Medal win at last year’s US Open in Las Vegas. In 2019, Herrera earned a spot on Team USA’s roster.

Fabianna’s tells us, “Karate is a way of life. It teaches respect, discipline, focus, and above all, courage. Courage to try new things and step out of your comfort zone. Whether it be earning a new belt rank, or participating in competitions, my aim is to help my students build the confidence that will help them to have a successful life. When you love what you do and find joy in it, everything else comes easy. I am honored to represent my Dojo and the state of Maryland while doing what I love most.”

With her recent wins at the USANKF Karate Championships, Fabianna Herrera’s dedication to her craft is evident. By imparting the values of work ethics, discipline, and the importance of setting ambitious goals, she hopes to inspire young martial artists and athletes.  “It means so much to be a role model for my students, but they are the ones who inspire me! Their words of encouragement and admiration are what motivate me to better myself every day.”

Rockets Girls Wrestlers Shine at County Championships

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RM Rockets wrestlers Nadia Estrada (145) and Cielo Prieto (125) win their respective divisions at the MCPS County Championships on Saturday February 18th held at Gaithersburg HS.  Overall, they led the girls team to a third place finish overall in the county.  On the co-ed side, freshman Isisiah Womack finished 3rd in his division.

Congratulations to first year coaches Sid Caesar and Nick Coates as well as all the wrestlers who competed at a high level throughout the season. On to regionals!!

RM’s Nadia Estrada Comes Back From Torn Meniscus and MCL to Win State Championship

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The Moco Show

Richard Montgomery High School’s Nadia Estrada won the 135 lb weight class 2022 Girls’ State Championship at the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro– her 2nd state title.

She won it all at 122 lbs in 2020, one week before everything shut down due to Covid-19 restrictions and was unable to defend her championship last year due to continued restrictions.

Nadia recovered from a surgically repaired meniscus in July of 2021. She tore the MCL in the same knee in September while training, but that injury did not require surgery.

The surgeon told her that her wrestling season was done and that she’d have to wait until next year. She was cleared to train on February 1st, so she decided to make a come back attempt and trained for the entire month leading up to the tournament.

She beat Brooke Bickers out of Boonsboro High School in the finals by decision,12-7.

Alyssa Thomas continues to make WNBA history with back-to-back triple-doubles

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Jack Baer | Ysports

In the span of one year, Alyssa Thomas has become the unquestionable WNBA triple-double queen.

The Connecticut Sun star already had the most triple-doubles in WNBA history with four entering Tuesday, despite not having a single one at this time last year. She was already one of three players to record multiple triple-doubles in a single season, alongside Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu. She was already the first person to ever record a triple-double in the WNBA Finals, doing so last year.

Thomas added to that legacy Tuesday with another triple-double in an 89-81 loss to the New York Liberty, giving her unprecedented back-to-back triple-doubles after accomplishing the feat Sunday. She also became the first player to post three triple-doubles in a season, and all of them came within a week’s time.

She finished the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, plus four steals, one block and only one turnover.

It took 24 points from Breanna Stewart, a double-double from Jonquel Jones and nine assists from Courtney Vandersloot to get the win for the Liberty, who are starting to look like the super-team they were expected to be before the season.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JUNE 22: Alyssa Thomas #25 of the Connecticut Sun dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center on June 22, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Sun defeated the Lynx 89-68. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Alyssa Thomas is doing things the WNBA has never seen. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

In regards to Thomas, let’s put it this way. Counting the playoffs, there have been 23 triple-doubles in the 25-year history of the WNBA. Thomas has posted the last seven, a figure that represents more than 30% of the total.

Add that to a level of defense that made her a Defensive Player of the Year finalist last season, and you have the arguable favorite for WNBA MVP this season.

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