Ellison Wins First World Ranking Event of 2010

Phoenix, AZ – After three days of competition in the hot, dry Arizona sun and the swirling desert winds, Brady Ellison clinched the gold medal in the 2010 Arizona Cup. Ellison won 2 gold medals, a silver medal, and raised over $3,300 for for his Shoot For The Cure Campaign to help fight breast cancer.

The 2010 Arizona Cup was the first major competition of the year to utilize the set play system and included several international competitors including Denmark, Mexico, and Canada.

In the finals, Brady Ellison defeated Vic Wunderle of the United States in set play winning in 3 sets 6-0. Ellison, the number one seed entering into the set play, faced several high ranked opponents including team mate Jacob Wukie who finished 6th and the winner of the qualification round of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Jake Kaminski followed Ellison on the qualification round in 2nd place and finished 5th overall. Jacob Wukie who was defeated by Ellison in the quarter finals finished 6th overall. In the Junior Divisions, Josh Smith and Jessica Gibbs won silver and bronze respectively.

In the team events, the U.S. Women’s team won the Gold medal over Mexico. Resident Athlete Heather Koehl was on the team and said “I was excited we beat Mexico. They are a very good team and it was a perfect start for us for this year.”

The U.S. men’s team did very well, but was defeated by Mexico in the finals and won the silver medal. Both Jake Kaminski and Brady Ellison competed on the team. Ellison also won gold medal with fellow American, Jenny Nichols, in the team event.

The Resident Athlete Program will compete at the Texas Shootout later this month in College Station, TX.

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