Check out this video compilation of some of the Women of USPSA at the 2010 Single Stack Nationals.

 
Congratulations again to the Top 8 Ladies:
1st – Julie Golob
2nd – Sara Dunivin
3rd – Kippi Leatham
4th – Nancy Huspek
5th – Tori Nonaka
6th – Lisa Munson
7th – TD Roe
8th – Shannan Chada

Next year, we hope to have even more women shooting the Single Stack Nationals! Give it a whirl, ladies – It’s a lot of fun!

The dust has settled at Area 5 and everyone has headed home.  This is my first time shooting Area 5 and shooting in the area of Polo, Illinois.  I must say, it’s amazingly beautiful country and a great shooting range!  The match schedule spanned over Friday, Saturday and Sunday with squads electing to shoot a 2-day half-day schedule or one full-day schedule. 

Fortunately, we chose the Saturday morning/Sunday morning schedule and had the luck to shoot with a great group of guys.  With the complexity and length of these stages, I would not have wanted to shoot them all in one day.  Although, plenty did! 

Those of us who chose the Saturday morning schedule found ourselves shooting the first 3 stages in the rain.  The weather held off until Sunday morning again where we shot a few more of the stages in a steady drizzle, with the last shooter finishing 5 minutes before the downpour!  Now we have the answer to our question…..why weren’t there any visible irrigation methods for the thousands of acres of crops we saw in the area!

The Area 5 stages were some of the best stages I have ever seen in a match.  Every single stage had its challenge.  They were well thought out and allowed the shooter to make several decisions on stage sequencing and target acquisition.  We were presented with multiple swingers at times, very fast max traps, drop turners, a gravity swinger, Mozambique paper and steel setups, and a rack of triple swingers. 

I personally found Stage 8 with its hidden plates, difficult paper shots and the bear trap that activated a max trap and swinger the most difficult, especially when the targets were bagged.  But, I’m sure plenty of other competitors dealt with the same difficulty on a few of the other stages. 

Most targets had either hard cover or no-shoots on them with more than a fair share of poppers and plates, which made it an aiming match.  Aiming, thinking and lots of movement….all solid components of a good match that I believe truly test the ability of the shooter.  I would say awesome course design and kudos to Jim Thompson, Dale Hayen, Ray Hirst and the Tri-County Gun Club.    With this crew running Area 5 next year, we would definitely consider attending again.

Congratulations to all of the High Lady Champions:
Sarah Irish – Open
Jennifer VanZieleghem – Limited
Lori Casper – L-10
Sue Irish – Revolver
Carrie Carlson – Production
TD Roe – Single Stack
 

Sarah and I battled it out right to the end for High Open Lady, both having a rough start on the first day, plagued with penalty points.  Shooting some of those stages in good weather would have been difficult at best, and to shoot them in the rain was more challenging than ever! 

At the end, Sarah came out on top by 0.74 match points to take the win for Area 5 High Open Lady.  She shot a fantastic second day, kept her head straight and pulled through the challenges of the first day.  This is commendable to see in any shooter, but a junior shooter as well is even more impressive.  Nicely done Sarah and again CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks to the RO’s at the match who kept long stages running on time with minimal if any waiting time.  They did a fantastic job!  Thanks also to Jim Thompson for his hospitality and his energy in running a great match.  Thanks to Joe Procopio, too.  He hand delivered our Tech-wear shirts for us to have for the match.  Thanks to Scott Carnahan and Safariland for their new ELS system, and thanks to my husband, Russell, for the support he offers both on and off the range.

Editor’s Note – Thank you, Eva, for taking the time to create the blog and for all of the great photos as well!  Sounds like you and Sarah had a good back-and-forth going, unknowingly from different squads.  Sorry to hear about the rain … looks like you all hung tough, regardless!

It was really nice to see women competing in all of the Divisions, too!  Congrats to all of you and thanks for representing!

WoUSPSA – TD, congratulations on your Top 8 Finish!  How many nationals have you competed in?

TD -This was my third nationals.

WoUSPSA – With the split squadding format, it was really fortunate that a lot of us got to shoot together.  Can you tell us about your match?

TD - It was a great weekend. I was satisfied with my shooting.  I believe shooting so many stages is the best test to see where your skill level is.  The opportunity to shoot with the super squad was incredible as well.  It’s more pressure to shoot with top competitors. Although I don’t get nervous,  I just felt more pumped up to do well. But like any other squad, there was a lot of goofing off and laughing to offset the importance of the match.

WoUSPSA – We were so sad to see that you just missed making major.  You were able to adapt quickly and it didn’t seem to phase you.  Tell us what you did to make the most of it.

TD - Well…at first I was devastated.  My heart sunk.  I had chronographed fine the week before, so not making it wasn’t even on my mind. We all know how much time and effort it takes to make even small improvements in this sport.  I felt as prepared as possible going into the match.  My game is dependent on making the major points.  Going minor, I knew I wouldn’t finish where I wanted.  In the end, it cost me 91 points.  After a few minutes of being in the chrono daze, and with some encouraging words from Lisa, Julie and Kippi, I snapped out of it and put it behind me.  After all, there’s no cryng in shooting!!

WoUSPSA – Great motto!  Did you have a favorite of the 16 stages?

TD - I generally like field courses. Peek and Seek was a 22-round stage.  It was all about shooting on the move for the first 4 targets, then transitioning to targets and steel through two small openings between walls.  It was kind of a stage you’d see at your monthly club match and fun to shoot.  I also liked Risk Takers 2 and Just Passing Time.  These were the freestyle/strong hand and weak hand stages.  They made even the top shooters anxious.  Here you wanted a good time, but had the risk of hitting no shoots!

WoUSPSA – You ROCKED Stage 14 – the all-steel stage in the match.  Congrats on the ladies stage win! What did you do to prep for this stage?

TD - It was my turn to go first on stage 14.  I wanted to be steady and go shot for shot on the steel.  I started pretty smooth and just continued to focus on my front sight.  It worked out as planned.

WoUSPSA – Your run was so impressive that we filmed you breaking down the stage and have posted the video to Women of USPSA on You-Tube.  Thanks so much for doing that for us … we’ve already had lots of great feedback from your breakdown!  Now, what did you think of the rest of the stages?

TD - Julie did some amazing work to get that video up.  Due to a corrupted audio file, I had to send her a voicemail a few weeks after the match describing the stage.  Ha!  She made it work!  Back to the match – the rest of the stages were a good mix of short, medium, dark, fast and intense shooting. Everything you need to test all your skills.

WoUSPSA – Yeah, it was great that all aspects of our shooting were “tested”!   What do you like about shooting Single Stack Division?

TD - I like the weight and feel of the 1911.  I also enjoy the reloads!

WoUSPSA – … and it shows, as you certainly don’t waste any time when reloading!  TD, thanks for taking the time to chat with us.  Do you have any comments you would like to add before we go?

TD – A big thank you to my sponsor Canyon Creek for providing me with a beautiful gun that I love to shoot. It’s been exciting for me to have gone from buying my first gun in 2006, to taking the Babes with Bullets camps in 2007 and 2008, to now shooting the Nationals with these incredible ladies who were my instructors and are now friends.  Thanks Girls!

Thank you to the staff at the Single Stack Nationals, too.   They were professional, fair and fun with all of us. I look forward to seeing you all next year!

Great getting to know TD a little better!  Stay with us, as we’ve got six more interviews to share …

With the USPSA Handgun Nationals just a few days away, we’re recapping the top shooters of the year, based on the previously hosted USPSA Area Matches around the country.  Unfortunately, Area 2 & 4 aren’t scheduled until later in 2009, but we still have plenty of Area Champions to put upon our pedestal!  Congratulations to all of our Area Winners!

We are also sending well wishes and good luck to each and every woman who is headed to Las Vegas this week for our USPSA Back-To-Back National Championships! And remember, what happens in Vegas …  stays in Vegas!   (Except for what happens at the range.  We’ll proudly be posting updates and results for all categories of each match via Twitter, Facebook, WomenOfUSPSA.com & right here on the blog.)

If you ever get a chance to compete at one of these top-notch Area Matches, by the way, grab it! The experience, effort, creativity and organization that go into these events are practically unmatched!

2009 USPSA Area Match Championship Results – to date:

AREA 1 – Held June 18 through 21 in Parma, Idaho at the Parma Rod & Gun Club. Match Director – Tim Egan
LIMITED – Lisa Munson 1st, Christie King 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Dorrie Davis 1st
OPEN - Jenny Chu 1st,  Carrie Homburg 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Jamrogowicz 1st, Irina Ionescu 2nd
SINGLE STACK – Laura Seurer 1st, Nancy Marrs 2nd

AREA 2 – Begins November 12, 2009 at  Rio Salado Sportsmans Club in Mesa, Arizona.  Match Directors – Paul Caudill & Bob LaMarca

AREA 3 – Held July 30 through August 2 in Omaha, Nebraska.  Hosted by the Eastern Nebraska Practical Shooters.  Match Director – Chris Davies
LIMITED – Nancy Huspek 1st, Gail McLean 2nd
OPEN - Sue VanBlaricum 1st, Bobbi Wagner 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Jamrogowicz 1st, Lisa Johnson 2nd

AREA 4 – Begins October 8, 2009 at the Double Tap Ranch in Wichita Falls, Texas. Match Director – Ken Cobb

AREA 5 – Held June 19 through 21 at the South Kent Sportsmans Club in Dorr, Michigan.  Match Director – Carl Provan
LIMITED – Gail McLean 1st, Susan Powel 2nd
OPEN - Doni Spencer 1st, Sarah Irish 2nd
PRODUCTION – Carrie Carlson 1st
REVOLVER - Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK -TD Roe 1st, Alma Lenard 2nd 

AREA 6 – Held April 17 through 19 at the South River Gun Club in Covington, Georgia.  Match Director – our very own Cindy Noyes!
LIMITED – Jessie Abbate 1st, Tracy Iradi 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Randi Rogers 1st, Kay Miculek 2nd
OPEN - Megan Francisco 1st, Kaci Cochran 2nd
PRODUCTION – Beth Wingfield 1st, Melita Ellington 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK – Nancy Huspek 1st 

AREA 7 – Held August 5 through 9 in Fulton, New York at Pathfinder Fish & Game (which is Julie G’s original home-town range).  Match Director – Milford Lovett
LIMITED – Donna Major 1st, Kathie Sierpina 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Caron Brooks 1st, Evelyn Freeman 2nd
OPEN - Rebecca Jones 1st, Sheila Brey 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Jenks 1st, Jacqueline Scott 2nd

AREA 8 – Held August 27 through 30 at the Fredericksburg Rod & Gun Club in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia. Match Director – Lew Walker
LIMITED – Jessie Abbate 1st, Tracy Iradi 2nd
LIMITED-10 – Caron Brooks 1st
OPEN - Rebecca Jones 1st, Megan Francisco 2nd
PRODUCTION -Randi Rogers 1st, Tori Nonaka 2nd
REVOLVER -Sue Irish 1st
SINGLE STACK – Tracy Deegan 1st

Well, that’s a wrap!  We’ll close our Road to the Nationals coverage by congratulating the 2008 USPSA Ladies Handgun National Champions:

• Open National Champion – Rebecca T. Jones
• Limited National Champion – Jessie Abbate
• Limited-10 National Champion – Jessie Abbate
• Single Stack National Champion – Lisa Munson
• Production National Champion – Randi Rogers
• Revolver National Champion – Annette Aysen
   

One of our own Women of USPSA, Kippi Leatham, wrote up a fantastic article on the 2009 Springfield Armory Single Stack Classic/USPSA Single Stack Nationals for Action Shooting Podcast.  We weren’t surprised at all to discover that Kippi works a pen just as well as she pulls the trigger. Read it here.

The nationals were once again held at PASA Park in Barry, IL April 29 through May 2nd, 2009.  After 20 challenging courses of fire with “old school” single stack 1911’s, it was a close race between Lisa Munson and Kippi Leatham. Both of these ladies have won the Single Stack National title before (and between the two of them have accumulated USPSA national titles in the double digits – WOW). In a nail biter finish, Lisa edged out Kippi by just .56% and finished 46th overall.  This marks Lisa’s 2nd consecutive Single Stack Ladies National Title.

Rounding out the talented Top 8 were:

1. Lisa Munson – Winner of Stages 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15 & 20
2. Kippi Leatham – Winner of Stages 6, 17 & 18
3. Kay Miculek – Winner of Stages 9 & 11
4. Julie Golob – Winner of Stages 14 & 19
5. T.D. Roe – Winner of Stages 5 & 16
6. Nancy Huspek –Winner of Stage 3
7. Maggie Reese
8. Tracy Deegan

Congratulations ladies and thanks again to Kippi for her match coverage!