2013 Pan: Black belt females claim winners by close-outs and close calls

Talita Nogueira on the back of Luzia Fernandes / Photo by Erin Herle

The 2013 Pan American Championships came to a close on Sunday, March 24 for the female black belts as the finals unfolded. A good amount of the divisions, two-thirds closed out while the other three matches were very close, decided upon by points.

Miriam Cardosa working a pass as Sofia Amarante turtles / Photo by Erin Herle

In the light feather division, Miriam Cardosa competed against Sofia Amarante. The two made their way to the finals by defeating their first opponents, Amarante with an armbar against Gezary Matuda and Cardosa with a cross choke against Carla Franco. While they both had submission wins previous to the final match, the two were a tough mix and in turn, the win came via a penalty point against Sofia for an illegal grip. Miriam ended the match on top after a scramble with Sofia pulling guard and Miriam squeezed out the win.

The feather division brought Mackenzie Dern and Luiza Monteiro together. Dern had one match on a side of the bracket however Nyjah Easton failed to show, therefore she had a bye straight to the final. Monteiro had a bye and then defeated Juliana Noqueira with a choke from the back. Her match with Dern began with a double guard pull and had action from that position with sweeps and submission attempts however it was Monteiro’s sweep within the last minute that gave her the win.

The light division was closed out by Gracie Humaita teammates Beatriz Mesquita and Ana Carolina with Carolina taking the gold.

The middle division was a round robin of three opponents altogether that left Thaysa Silva to face Vanessa Nascimento again. Nascimento earned the win against Silva in the first match of the beginning, then Silva defeated Misty Shearer on points to meet Nascimento once again in the final. Their match began with Nascimento pulling guard and a secured sweep gave her the win over Silva by points once again.

Talita Nogueira against Luzia Fernandes / Photo by Erin Herle

The medium-heavy division was another round robin of three opponents. Carolyn Stephenson was defeated on points by both Luzia Fernandes and Talita Nogueira. She was able to sweep but in the end, her opponents edged it out. The final between Talita Nogueira and Luzia Fernandes ended on points with Nogueira earning a sweep and back take. The match finished before she could finish her opponent from the back.

The heavy weight division was a close-out between Alliance teammates Gabrielle Garcia and Andresa Correa with Garcia taking the win once again.

The open weight division featured native Gabrielle Garcia against Beatriz Mesquita. You can read the full results of the female open weight division up to the semi-finals by clicking here. In the match between Mesquita and Garcia, a guard pull by Mesquita initiating action. Garcia passed and applied pressure but Mesquita was able to recover half then full guard. A full ten minute match ensued with Garcia remaining on top and Mesquita regaining guard but the points meant that Garcia took the gold.

See photos from every final match in a showcase below:

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