Shipman 12th in U.S. archery

Advertiser Staff

Hale'iwa's Phyllis Shipman is in 12th place after the first day of round-robin competition at the U.S. Archery Olympic Team Trials in Mason, Ohio, yesterday.

Shipman, 60, is a retired elementary school principal.

She was an All-American in the 1960s and returned to archery six years ago.

She is ranked 10th nationally. If she makes the team, Shipman would be the oldest American woman to compete in the Olympics.

Wyoming's Jennifer Nichols, the top-ranked woman, leads the competition with 2,200 points — nearly 100 more than her closest pursuer. Shipman has accumulated 2,022.

Archers competed against each other in eight matches yesterday. There are seven more today. The cumulative score is added to Tuesday's elimination total and each match winner receives a bonus of five points. All matches consist of two six arrow ends, for a total of 12 arrows.

The field will be cut to the top eight women and eight men after today's final matches. Those 16 have two more days of round-robin matches. Then points will be tabulated and the top three in each division will make up the 2004 Olympic Team. One male alternate and one female alternate will also be selected.

Shipman finished in the top 16 Tuesday to advance from the elimination round. Her score of 1,205 points left her 12th among the women. The trials started with 115 archers.