TAMPA - Former University of South Florida standout Damu Cherry won her heat Tuesday in the 100-meter hurdles at the 12th International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Track and Field Championships in Berlin.

Cherry, in the second heat, defeated seven other competitors with a time of 12.71, qualifying for the semifinals Wednesday. Cherry's time was the fourth-best on the evening, as 40 of the world's best women's hurdlers competed in five heats at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"It was a good opener," said Cherry. "I wanted to work on a little part of my race. I did. It wasn't great, but it can get better for tomorrow. The false starts were a bit nerve-wracking. But I told myself to stay focused and concentrate on my lane."

Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep recorded the fastest mark, winning the fourth heat with a time of 12.56.

The semifinals of the women's 100 hurdles are set for 6:45 p.m. Berlin time (10:45 a.m. EST) Wednesday, while the finals will be run at 9:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. EST).

Fans can catch all the action from the Championships on Versus television Wednesday at 9 a.m., followed by two-hour replays at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Both Versus and NBC will carry action through Sunday's final events, with NBC broadcasting Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. For the complete Versus coverage, click here or the link at the top.

Cherry, competing at the event for the first time in her career, owns the fifth-fastest time in the world in 2009, running a 12.53 at the 25th Vardinoyiannia International Track and Field meet in Rethymno, Greece, on July 20.

Cherry, who finished fourth at the Beijing Olympics last summer, owns a career best of 12.44, set in 2006, 3 hundredths seconds faster than the best time in 2009, run by American LoLo Jones in Rethymno. Of all the competitors in Berlin, Cherry holds the second-fastest career best, a mark that stands .02 seconds from the 10th-fastest time ever in women's 100 hurdles.

A former All-American in 2001 in the 4x100 meter relay at USF, Cherry still owns the school record in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.24, set in 2000. She also holds the school indoor record in the 55 hurdles.