USA Judo Senior Nationals Light and Open Weight Preview

(Myrtle Beach, S.C.) – Competition continues on Saturday at the USA Judo Senior National Championships with athletes fighting in the men’s and women’s light and Open weight divisions in Myrtle Beach.

 

Preliminary, repechage and bronze medal matches will begin at 9 a.m. at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, 2101 N. Oak Street, and continue until approximately 1 p.m.  Gold medal matches will be contested at 5 p.m.

 

Divisions to be contested include the men’s 55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg and Open and the women’s 44kg, 48kg, 52kg, 57kg and Open weights. 

 

The Senior National Championships also will serve as the World Team Trials for athletes seeking to compete at the 2010 Senior World Championships, Sept. 9-13 in Tokyo.

 

A preview of divisions is as follows:

 

Women’s 44kg

 

Although 44kg is a non-Olympic or World Championships weight, the division is still contested at Pan American Championships where Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) won a bronze medal at the Pan Ams two weeks ago.  Two of Liddie’s opponents also are former Pan Am Team members.  Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida) competed on the 2006 team and #3 seed Taylor Ibera (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) won the Pan Ams in 2008 and medaled last year.

 

Women’s 48kg

 

A six-player division is an advantage for the first and second seeds who receive byes into the semifinals.  Top seed Ann Shiraishi (San Francisco, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute) is guaranteed a slot on her first World Team due to her national ranking, but is looking to avenge her U.S. Open loss in the finals last September to 15-year-old Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / NYAC / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) – the #2 seed and reigning Senior National Champion. 

 

Women’s 52kg

 

Top-ranked Jeanette Rodriguez (Davie, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida) won a bronze medal at the Pan Ams in El Salvador, but injured her foot in the team competition.  As long as she competes in the Senior Nationals, her ranking will afford Rodriguez a slot on her second World Team.  Second seed Natalie Lafon (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) missed qualifying for the Worlds at 48kg in 2009 and is hoping to achieve the feat in Myrtle Beach.  That said, Lafon is in a difficult side of the draw as she faces a possible second round match against former Senior Nationals medalist Tracy Nagai (Bellevue, Wash. / Budokan) and a third round against Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida), a 2008 Senior Nationals silver medalist at 57kg who recently moved down a division.

 

Women’s 57kg

Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) is the #1 seed and will automatically qualify for her third World Team.  Malloy has won the last two Senior Nationals at this weight as well as a 2007 title at 63kg, but one of the few players who have managed to beat her in the past is #3 seed Hannah Martin (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) who threw Malloy at the 2008 U.S. Open.  In order for the matchup to occur, though, Martin might find herself in a semifinal match against #2 seed Hana Carmichael (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) who Martin has battled with since their days as juniors.

 

Men’s 55kg

Like the women’s 44kg division, 55kg is a Pan Am weight that is not contested at either the Worlds or the Olympics.  Aaron Fukuhara (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo) won a bronze medal at the 2009 Senior Nationals, but may be poised for his first gold on the heels of a silver medal win at the Pan Ams in April.  One of Fukuhara’s top opponents will be former Senior National Champion and Pan Am medalist Hiram Cruz (Jacksonville, Fla. / Ryu Jacksonville).  At 39-years-old, Cruz is twice the age of most of the competitors in the division, including 18-year-old Fukuhara and has a wealth of experience on his side.

 

Men’s 60kg

Top seed Aaron Kunihiro (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) will qualify for the Worlds automatically, but is looking to defend his 2009 Senior National title which he won after defeating 2008 Senior National Champion Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) on penalties in the finals.  Kossor hasn’t competed much during the past year and, consequently, has found himself fighting on Kunihiro’s side of the draw as a #4 seed.  Fifth seed Jeff Fujimoto (Berkeley, Calif. / Cal Judo) defeated Kunihiro at the 2009 U.S. Open and could face Kunihiro in the semifinals if he gets past several potential opponents, including Kossor.  On the opposite side of the draw, Vitaliy Vanyan (Sherman Oaks, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) enters the division as a #2 seed after his 2009 U.S. Open silver medal win.  Third seed Everet Desilets (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) has never placed at a Senior Nationals, but could make waves in Myrtle Beach on the heels of his third place finish at the 2009 U.S. Open.

 

Men’s 66kg

 

Brad Bolen (Scotia, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) was the surprise winner at the Pan Am Championships in April where he not only won the gold medal, but solidified his #1 ranking going into the Senior Nationals.  As the only athlete with B-Level status in the division, Bolen can’t be passed on the roster and needs only to compete in the event to qualify for the Worlds, but don’t expect the 21-year-old to take it easy in the event.  Last year was the first time Bolen earned a medal at the Senior Nationals and will be aiming for his first title.  Although he is a former #1 player, Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. / Northglenn Judo) comes into the Senior Nationals as a #2 seed here.  A six-time Senior Nationals medalist and 2004 U.S. Olympic Team alternate, Hashimoto was considered a top prospect for the 2008 Olympic Team until he sustained what many thought would be a career-ending injury two months before the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo.  Hashimoto wrestled at the University of Northern Colorado and returned to his first major judo competition at the U.S. Open in September where his fifth-place finish was the highest at the event for a U.S. athlete.  If Hashimoto or any other athlete in the division wins the event, he must win gold and the pressure will be high.  Jeff Fong (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) is on the same side of the draw as Hashimoto as a #3 seed and is hoping to win his first Senior Nationals to qualify for his second World Team.

 

Men’s 73kg

 

A World Cup bronze medalist in 2009, top-ranked Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute) competed at his first Senior Worlds last year after winning the 2009 Senior Nationals with a late match throw of Nick Delpopolo (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE).  Delpopolo returns to this event as a #2 seed who wants to compete at the Worlds for this first time, but also hopes to win his first Senior Nationals.  On Delpopolo’s side of the draw, however, is #3 seed Andrew Porras (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida) who defeated Delpopolo twice in previous years.

 

Men’s and Women’s Open

 

Men’s and women’s open weight divisions also will be contested on Sunday, but athletes will not be finalized until after the tournament begins.

Tags: Aaron Fukuhara, Alexa Liddie, Angelica Delgado, Ann Shiraishi, Hana Carmichael, Hannah Martin, Jeanette Rodriguez, Katelyn Bouyssou, Marti Malloy, Natalie Lafon, Taylor Ibera, Tracy Nagai, Veronica Prado