Member News
June 3, 2006
Malloy and Hawn Win Silver; St. Leger Takes Bronze at Tre-Torri
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State Univeristy/57kg) and Rick Hawn (Woburn, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center/81kg) each won silver medals Saturday at the Tre-Torri International in Porto Sant Elpidio, Italy.
The win is the first B Level senior European medal for Malloy, a 19-year-old member of the USA Judo U-23 Elite Team, and Hawn, a 2004 Athens Olympian.
En route to the gold medal match, Malloy went 3-0 against opponents from Europe and Canada, including a semi-final win over Ellen Kerssemakers (NED), last year’s Belgian Ladies Open bronze medalist at 52kg. In the final, Miryam Roper (GER) dominated the five-minute match, holding Malloy pointless and scoring a waza-ari (half-point) and a koka (smallest points).
Hawn also went 4-0 going into his final match against Antonio Ciano (ITA), a 2005 gold medalist at both this event and the Hamburg Super World Cup, but was unable to take a fifth victory, losing by ippon (instant win, similar to a knockout in boxing) in the second minute.
In a day of firsts for the young American squad, Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo/90kg) also brought home hardware in the form of a bronze medal victory over Alexander Bannikow (GER).
St. Leger, also a U-23 athlete, was the U.S. Team’s lone carryover from last week’s Pan American Championship Team. After arriving home from Buenos Aires on Monday, St. Leger had just enough time to unpack and rotate his luggage before making the trip to Italy.
While crossing through multiple time zones and hitting three continents in four days might have had a negative effect on some athletes, St. Leger was nonplussed, defeating three of his four opponents by ippon, only losing one match in the day against Tomislav Vucak (CRO).
In addition to coming back from being down by a waza-ari against the German to win his first B Level medal by ippon in just over three minutes, St. Leger also had an impressive showing in the semis, throwing Claudio Pellino (ITA) for ippon in 13 seconds.
After going 3-1 in the early rounds with all three wins by ippon, U-23 athlete Travis Stevens (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University/81kg) also fought for bronze, losing by ippon to Lorenzo Bagnoli (ITA), a two-time Italian National Champion who finished fifth on the European Tour at the Tblissi World Cup.
Also in the 81kg division, Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo), Garry’s twin brother, threw Giovanni Alessio (ITA) for waza-ari and then threw the Italian a second time with sumi gaeshi (corner throw), but landed on his back in the process and the score was called as an ippon for Alessio.
Top-ranked junior Yuko Sin (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) was the fourth American in a 34-man 81kg division, but lost his opening match when Boris Greif (SLO) threw him with a seoi nage (shoulder throw) for ippon.
Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center) fared well in the 73kg division, armbarring Antonio Vastarella (ITA) for his first round win. Brestyan lost in the second round to Dimitri Nemegaire (BEL) in a match Head Coach Jimmy Pedro (Methuen, Mass.) described as “a real battle.” Brestyan picked up a yuko against Nemegaire, but ultimately lost by ippon.
In his quest to fight for bronze, Brestyan threw Adam McGarvey (NZL) with an o uchi gari (major inner reaping) for ippon. In his next match, Brestyan lost by ippon in just under two minutes to Toni Lettner (GER), a past German National and Belgian Open Champion.
Also at 73kg, 17-year-old Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) threw Fabian Seidlmeier (GER) with an o uchi gari for ippon in the first round. In the next, Lee lost on a penalty to Damiano Martinuzzi (GER) who won a silver medal at last month’s B-Level Slovenian Open.
In the women’s divisions, 15-year-old Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden) competed for the first time internationally at 70kg since winning Senior Nationals in the division in April.
Harrison had difficulty with her older, heavier opponents, losing in the first round by a trio of yukos (quarter-points) to eventual gold medalist Elisabeth Greve. In the repechage, she posted a second lost to Giulia Cantoni (ITA) by two kokas.
After winning bronze at the Junior Beligium Ladies Open and gold at the Junior Pan Ams earlier this season, Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site/52kg) also continues to test the international waters in the senior divisions with this being her second such European Tournament.
In the first round, Durand defeated Elisa Fusari (ITA) by a koka. In her next two matches, however, the 14-year-old was pinned in each – first by two-time Senior Pan American Champion Aminata Sall (CAN) and then by Cristina Marsili (ITA).
During the two-day event, Team USA claimed three medals as well as top-five finishes by U-23 members Stevens, Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site/48kg) and Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site/60kg).
Among the 15 American competitors were 10 members of the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team, a group of 20 judo players between ages 14 and 22 who have been identified as having potential for future international success.
The team was coached by Pedro, a two-time Olympic medalist and 1999 World Champion.
“I’m extremely proud of this team’s performance. These guys are young, but they have a lot of talent. They’ve got a lot of heart and they’re fearless competitors,” Pedro said. “If we continue to support this group and develop these athletes, we’re going to have a very solid team internationally in the next few years especially when you consider that some of these athletes are just 15 and 16 and they’re getting experience now that you usually don’t get until your twenties.”
Complete results for the two-day individual competition are as follows:
Women’s 48kg
1. Sabine Goller (GER)
2. Julia Kriesten (GER)
3. Amel Bensemain (FRA)
3. Severine Pesch (GER)
5. Wasilisa Prill (GER)
5. Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)
Also Competed: Ann Shiraishi (Elk Grove, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club), 0-2
Women’s 52kg
1. Camilla Magnolfi (ITA)
2. Aminata Sall (CAN)
3. Bettina Gasser (GER)
3. Kaji Hiromi (JPN)
5. Recnak Anja (SLO)
5. Rahel Walser (SUI)
Also Competed: Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), 1-2.
Women’s 57kg
1. Miryam Roper (GER)
2. Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University)
3. Gabrielle Deflorenne (FRA)
3. Ellen Kerssemakers (NED)
5. Rosalba Forciniti (ITA)
5. Magali Marcier (BEL)
Women’s 63kg
1. Margot Wetzer (NED)
2. Valerie Degryse (BEL)
3. Inga Gussenberg (GER)
3. Isabelle Pearson (CAN)
5. Giulia Quintavalle (ITA)
5. Anicka Van Emden (NED)
Also Competed: Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va./Sport Judo), 0-1
Women’s 70kg
1. Elisabeth Greve (GER)
2. Jana Grenzdoerfer (GER)
3. Sally Conway (GBR)
3. Gemma Gibbons (GBR)
5. Erica Barbieri (ITA)
5. Regina Jernejc (SLO)
Also Competed: Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden Judo Academy), 0-2.
Women’s 78kg
1. Gabi Teichmann (GER)
2. Franziska Konitz (GER)
3. Pauline Camus (FRA)
3. Lucie Louette (FRA)
5. Violette Janinet (FRA)
5. Marylise Levesque (CAN)
Women’s +78kg
1. Eva Bisseni (FRA)
2. Katrin Dittirch (GER)
3. Olia Berger (CAN)
3. Verena Birndorfer (GER)
5. Daiana Argelli (ITA)
5. Michela Torrenti (ITA)
Men’s 60kg
1. David LaRose (FRA)
2. Elio Verde (ITA)
3. Marco D’Auria (ITA)
3. Frazer Will (CAN)
5. Marco Grassi (ITA)
5. Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)
Men’s 66kg
1. Yuri Contegreco (ITA)
2. Stefano Marcelli (ITA)
3. Giovanni Casale (ITA)
3. Nicolas Maurer (SUI)
5. Francesco Faraldo (ITA)
5. Simon Mohorovic (SLO)
Men’s 73kg
1. Marco Maddaloni (ITA)
2. Craig Ewers (GBR)
2. Fabrizio Chimento (ITA)
3. Damiano Martinuzzi (BEL)
5. Robert Gess (GER)
5. Dimitri Nemegaire (BEL)
Also Competed: Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), 1-1. Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center), 2-2.
Men’s 81kg
1. Antonio Ciano (ITA)
2. Rick Hawn (Woburn, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center)
3. Lorenzo Bagnoli (ITA)
3. Daniel Fernandez (BEL)
5. Marco Favaro (ITA)
5. Travis Stevens (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University)
Also Competed: Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo), 0-1. Yuko Sin (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center), 0-1
Men’s 90kg
1. Frank Dedek (GER)
2. Tim Pedus (BEL)
3. Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo)
3. Tomislav Vucak (CRO)
5. Alexander Bannikow (GER)
5. Tobias Larsson (SWE)
Men’s 100kg
1. Benjamin Behrla (GER)
2. Primoz Ferjan (SLO)
3. Koenraad De Visscher (BEL)
3. Frederic Stiegelmann (FRA)
5. Ignazio Capezzuto (ITA)
5. Mikael Marffy (SWE)
Men’s +100kg
1. Kanning Nico (GER)
2. Paola Isabella (ITA)
3. Nicola Brandolini (ITA)
4. Stefano Bomba (ITA) |
