| Member News
January 27, 2007
British Open Day 2 Preview
Day 2 Draws
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – After Team USA won four medals during the first day of competition at the British Open on Saturday in London, the Americans will continue their quest to reach the podium on Sunday when the women’s 48kg, 52kg, 57kg and men’s 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and +100kg divisions will be contested.
Among the U.S. competitors to watch, Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site / 57kg) and Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE / +100kg) are both returning bronze medalists.
Senior National Champions Jeanette Rodriguez (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site / 48kg) and Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center / 52kg) also will be among the Americans to watch on Sunday.
Women’s 48kg (Estimated Division Size: 18)
Jeanette Rodriguez (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) has come a long way since her first Senior European event last February at the Belgium Ladies Open. In nearly a year she has gone from an up-and-coming “junior to watch” to the reigning Senior Nationals and U.S. Open Champion. On her last European excursion, Rodriguez finished fifth at the Tre-Torri International in June and should be seen in the medal rounds in London. After a first-round bye, Rodriguez will compete against Fiona Robertson (GBR), a nine-time British Champion who really has been competing for longer than the 16-year-old has been alive.
Also in Rodriguez’s half of the draw is Carin Hamnlund (SWE), a silver medalist at the 2006 Swedish Open who will fight her first match against U.S. Open medalist Ann Shiraishi (Elk Grove, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute).
Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute) is on a quest to regain her #1 ranking after losing to Rodriguez in the finals of the U.S. Open. The two are on opposite sides of the draw, but Matsumoto has an easier first match against Kimi Suda (CAN) who she beat en route to winning silver medals at both the U.S. and Finnish Opens in the fall.
Expect a tough quarter-final match-up between Matsumoto and Amelie Rosseneu, a young Belgian who upset Rome World Cup Champion Leen Dom in the finals of Belgium’s Senior Nationals in November.
Five-time World Cup medalist Ana Hormigo (POR) also is in the bottom half of the draw, facing Michelle Sternick (Mansfield, Pa. / Mansfield Judo) in the second round.
Other Americans to Watch: Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), a 2006 Pan Am Team member at 44kg will be competing in her first major event in the 48kg division.
Women’s 52kg (Estimated Division Size: 14)
Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center) brings the classic combination of talent and a good draw to this division. The 2005 Pan American Champion was a two-time bronze medalist in European tournaments last year and should do very well on Sunday. After a first-round bye, Chandler needs to beat the winner of the previous match between British Senior Nationals bronze medalist Louise Renicks and up-and-comer Arianne Bijould (CAN) to advance to the semifinal.
Interestingly, Chandler’s toughest match on her half of the draw could come from a possible semifinal match with 2004 Junior World Team member Anna Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site). Palmer, who finished seventh in the 57kg division at the 2005 British Open, was leading their last match-up at the Fall Classic in September when Chandler became injured mid-match. Although Chandler ultimately threw Palmer for ippon (instant win), the injury meant she withdrew from the tournament. Chandler didn’t appear to have any long-term effects, though, as she looked good winning bronze at the Finnish Open in November.
In order for a rematch to take place, however, Palmer must get past a first-round match against Kirstene Feenan, Britain’s reigning National Champion.
On the top half of the draw, 14-year-old Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) is currently ranked #2 in the United States, but the top junior doesn’t have an extensive senior international resume and is hoping to change that in London. Grace Ohashi (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) will come into the event as a relative unknown as the U.S. citizen just moved to the OTC from Japan in 2006 and has once in a USA Judo event. For those paying attention at her U.S. Open debut in October, though, Ohashi is a solid player who defeated former Senior Nationals silver medalist Natalie Lafon in the early rounds before finishing fifth.
Women’s 57kg (Estimated Division Size: 21)
Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site) should be considered a favorite in this division, but she’ll have a rough road ahead of her to reach the finals. After a first-round match with Kelly-Ann Downey (GBR), Gotay would face Georgina Singleton (GBR), a five-time European Championship medalist at 52kg. The match would be a chance for Gotay to avenge her bronze medal loss at the Swedish Open where Singleton pinned her in November.
Also in Gotay’s half of the draw is familiar foe Maria Lindberg (SWE). Gotay has fought the World Cup medalist three times, winning each match at the 2005 World Championships, 2006 Rendez-Vous Canada and Swedish Open. Lindberg’s first match of the day is Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo). Carmichael is a terrific junior player who has shown great improvement during the past year, but this will be her first senior European event.
On the bottom half of the draw, top-ranked junior Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) has an extremely challenging first-round opponent in Joana Ramos (POR), a five-time World Cup medalist who is the favorite to advance to the finals.
Men’s 81kg (Estimated Division Size: 30)
Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) is the top-ranked of the six Americans slated to compete in this division. A bronze medalist at the Rendez-Vous Canada and U.S. Open Champion in the fall, Stevens will be looking for his first European medal after narrowly missing the bronze at the Tre-Torri International in June.
Stevens’ first match will be against Great Britain’s #2 seed Tom Davis who defeated Senior National Champion Aaron Cohen, who is not in attendance here, at the Swedish Open in November.
Athens Olympian Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) will be another American to watch. Hawn, a 2005 and 2006 Senior Nationals silver medalist, finished second at the Tre-Torri tournament, but could face Stevens in a quarter-final match.
On the top half of the draw, Euan Burton (GBR), a 2005 European Championship medalist, will fight against Senior Nationals medalist Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo) in the first round.
Lorenzo Bagnoli (ITA), who beat Stevens in the Tre-Torri bronze medal match, is another favorite to make the medal rounds here. Bagnoli’s first match will pit him against U.S. seventh-ranked Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University).
Other Americans to Watch: Junior World Team member Yuko Sin (Glenville, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) and Phillip Spano (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) will both be looking to win their first senior European matches.
Men’s 90kg (Estimated Division Size: 28)
One of the largest divisions in Sunday’s event, the men’s 90kg competition also has the most depth with several of the top players in the world scheduled to compete.
Winston Gordon (GBR), a fifth-place finisher at the Athens Olympic Games, will face Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State) in the first round on the top half of the division.
On the bottom of the draw, Peter Cousins (GBR), a bronze medalist in the 100kg division of the European Championships, will fight U.S. Open bronze medalist Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo) in the first round.
Also in the bottom half of the draw are Alexandre Emond (CAN) who won the 2006 U.S. and Finnish Opens not long after moving up from 81kg and Bobby Rich (GBR) who is likely best known for upsetting Gordon in the finals of the last British Open.
Other Americans to Watch: Landry Ambouroue (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), a Senior Nationals bronze medalist, will face Britain’s Ivan Shakhovorostov in the first round.
Men’s 100kg (Estimated Division Size: 9)
Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) is the top-ranked athlete in the U.S. in this division, but has yet to break through at B-Level tournaments. After a first-round bye, he needs only one win to advance to the medal rounds. The only problem will be that Volmar’s next match will likely be against Scott Edward (CAN) who beat him in the first minute of their last match at the Rendez-Vous Canada. If Volmar can produce an upset, though, his trip to the semifinals means a guaranteed medal. A loss would mean dropping down to fight through the repechage.
Aaron Handy (Fairfield, Ohio / Renshuden), a bronze medalist in the Open division of the 2006 U.S. Open, also has a first-round bye before fighting Galvin McNeill (GBR), a bronze medalist at the 2004 Scottish Open. Like Volmar, a win here will send Handy into the medal rounds.
Portugese National Champion Joao Taveira is in the division’s fourth pool and could face Handy in a semifinal.
Men’s +100kg (Estimated Division Size: 6)
Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) returns to the British Open as a bronze medalist from the 2005 event that moved him up into the #1 U.S. ranking.
Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), the 2005 U.S. National Champion, is another favorite to medal in London.
Due to the size of the division, matches will be contested with two round robin pools with the top two athletes in each advancing to the semifinals.
In McCormick’s pool, he will face Joe Delahay (GBR), the reigning British National Champion and a fifth-place finisher at the 2005 European U20 Championships, and John Curry, the 2006 British Nationals silver medalist.
Hoffmann will fight against British Junior National Champion Theo Spalding McIntosh and Christopher Sharp.
Meanwhile, Hoffmann and McCormick have fought often with Hoffmann remaining undefeated in their friendly rivalry. |
