Member News
October 31, 2007
Rousey Aims for
Second Consecutive Swedish Open Title this Weekend
Eight current or former
National Champions will be among 21
U.S.
athletes competing at the Swedish Open, Nov. 3-4 in
Boras.
World silver medalist and four-time National Champion Ronda Rousey
(Wakefield,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE / NYAC) won the event, and the 1,000 € prize, in 2006 as a 63kg player.
Since then, Rousey has risen to the #4-ranking in the world
and has five more international titles to her credit. Like most of the
U.S.
players competing this
weekend, Rousey is in the middle of a four-event series and is coming off wins
at the Rendez-Vous Canada last week and the U.S. Open the week prior.
A 2004-2005 National Champion in the 73kg division,
31-year-old Chuck Jefferson
(San Jose, Calif.
/ USA
Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) ended his
five-year European medal draught in August when he earned a bronze at the
German Open, a World Championship tune-up event.
Jefferson
won silver and bronze medals at the U.S. Open and Rendez-Vous Canada,
respectively, and, when he’s having a good day, can hang well with some of the
best in the world.
Seventeen-year-old Jeanette
Rodriguez
(Coral Springs, Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training
Site at
North Miami)
won the Senior
Nationals in 2006, but lost to seven-time Champion Sayaka Matsumoto
(El Cerrito
,
Calif.
/ NYAC / East Bay Judo
Institute) in the finals this year. Both Rodriguez, who won their most recent
match last week for bronze at Rendez-Vous, and Matsumoto will be competing in
the 48kg division. Matsumoto placed
seventh in
Sweden
last year, but Rodriguez will be competing in the event for the first time.
Justin Flores (Glenville,
N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) is
traditionally one of the strongest U.S. male competitors on the international
circuit, placing in the top five at three World Cup events, including fifth at
the Warsaw Super World Cup in March. A
three-time National Champion at 66kg, Flores withdrew from the U.S. Open and
placed fifth in
Canada
,
but has beaten some of the top 10 players in the world, including a three-time
European Champion earlier this year.
One of the most dynamic
U.S.
men’s players, Travis Stevens
(Glenville, N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
/ 81kg) won his first European medal earlier this year at the B-Level
British Open. The reigning Senior
National Champion in the division, Stevens won the Pan American Games in July
as well as the Rendez-Vous last week.
Marti Malloy
(San Jose,
Calif.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
San Jose
State
University
) and Kayla Harrison
(Wakefield
,
Mass.
/ USA Judo National Team FORCE / NYAC) are
two of the top players in the U.S. 63kg division, although they have only
fought each other once with Malloy earning the win by a penalty at the Senior
Nationals in April. Malloy, a former
57kg player, moved up to 63kg earlier this year while Harrison, the 2006 70kg
National Champion, moved down to 63kg.
Neither athlete has ever competed in this tournament, but
Malloy was the second highest placer for the
United States
at the Worlds in
September, finishing ninth. Both players
medaled at the Rendez-Vous and U.S. Open with Harrison winning the Open and Malloy
placing second in
Montreal
.
Competition will be held on Saturday for the men’s 81kg,
90kg, 100kg and +100kg divisions and the women’s 48kg, 52kg and 57kg
divisions. Competition continues on
Sunday with the men’s 60kg, 66kg and 73kg divisions and the women’s 63kg, 70kg,
78kg and +78kg divisions.
A complete roster of
U.S.
players scheduled to compete
is as follows:
Men
60kg: Nick Kossor (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
66kg: Justin Flores (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
73kg: Radu Brestyan (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE)
73kg: Nick Delpopolo (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
73kg: Chuck Jefferson (
San
Jose
,
Calif.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
San Jose
State
University
)
73kg: Michael Eldred (
Fruitland
,
Idaho
/ Western Idaho Judo Institute)
73kg: Bobby Lee (
Coral
Springs
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North Miami
)
81kg: Travis Stevens (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
100kg: Adler Volmar (
Coral
Springs
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North Miami
)
100kg: Aaron Handy (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE)
+100kg: Anthony Turner
(
Miami
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North Miami
)
Women
48kg: Sayaka Matsumoto (
El Cerrito
,
Calif.
/ NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)
48kg: Jeanette Rodriguez (
Coral
Springs
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North Miami
)
48kg: Ann Shiraishi (
Elk Grove
,
Calif.
/ East Bay Judo Institute)
57kg:
Hannah
Martin (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training
Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
57kg: Janine Nakao (
San Jose
,
Calif.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
San Jose
State
University
)
57kg: Angelica Delgado (
Miami
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North Miami
)
63kg: Marti Malloy (
San Jose
,
Calif.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
San Jose
State
University
)
63kg: Kayla Harrison (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo
National Team FORCE / NYAC)
63kg: Emily Lilly (
Camarillo
,
Calif.
/ Sawtelle Judo)
70kg: Ronda Rousey (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo
National Team FORCE / NYAC)
|
