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June 14, 2008    

2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo Day 2 Finals List

(Las Vegas, Nev.) – All five of the top-ranked players in the Olympic qualified divisions advanced to the finals of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. 

Three-time Pan American Champion Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen) took less than 90 seconds to advance to the 57kg finals of the Trials. 

Gotay threw Jackie Perez (College Station, Texas / Texas A&M Judo) and Janine Nakao (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) in the first and second rounds, respectively. 

A 1992 Olympian, 34-year-old Gotay was an alternate to the 2004 Team in her first year back from a 12-year retirement.

Gotay will fight Hannah Martin (Burnt Hills, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) in a rematch of their 2007 Senior Nationals final which Gotay won on points.

Martin played a key role in a series of upsets that began with Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) beating Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) by a koka (smallest points) in the first round.  Chandler, a five-time National Champion, competed at the Trials as a 57kg player in 2004, but moved down to 52kg later that year.  After the United States didn’t qualify the division for the Olympic Games, Chandler moved back up to 57kg in 2007 where she is now the #2-ranked player in the division.  Malloy, a former #2 57kg player, moved up to 63kg in 2007 where she placed ninth at the World Championships, but when that division also didn’t qualify for Beijing, Malloy moved back down to 57kg where she won the Nationals in April.

In the semifinals, however, Martin threw her JMJC teammate in the first minute for ippon (instant win) to advance to the finals of her first Trials.

In the 60kg division, 2004 Olympian Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett) came precariously close to losing in the first round to former 55kg junior Kyle Taketa (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo).  Williams-Murray was down by a penalty when Williams-Murray threw him with a kata guruma (fireman’s carry) for a waza-ari score. 

Williams-Murray won his next match by a penalty against Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) to advance to the final against Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) who threw Williams-Murray for ippon in the final seconds of the Senior Nationals in April. 

Three-time 73kg Pan American Champion Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) was up by two yukos (quarter-point each) when he threw William Shanahan (Rexford, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) for ippon in the first round.

Reser’s semifinal match was against Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) who he beat in the finals of the 2007 Senior Nationals.  Reser struggled in the match, leading by a penalty when he came in for a last second attack to throw Delpopolo for a yuko at the buzzer.

Reser, a two-time Olympic alternate, will compete in the finals against two-time Pan Am Champion Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center).  Reser beat Jefferson in the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open, but Jefferson won their previous match at the 2006 U.S. Open.

Seven-time 48kg National Champion Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute) will finally get her chance to compete for an Olympic berth after winning the Trials in 2004 in a division that the United States did not qualify to compete in at the Games. 

Matsumoto threw junior Kayla Hall (Granite City, Ill. / USA Stars) in the first round for ippon and pinned Angela Creutzberger (Ballston, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) to advance to the final against her EBJI teammate Ann Shiraishi (San Francisco, Calif.)  Although Shiraishi has never beaten Matsumoto, she did throw Natalie Lafon (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) in the semifinals.  Second seed Lafon was thought to be a strong contender for the Games after she beat Matsumoto for the first time at the Senior Nationals in April.

Reigning Pan Am Games Champion Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) earned quick wins by ippon in the 81kg division against Danny Satinsky (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo) and Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University).

Stevens will face Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo) in the final.  Earlier in the day Cohen, who lost to Stevens during four of their five 2007 matches, threw Davor Vasiljevic (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) for ippon with a beautiful te guruma (hand wheel throw).  In the semifinals, Cohen was up by a penalty against Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett) when he threw St. Leger for a waza-ari and then choked him for the win.

Two divisions were contested on a contingency basis as the United States did not qualify to send a representative to the Games in either the women’s 78kg or +78kg divisions.

In the heavyweight division, top-ranked Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo. / Denver Judo) pinned Mindy Swanson (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) in the final. 

In the alternate bracket, Swanson beat Toni Geiger (Dumont, N.J. / Tech Judo) by ippon in the first minute.

Should a slot open up for the United States in the division, Moore would be nominated to the Team in the +78kg division and Geiger would be the alternate.

Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) pinned top-ranked Nina Cutro-Kelly (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo) in the finals to advance to a best-of-three series against Cutro-Kelly. 

Harrison armbarred Cutro-Kelly in the first match and threw her for ippon in the second. 

Should a slot open up for the United States in the division, Harrison would be nominated to the Team in the 78kg division and Cutro-Kelly would be the alternate.