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For
Immediate Release The
National Ladder Tournament was held on August 31, 2003 at the Indianapolis
Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Over 150 competitors from around the nation gathered for this
senior-level tournament. Representing
the East Bay Judo Institute in El Cerrito were Veronica Castillo,
Stephanie Hata, Molly O�Rourke, and Marija Djokic. First
up for the East Bay Judo Institute was Veronica Castillo in the
63kg category. In the first round she faced Carrie Chandler from New York,
the current senior national silver medallist in the 57kg category.
Castillo was caught off guard when she was thrown for ippon (full
point) with sasae-tsuri-komi-goshi in the first minute.
She then faced fellow teammate, Marija Djokic, in the loser�s
bracket where she was thrown for ippon (full point), ending Castillo�s
day, giving her valuable experience in senior-level competition. Next
up for East Bay Judo was Marija Djokic in the 63 kg category.
The current collegiate national champion first faced Erin Roberts
of Rhode Island. Djokic
quickly threw Roberts with her favorite throw, uchimata (inner leg sweep)
for full point in the first exchange.
Djokic next faced Taylor Middendorf from New York.
Djokic looked in control of the match until her attack was
countered by Middendorf for full point, sending Djokic into the loser�s
bracket where she faced fellow teammate Veronica Castillo.
Djokic easily threw Castillo in the first half of the match for
ippon. She next faced Melanie
Vega-Borja from Florida. Djokic
looked in complete control at the beginning of the match, dominating grips
and attacks. About halfway
through the match, Djokic made a technical error and was thrown by Vega-Borja
for ippon. Stephanie
Hata represented the East Bay Judo Institute in the 52-kilogram
category. Hata, fighting a weight class above her normal 48kg category,
faced Sarah Alvarado first round. Hata
quickly disposed of her, forcing her to get numerous stalling penalties.
Hata next advanced to face Nikki Schulteis, whom she had beaten the
day before at the Fall Classic. Hata
looked aggressive, and the match was tied until Hata made an attack which
Schulteis countered for yuko (half point).
Hata could not come back from this deficit and was sent into the
loser�s bracket where she faced Sharon Burnell.
Hata pinned Burnell with sankaku (triangle hold) for ippon.
She next advanced to meet Schulteis in the final for first.
Hata again looked aggressive, but made an attack that Schulteis
countered, this time for ippon, giving Hata the silver medal. Molly
O�Rourke represented East Bay Judo Institute in the 78+ kg category.
O�Rourke�s only opponent was Brittney Bradford from Florida.
In her first match against her, she quickly pinned her with sankaku
(triangle hold) for ippon. Since this was a double elimination system, O�Rourke fought
Bradford again, this time beating her easily by throwing her for ippon in
the first exchange, giving O�Rourke the gold medal. The head instructor of East Bay Judo Institute is David Matsumoto, the current director of development for the United States Judo Federation and former Team Leader for the 1996 Olympic Games. East Bay Judo Institute is located at 11165 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito, CA. For more information, please contact us at (510) 237-0607 or visit our website at www.ebji.org. Back
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