US
Open Judo Championships- East Bay Wins Bronze
The 2003 US Open Judo Championships were held on October 11 and 12 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. 334 competitors from 22 countries gathered for the biggest judo tournament in the states. Representing the East Bay Judo Institute in El Cerrito, CA were Molly O�Rourke, Marija Djokic, Junya Anami, Stephanie Hata and Sayaka Matsumoto.
The
first day of competition featured the men and women�s heavyweight divisions. First up for East Bay Judo was Marija Djokic, current Jr. US
Open champion, in the 63 kg category. Djokic
faced Emilie Lapalme-Gendron from Canada first round. Unfortunately, she was penalized out for same-side gripping
and stepping out of bounds. Lapalme-Gendron
lost the next round, eliminating Djokic�s chance to come back in the repechage.
Next up was Junya Anami, representing East Bay in the 100+ kg category. First round he faced Nacanieli Takayawa from Fiji. Anami looked in control of the match until he was caught off guard with a foot sweep for ippon (full point). Takayawa lost his next round, eliminating Anami from medal contention.
Current
Senior National Bronze Medallist Molly O�Rourke represented East Bay Judo in
the 78+kg category. In the first round she faced eventual gold medallist, Rachel
Wilding and was thrown for ippon (full point) with osotogari (outer leg sweep)
in the first exchange. O�Rourke
came back in the repechage to beat Jill Collins from the United States by
throwing her for ippon. Next,
O�Rourke faced Samantha Lang from the United States.
O�Rourke looked in control of the match, but was thrown for ippon with
sode-tsuri-komi-goshi, ending her chances for a medal.
The
second day of competition featured the lighter weight categories.
Representing East Bay Judo in the 48kg category was Stephanie Hata and
Sayaka Matsumoto. Current Jr. US
Open Champ, Stephanie Hata first faced Fiona Robertson from Great Britain.
In the second exchange, Robertson went for an attack and Hata was
arm-barred for full point. Robertson lost her next match, eliminating Hata from medal
contention.
Current
Senior National Champion Sayaka Matsumoto faced Bianca Ochkedal from Canada in
the first round. She easily threw
her for full point in the second exchange with uchimata (inner leg sweep). Next she faced Isabel Latulippe from Canada.
In their previous meetings, Matsumoto had beaten Latulippe twice.
This time, Latulippe took an early lead, countering Matsumoto�s attacks
for minor points. Towards the end
of the match, Matsumoto tried to make up the point difference, but was unable to
come from behind, getting countered for ippon.
In the bronze medal match, Matsumoto faced Kayla Yazell-Harrison from the
United States. Matsumoto took an
early lead when Yazell-Harrison was penalized for passivity. In the next exchange, Matsumoto knocked Yazell-Harrison down
and pinned her with sankaku for ippon, giving her the bronze medal.
The East Bay Judo Institute is run by David Matsumoto, the director of development for the United States Judo Federation. East Bay Judo Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the teachings of Kodokan Judo. EBJI is located at 11165 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito, CA. For more information please call (510) 237-0607 or visit us on the web at www.ebji.org.