Rodriguez Upsets Six-Time National Champion Matsumoto at Senior Nationals

(Houston, Texas) – Fifteen-year-old Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site/48kg) produced the biggest upset of Saturday at the USA Judo Senior National Championships, beating six-time National Champion Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif./NYAC/East Bay Judo Institute) in an exciting final to win her first National title at the senior level.

Rodriguez, best known for dominating the junior ranks, survived a Golden Score (overtime) match against second-ranked Ann Shiraishi (Elk Grove, Calif./East Bay Judo Institute/Okubo) to meet Matsumoto in the final.

Rodriguez opened the match with a controversial throw for yuko (quarter-point) to take the lead.  With her back against the proverbial wall, Matsumoto soon picked up her attacking pace while Rodriguez was handed a penalty for stalling.

In the last 10 seconds, though, Rodriguez threw Matsumoto for ippon (instant win, similar to a knockout in boxing) with an o soto gari (major outer reaping).

“Amazing.  That’s how I would describe winning Nationals,” a still elated Rodriguez said at the end of the night.  “I was nervous before the final, but you can’t respect anybody on the mat because in the end they’re just another competitor. She was the #1 girl, but she’s still just another athlete.”

The win would mean a best-of-three fight-off between the two for a spot on the U.S. Team that will compete at the Pan American Championships, May 24-29 in Buenos, Aires, Argentina as all athletes who win Nationals, but are not the top seed going into the event must compete in a Pan Am Trials, immediately following the Nationals finals matches.

Matsumoto relied on excellent groundwork during the first of the two Trials matches, pinning Rodriguez for yuko and simultaneously securing an armbar that would end in an ippon.  Matsumoto would secure her Pan Am slot in the second match, pinning Rodriguez a second time for ippon.

“Of course I was disappointed to lose in the Trials, but it still feels great knowing that I won Nationals and now I know that I can beat her so I’ll just keep training for next time,” said Rodriguez who received the Most Inspirational Female Award for her Nationals win.

On the men’s side, the 66kg division was pegged by many as the division to watch at this event, featuring each of the top-five athletes on the Senior Elite National Roster as well as 2004 Olympian Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y./NYAC/Spartak Judo) who used this event as his Senior National debut at this weight after winning three titles at 60kg.

Last year’s National Champion Justin Flores (Menlo Park, Calif./San Shi Dojo) advanced to the quarter-finals against 2006 Collegiate Nationals silver medalist Josh O’Neil (Racine, Wis./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), but lost on a throw for ippon.  Flores injured his knee in the process and later withdrew from the tournament.

O’Neill nearly made his second upset of the day, sending his semi-final match against top-ranked Taylor Takata (Wahiawa, Hawaii/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site) into a Golden Score session.  Takata held out, though, scoring with a koka (smallest points) to advance to the final.

On the other side of the bracket, 2005 Nationals silver medalist Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif./NYAC/East Bay Judo Institute) tied Williams-Murray in the semi-finals with a koka before throwing him for ippon. 

Williams-Murray, who threw #2 Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo./Northglenn Judo) in the first round, would later go on to win the bronze medal with a throw over 19-year-old Jeff Fong (Woodlands, Texas/Diamondback Judo). 

Fong, in his first Nationals appearance, quickly made a name for himself as an athlete to watch leading into this summer’s Junior World Trials, upsetting top-ranked junior AJ Silverman (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) in the repechage to place fifth.

In the gold medal final of the division, Takata ultimately won the title and a Pan Am berth in a closely contested match against Torra in which both athletes made numerous attempts to score, but Takata held out for the win and received the Best Male Technique Award for his efforts.

In the absence of top-ranked Williams-Murray in the 60kg division, 17-year-old Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center) assumed the top seed, but lost in the opening round and failed to be carried through to the repechage.  

Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), the 2006 High School nationals bronze medalist who recently relocated to South Florida after having previously trained with Camal Judo in New Jersey, ran through the bracket, going 4-0 to win his first Senior National Title, throwing Dartanyon Burrows (Fruitland, Idaho/Western Idaho Judo Institute) for ippon in the final.  Ramos would later win the Most Inspirational Male Award.

Liggett returned to the form many expected from the top-ranked junior in his Pan Am Trials matches against Ramos, though, winning both to qualify for the Pan Am Team.

Top-ranked Ryan Reser (Security, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site/73kg) had one of the shortest finals of the evening in his defeat of Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center), attacking from the start and throwing the 2006 New York Open Champion within the first 30 seconds of the match with te guruma (hand wheel) for the win.

Reser, the #8-ranked athlete in the world after his two silver medal World Cup wins in March, also received the Outstanding Male Competitor Award and was named to the Pan Am Team.

Although Reser was the athlete to watch at 73kg, a cast of characters also showed that there continues to be a great deal of depth in the division.

After losing his semi-final match to Brestyan, seventeen-year-old Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) continued to be a crowd pleaser, throwing 2005 bronze medalist RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo) for ippon in the first 15 seconds of his bronze medal match.

In the other bronze medal match, Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho/Western Idaho Judo) and 2006 New York Open bronze medalist Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) both held yuko (quarter-point) scores at the end of the regulation.  The Golden Score period was closely contested as well, but Eldred picked up the win toward the end of the first minute.

Although Delpopolo finished fifth, his semi-final loss against Reser was one of the most anticipated matches of the day as the rising junior was one of very few athletes in the United States who could hold his own with the A-Level Reser, scoring one koka and picking up a second on a penalty by Reser, although ultimately losing by waza-ari (half-point).

Valerie Gotay (Temecula, Calif./Judo America/57kg), a 1992 Olympian, came to this year’s Nationals with not only the normal pressure of entering the event as the top-ranked athlete, but additional baggage as well, having sprained three ribs at the Rome World Cup in March.

“No one likes to compete injured, but my goal was to end my matches early and let my experience carry me through,” Gotay said.

Following a first-round bye, Gotay defeated her first three opponents, including a semi-final defeat of Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill./Tohkon) who won a silver medal at 63kg last year, but recently moved down a weight division.

Gotay’s final match was a repeat of the 2005 U.S. Open final against #2-ranked Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University).  Neither player scored throughout the five minute match, but Malloy picked up a penalty for stalling which gave Gotay the koka score and a spot on the Pan Am Team.

“Right now, I’m a little disappointed in the final, but I think tomorrow I’ll be happy I pulled off winning with only half a body,” said Gotay who sustained additional injuries during her prelim matches. “I think this had to happen though because it let me prove to myself that I can still pull off winning injured and that’s really helped my confidence.  Now I just want to focus on healing and being as healthy as possible for Pan Ams.”

Gotay’s and Reser’s 2005 World Teammate Carrie Chandler (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center/52kg) won her second consecutive National title after her 2004 drop down from the 57kg division with little difficulty, defeating her first two opponents to advance to the gold medal match.

Chandler’s final would be a rematch of last year’s result as she defeated Gotay’s younger sister Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site) for the win.  Lafon was up early in the match by a waza-ari, but Chandler closed out in the second minute, throwing Lafon for ippon.  As the #1-seeded athlete, Chandler also was named to the Pan Am Team.

Four non-Olympic weight divisions also were contested Saturday: men’s 55kg, women’s 44kg and both men’s and women’s Open divisions.

Thirty-five-year-old Hiram Cruz (Jacksonville, Fla./Ryu Judo) won his third National Title at 55kg, defeating top-ranked Andre Taylor (Plano, Texas/Becerra Judo).  Taylor, a 2005 Texas State High School Wrestling Champion.  Taylor won the first match of the best-of-three Pan Am Trials, but Cruz took the next two matches and the spot on the team.

The inter-club friendly rivalry continued at 44kg, as 15-year-olds Daimisy Porras and Veronica Prado, both hailing from North Lauderdale, Fla. and the North Miami USA Judo National Training Site, fought again.  While last year top-ranked Prado won the National title over Porras, this time Porras took the gold, but Veronica won two of the three Pan Am Trials matches to qualify for her first Senior Pan Am Team, having won gold at the Juvenile Pan Ams last week in Colorado Springs at 40kg.

In the women’s Open division, Zarife Yildirim (TUR/Chicago, Ill./Tohkon Judo) won the title, throwing Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo./Denver Judo) for a quick ippon.  Moore, a 2005 World Team member as a heavyweight who recently returned to 78kg, would later fight top-ranked Open competitor Nina Cutro-Kelly (Albany, N.Y./Judo America) in the Pan Am Trials.  Twenty-year-old Cutro-Kelly threw Moore for ippon early in both matches to qualify for the Pan Am Team.

In the men’s Open division, Sylwester Gawel (POL/New York City/NYAC) defeated  Bandi Davaadorj (MGL/Denver, Colo./Denver Judo) for the title.  As neither athlete is a U.S. citizen, bronze medalist Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State) defeated an injured top-ranked Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas/Bedford Kodokan Judo Club) in consecutive matches to qualify for the Pan Ams.

2006 USA Judo Senior National Championship awards are as follows:

Outstanding Male Competitor: Ryan Reser (Security, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site/73kg)

Outstanding Female Competitor: Nikki Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas/Fort Worth Judo/78kg)

Best Male Technique: Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo/81kg)

Best Female Technique: Nikki Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas/Fort Worth Judo/78kg)

Most Inspirational Male: Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

Most Inspirational Female: Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

Complete results for Saturday’s competition are as follows:

Women 44kg    

1. Daimisy Porras (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

2. Veronica Prado (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Taylor Ibera (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Tenri)

5. Maddyson Post (Livermore, Calif./Amador judo team)

5. Sandra Chevalier (Scituate, R.I./Mayo Quanchi)

Women 48kg

1. Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

2. Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif./NYAC/East Bay Judo Institute)

3. Tabitha Lum (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University)

3. Ann Shiraishi (Elk grove, Calif./East Bay Judo Institute/Okubo)

5. Michele Sternick (Mansfield, Pa./Mansfield University Judo Club)

5. Brenna Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubo Judo Club)

Women 52kg

1. Carrie Chandler (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center)

2. Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Franchesca Durand (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Tracy Nagai (Bellevue, Wash./Budokan)

5. Heidi Metzler (Manheim, Pa./Mayo Quanchi)

5. Nicki Schultheis (Gurnee, Ill./Gurnee Judo)

Women 57kg

1. Valerie Gotay (Temecula, Calif./Judo America)

2. Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University)

3. Hannah Martin (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Judo America)

3. Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill./Tohkon)

5. Megan Higgins (Livermore, Calif./Amador Judo Team)

5. Janine Nakao (Marine, Calif./UC Davis)

Women Open

1. Zarife Yildirim (TUR/Chicago, Ill./Tohkon Judo)

2. Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo./Denver Judo)

3. Nina Cutro-Kelly (Albany, N.Y./Judo America)

3. Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio/Shobokan)

5. Natalie Laursen (Livermore, Calif./Amador Judo Team)

5. Melinda Swanson (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Tenri)

Men 55kg

1. Hiram Cruz (Jacksonville, Fla./Ryu Judo)

2. Andre Taylor (Plano, Texas/Becerra Judo)

3. Mickey Matsumoto (Torrance, Calif./Gardena Judo Club)

3. Frank Sanchez (West Covina, Calif./Guerreros)

5. John Gonzalez (South Gate, Calif./Guerreros Judo Club)

5. Arnold Toriumi (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Tenri Judo)

Men 60kg

1. Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) 2. Dartanyon Burrows (Fruitland, Idaho/Western Idaho Judo Institute)

3. Hector Galloza (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Nick Kossor (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

5. Dale Hata (El Cerrito, Calif./East Bay Judo Institute)

5. Dan Gomez (Houston, Texas/Texas A&M)

Men 66kg             

1. Taylor Takata (Wahiawa, Hawaii/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)

2. Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif./NYAC/East Bay Judo Institute)

3. Kenneth Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo./Northglenn)

3. Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y./NYAC/Spartak)

5. Jeff Fong (The Woodlands, Texas/Diamondback Judo)

5. Joshua O'Neil (Racine, Wis./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Men 73kg

1. Ryan Reser (Security, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

2. Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center)

3. Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho/Western Idaho Judo)

5. Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

5. Richard Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo Club)

Men’s Open

1. Sylwester Gawel (POL/New York City/NYAC)

2. Bandi Davaadorj (MGL/Denver, Colo./Denver Judo)

3. Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State)

3. Maje Omagbaluwaje (Chicago, Ill./Tohkon)

5. Adam Blackburn (Salt Lake City, Utah/USA Stars)

5. Jasung Koo (Los Angeles, Calif.)