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USA Team Taekwondo Closes World University Games With Bronze in Women’s Team Sparring, Finishes with 3 Medals
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Naples, Italy – (July 13, 2019) USA Team closed out the final 3 days of taekwondo competition with an historic bronze medal in women’s team sparring at the Summer World University Games, bringing the team’s total medal count to one gold, one silver and one bronze. Representing USA in the bronze-medal winning women’s sparring team were Makayla Gorka, Cheyenne Lewis, Lizette Salas and Logan Weber. It was the first medal for USA team in the team sparring divsion at the Games since the division’s inception in 2015. Gold and silver medals were earned earlier in the week by Adalis “AJ” Munoz and Edward Jeong in women’s and men’s individual poomsae, respectively.
Also competing over the final three days were Amanda Bluford, George El-Chemali, Makayla Gorka, Matthew Klein, Abdul Rahman and Logan Weber in the individual divisions, as well as Alejandro Bravo, Charles Buset, El-Chemali and Connor Wilson in the male team sparring division.
Head of Team and USA National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) president Dan Chuang noted, “I’m grateful for the efforts our staff and so impressed by the cohesiveness and drive of our athletes at this incredibly high level event. Their team-first approach enabled them to weather the highs and lows of competition and finish on a strong note. Thank you also to all of the USA Team staff as well as the Games organizing committee for creating a first rate expereince for our team.”
Added Head Sparring Coach Richard Lee, “It was a honor and a pleasure to coach the USA Team. This was a special group of selfless athletes and staff who watched out and cheered for one another. The results are some of the best we’ve ever had at a SWUG event for taekwondo, but the bonds and friendships that were made will continue to live on. Personally, I’m truly grateful for this opportunity.”
The aforementioned women’s team of Gorka, Lewis, Salas and Weber had an outstanding run to the medal rounds on the final day of competition, July 13. Led with contributions from all four athletes but especially heavy minutes from Lewis, the team advanced over Chile 24-8 in the round of 16 and Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals 35-11 before losing a tightly contested match to powerhouse Korea in the semifinals by the score of 15-19 in the mostly tag-team format. The men’s team of Bravo, Buset, El-Chemali and Wilson also had a strong run, advancing over Kazakhstan 28-16 in the round of 16 before falling to Malaysia 13-35, just one round short of the medals.
One day prior on July 12, the sixth day of competition, George El-Chemali (-63kg) fought Jack Francois (NZL) in the round of 16, winning 11-2, before falling to Mertcan Dolmaci (TUR) 7-11 in the quarterfinals at his second Games. Abdul Rahman fell 12-25 to Mikolaj Szaferski (POL), and Logan Weber (-53kg) lost 3-23 to Viktoriia Sabko (UKR).
On July 11, the fifth day of taekwondo competition, Amanda Bluford (-62kg) clashed with Sofia Cruz (POR) in her initial round. After allowing the first two points, Bluford scored 10 unanswered, to earn the 10-2 win. Bluford’s Round of 16 contest against Jiwon Kim (KOR) had her ahead 3-2 after the 1st round. She was unable to hold the lead and finished 5-9. Makayla Gorka (-73kg) sparred Franchesca Avaria Ramirez (CHI). The match concluded with Gorka down 17-22 in a tight match that came down to the final seconds. Matthew Klein’s (-74kg) draw had him sparring Uladzislau Halizin (BLR). He was able to score an early head kick and exhibited great determination, but lost 4-22.
Supporting the athletes throughout the compeition were NCTA President and Head of Team, Dan Chuang (Cambridge, MA), Director, Sung C. Kim (Rochester, NY), Manager, Justin Faiferlick (Fort Dodge, Iowa), Doctor, Sherri Lashomb (Buffalo, NY), Head Poomsae Coach, Huy Nguyen (San Jose, CA), Poomsae Coach, Haksung Kim (Irvine, CA), Head Sparring Coach, Richard Lee (Los Angeles, CA), Sparring Coach, Dongyoung Kim (Newark, CA), Sparring Coach, Toby Oliver (Fort Myers, FL) and Sparring Coach, Adrian Zambrano (Sylmar, CA).
Over 9,000 athletes and staff representing over 160 countries were represented at the 30th Universiade. The US was the second largest delegation with 420 participants competing in 18 sports. Full results can be found at: https://www.fisu.net/sport-events/summer-universiades-events/30th-summer-universiade.
Lewis Leads USA Competitors with Quarterfinal Finish on Day 4 at the World University Games
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Naples, Italy – (July 10, 2019) Three USA Team athletes competed on the fourth day of Taekwondo competition, with Cheyenne Lewis reaching the quarterfinals, Lizette Salas reaching the round of 16 and Alejandro Bravo the round of 32.
Cheyenne Lewis (-67kg) squared off against Daniela Torres Alderete (MEX) in the round of 32. Her presence was dominating with strong ring management and earned the victory 19-0. Lewis’ Round of 16 match versus Celine Schmidt (GER) ended was a tightly managed affair in which Lewis never trailed, holding off a late rally to extend her lead to win 10-3. Ana Ciuchitu (MDA) was Lewis’ quarterfinal match. Despite a barrage of kicks that appeared to make contact with her opponent’s helmet and body protector, the points didn’t go up and Lewis finished just a kick short, 5-7.
Said Lewis, “Although [the] results did not turn out exactly how I had hoped, there were a lot of positive takeaways to build on going into the team competition this Friday. Our team chemistry has been fantastic this whole trip and I am very much looking forward to leaving it all out on the mat with my team in a couple days.”
Lizette Salas (-49kg) began the day squaring off with Maria Lopez Ochoa (MEX) in the round of 32. Salas held a 3 point lead after the first round, controlled the bout and extended her lead 19-6 at the conclusion of round two, scoring a variety of head kicks. She succeeded by point gap 29-9 early in the final round. Salas fought Camila Silva Bezerra (BRA) next in the round of 16. Salas lead the match early but her opponent was able to tie the score 6-6 in the third round. Bezerra scored a head kick with just seconds remaining, earning her the win 6-9.
Said Salas, “I am very proud to have been given the chance to represent the USA. Of course it would have been a little better to be coming home with a medal, but being in the ring wearing the flag on my uniform and hearing my team mates cheer is something I’ll never forget.”
Completing USA Team’s athletes for the day, Alejandro Bravo (-58kg) sparred Shabib Al Wahaibi (OMA) in men’s division in the round. In a high energy match, Bravo worked hard for all 3 rounds but finished down 4-24.
This was the first World University Games for all three of Wednesday’s players, who will each have the opportunity to fight again during the team sparring event on Day 7. Day 5 of the Universiade, USA Team will support Matthew Klein (-74kg), Amanda Bluford (-62kg) and Makayla Gorka (-73kg). Bluford and Gorka are returning for their second Games, with Bluford coming off of a silver medal at the 2018 Pan American Championships. Watch the live stream at fisu.net.
3 USA Athletes Open Sparring on Day 3 of Taekwondo at Summer World University Games
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Naples, Italy – (July 9, 2019)
USA Team began the first of five days of sparring competition. Twelve total weight classes in both men’s and women’s divisions will be contested over a four day stretch, followed by men’s and women’s team sparring on its closing day.
Opening the day was Charles Buset (-68kg) versus Dias Kurmangazy (KAZ). In a close match full of lead changes, Buset finished down 15-19.
Starla Santana (-57kg) in the round of 32 faced off against Anna Antoniou (CYP). The match was tied 2-2 entering the final two minute round, Antoniou was able to outscore Santana in the 3rd round and earned and the match ended 3-11.
Connor Wilson (-80kg) opened against Artur Bajmatov (RUS) to begin the match. A close bout featuring an early lead by Wilson on a head kick, but Bajmatov was able to extend the lead for a 11-22 win.
USA Team will be sending three more athletes to the venue for Day 2 of sparring. Live stream available at www.fisu.net to view Alejandro Bravo (-58kg), Lizette Salas (49kg) and Cheyenne Lewis (-67kg). Lewis was the 2018 Pan Am Championships Champion at -62kg. It is the first World University Games for all 3 players.
Team Poomsae Competition at 2019 World University Games on Day 2
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Naples, Italy – (July 8, 2019) Day two at the PalaCasoria Arena featured the the Men’s and Women’s Team Poomsae events, with USA Team Men’s and Women’s team both advancing to the final round and placing 6th and 7th, respectively.
Eddie Jeong, Kody Han and Sean Wallace started the competition in semi-finals with a total of 15 teams. They performed a solid Koryo and Keumgang to advance to finals finishing seventh, advancing them to the finals. Following the saem format as the previous days Individual event, one recognized and one freestyle poomsae for each team determined the medalists. USA Team scored 7.14 in the finals, finishing in 6th place, losing a tiebreaker for 5th, completing Pyongwon and a freestyle poomsae. They were just 0.05 away from medaling at this year’s Universiade.
Said Wallace of his experience, “It has been an honor to represent the USA and compete among the top college athletes from around the world! Although the competition was tough, we gave it our all and left it all on the mat. We are proud of our work and are grateful for the opportunity to attend the 2019 Summer World University Games!”
The female team, comprised of Adalis “AJ” Munoz, Titania Thao and Christy Quntanilla, also competed alongside 14 other teams. USA Team completed an outstanding Taeguek 8 and Koryo to advance to finals in 8th place. Taebaek and a Freestyle routine were the necessities in finals, they executed well, increased their standing from semis, and finished 7th overall.
“Every year the competition gets stiffer, and this event was no exception. All three of us prepared our absolute best to represent the USA. Thank you to everyone who supported us to get here”, said AJ Munoz.
Said Poomsae Head Coach, Huy Nguyen, “Words cannot express how proud I am of our poomsae athletes at this year Summer University Games! This is the best result ever for our poomsae team at this event. USA came in 2nd place overall in the very competitive poomsae competition, right behind Korea. Thank you to all the coaches and staff for working together to prepare our athletes for their great showing at thes Games. Sparring competition starts tomorrow, and I am confident the momentum will continue for our fighters.”
The USA Team commences its sparring competition on Tuesday, July 9. Charles Buset (-68kg), Starla Santana (-57kg) and Connor Wilson (-80kg) will take to the mat as USA Team’s first sparring players at the World University Games.
Hot Start for USA Team Taekwondo at Summer World University Games with Gold and Silver
5 years
by NCTA Admin
in Uncategorized
Naples, Italy – (July 7, 2019) A hot start for USA Team as both Individual Poomsae athletes medaled in the above 90 degree temperature at the Pala Casoria Arena, the Taekwondo venue for the 30th Universiade, as Adalis “AJ” Munoz earned gold and Edward Jeong earned silver.
Munoz followed her 2017 Universiade bronze performance and gold medal performance at the 2018 World Poomsae Championships in Taipei, Chinese Taipei with this commanding performance. She grew stronger as the day progressed, placing 7th in her flight performing Taegeuk 5 and 6, then placing 6th in the semis with Taegeuk 8 and Koryo. In the finals, she performed Taebaek and a freestyle poomsae, jumping from 6th seed to first with a dominating freestyle performance.
“I am very emotional and overwhlemed that I medaled, let alone won a gold medal. This year has been a struggle for me balancing all of the things in my life and I was somewhat doubtful that I would do well at this event. Thank you to my family and all of the people who helped me get here.’
The Silver medalist from the 2017 Universiade in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, Eddie Jeong was able to repeat this feat once again against the best collegiate athletes in the world. Jeong, also won a bronze medalist at the 2018 World Poomsae Championships in the Mixed Team Poomsae Division, also improved dramatically from the preliminary round, placing 7th in his flight with Taegeuk 7 and 8, then jumping to 2nd place in the semifinal round with a balanced and solid Koryo and Keumgang. In the finals, Eddie performed Pyongwon and a freestyle performance to solidly outpace the competition, surpassed only by 1st seed Korea in the subsequent performance.
“After medaling at this event in 2017, I knew that this year’s event would be a challenge because the competitive landscape had changed so much. I and my coach stayed tactical and adjusted round by round, and I focused on just getting my ‘A’ run and thankfully it resulted in this silver medal. Thanks to my coach and teammates for the onsite support allowing me to have the confidence to perform the ‘A’ run I was shooting for,” said Jeong.
Tomorrow, men’s and women’s team poomsae will be contested, with Munoz, Christy Quintanilla and Titania Thao in the women’s division and Jeong, Kody Han and Sean Wallace in the mens.
