NCTA Admin
This user hasn't shared any profile information
Posts by NCTA Admin
Team Poomsae Competition at 2019 World University Games on Day 2
6 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
6 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.
