ECTC Hosts Its Second Tournament of the Season at Brown University
3 months
by Abhi Routray
in Uncategorized
Providence, RI, November 3rd – The Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) held its second tournament of the season at Brown University, a staple in the ECTC’s five-tournament lineup.
“It is an honor to host a league tournament each year,” said Sung Park, Brown University Head Coach and ECTC Board Member. “Thinking back to my first tournament over 30 years ago, I have such fond memories of attending these events. It’s incredible that the friends I made then are still part of my life and the league. Being in a position to give back, especially now that my own children are participating in collegiate Taekwondo, is truly special. I couldn’t ask for a better place for them to learn competitiveness and camaraderie as part of their college experience.”
This season, the ECTC joins the recently launched National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional Initiative, which is organizing six regional conferences across the United States. “This initiative creates more opportunities than ever for college students to grow as athletes and leaders,” said Chuang. “Participation in these regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for a new division at the NCTA Championships—the NCTA Team Championships. Teams will compete for the newly introduced traveling trophy, the NCTA Cup, which will reside with the winning school each year.”
Jennifer Li, President of the Brown Taekwondo Club, reflected on the event’s significance. “As a senior, it’s especially heartwarming to see the Brown tournament come together and even more rewarding to watch everyone enjoy it,” she said. “ECTC tournaments have a unique sense of familiarity—you meet people as a first-year competitor, and over the years, those connections grow stronger. It’s something I’ll always value about being part of this community.”
The tournament brought together 452 athletes from 21 schools, all competing for medals and team trophies. True to ECTC tradition, the event followed the 3v3 team format. Teams of up to three members from the same school faced off in single-elimination brackets for both Poomsae and Sparring.
In the Mixed-Gender Poomsae Divisions, athletes competed across three brackets:
- A-Team (Black Belts): Northeastern A1 (Brian Meagher, Sam Walker, Sarah Rescsanski) took gold.
- B-Team (Blue and Red Belts): MIT B1 (Grace Jau, Yuying Lin, Ricardo Carrillo) took gold.
- C-Team (White, Yellow, and Green Belts): Northeastern C1 (Cameron Nguyen, Conrad Wu, Kinolee Kumarasinghe) took gold.
The Sparring Divisions included men’s and women’s teams at the A, B, and C levels:
- Men’s A-Team: NYU A1 (Bryan Kwon, Jay Lin, Mitchell Toomey) claimed gold.
- Women’s A-Team: West Point A1 (Grace Kim, Megan Cho, Yudam Jeong) took gold.
- Men’s B-Team: Northeastern B1 (Alexander Lei, Steven Dong, Jan Heinz, Daniel Li (alternate)) earned gold.
- Women’s B-Team: Cortland B1 (Alicea Cianfrogna, Adriane Bifolco) won gold.
- Men’s C-Team: Brown C1 (Christopher Lee, Jacob Schmidman, Jerome Jacobs) captured gold.
- Women’s C-Team: Liberty C1 (Katrina McMillen, Khara Pastean, Hannah Wharton) secured gold.
Overall team trophies were awarded based on results across all brackets:
- Division 1: 1st – Northeastern, 2nd – MIT, 3rd – Cornell.
- Division 2: 1st – NYU, 2nd – West Point, 3rd – Cortland.
- Division 3: 1st – Liberty, 2nd – Ohio State, 3rd – Duke.
Full results are available on the ECTC website.
The next ECTC event will take place at Cornell University, where teams are eagerly preparing for another thrilling competition. With sights set on the coveted ECTC Cup, the season’s energy continues to build toward its exciting conclusion.
ACATA Hosts First Tournament of the Season at UNC-Chapel Hill
3 months
by Abhi Routray
in Uncategorized
Chapel Hill, NC, October 26 – The Atlantic Collegiate Alliance of Taekwondo (ACATA) launched its season with a successful tournament at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). Seventy-two collegiate athletes from six schools participated in the event.
As part of the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional Initiative, the tournament also served as a qualifier for the new NCTA Cup Division, which will debut at the 2025 NCTA National Collegiate Championships.
“Six regional conferences are being recognized and organized across the United States, creating more opportunities than ever for college students to compete and grow as athletes and leaders,” said Dan Chuang, President of the NCTA. “Participation in these regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for the NCTA Team Championships, where they will compete for the new traveling trophy, the NCTA Cup. This cup will reside with the winning school each year.”
The event welcomed a mix of veteran ACATA participants and newcomers. “We had several schools attending an ACATA tournament for the first time, including UMBC and Princeton,” said Casey Denham, ACATA President. “Virginia Tech also returned for the first time since the pandemic.”
“We’re excited about growing the league this year!” added Ryan Huang, ACATA Treasurer. “With the NCTA Regional Initiative, ACATA’s future looks incredibly promising.”
The tournament featured individual Poomsae and Sparring divisions. Poomsae competitors were grouped by rank, while Sparring was divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and Elite categories, each with three weight classes: Lightweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight.
“Our black belt sparring divisions were the largest and most competitive in ACATA history,” noted Denham. “It’s inspiring to see our athletes developing and returning stronger with each tournament. The black belt Poomsae divisions were also the largest we’ve ever seen.”
Poomsae Winners
The following athletes claimed first place in their respective Poomsae divisions:
- Hope Nyoni (American University, Male White/Yellow Belt)
- David Lee (Princeton University, Male Green Belt)
- Colin Franco (UNC-Chapel Hill, Male Blue Belt)
- David Lucas Cosio (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Male Red Belt)
- Jasper De Guzman (Georgia Tech, Male Black Belt)
- Mya Parker (American University, Female White/Yellow Belt)
- Lucy Chen (Princeton University, Female Green Belt)
- Bella Adams (UNC-Chapel Hill, Female Blue Belt)
- Caroline Barry (Virginia Tech, Female Red Belt)
- Hanah You (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Female Black Belt)
Sparring Winners
The following athletes took first place in their respective Sparring divisions:
- Hope Nyoni (American University, Male Beginner Lightweight)
- Alexis Goetz (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Female Beginner Lightweight)
- Mya Parker (American University, Female Beginner Middleweight)
- David Lucas Cosio (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Male Intermediate Lightweight)
- Kirsten Masselink (Georgia Tech, Female Intermediate Lightweight)
- Kimberly Christian (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Female Intermediate Middleweight)
- Jasper De Guzman (Georgia Tech, Male Elite Lightweight)
- Dave Djachechi (University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Male Elite Middleweight)
- James Kang (Virginia Tech, Male Elite Heavyweight)
Team Awards
At the conclusion of the event, overall team trophies were awarded based on cumulative results:
- University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) – First Place
- UNC-Chapel Hill – Second Place
- Georgia Tech – Third Place
The next ACATA tournament is scheduled to take place at Princeton University on Sunday, February 23rd.
MCTC Hosts First Annual Central Championships at Northwestern University
4 months
by Abhi Routray
in Uncategorized
Evanston, IL, October 26 – The Midwest Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (MCTC) held its first annual Central Championships at Northwestern University this past weekend, where 104 collegiate athletes from seven schools competed in an unforgettable tournament. The event marked major firsts for MCTC, including the debut of 3v3 team formats, true bracketing, and Collegiate National qualifications. “This was a historic event where MCTC made firsts happen, including 3v3 [team poomsae and sparring], true bracketing, and Collegiate National qualifications,” said David Lee, MCTC League Director.
As part of the NCTA Regional Initiative, this tournament also served as a qualifier for the new NCTA Cup Division, to be held at the NCTA National Collegiate Championships in 2025. “Six regional conferences are being recognized and organized around the United States and will provide more opportunities than ever before for college students to compete and grow as athletes and leaders,” said Dan Chuang, President of the NCTA. “Participation in the regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for a new additional division at the NCTA Championships, the NCTA Team Championships. This division will see athletes competing to take home a traveling cup, the new NCTA Cup, which will reside with the winning Team Division school each year.”
All the athletes, from seasoned to first-time competitors, were beaming throughout the day. “This tournament is the first time many of my athletes have ever competed, and I am beyond impressed by the opportunity this tournament gave them,” said Humza Qazi, Head Coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). “[This tournament] was a great opportunity for everyone to come together and compete,” added Jon Price, Head Coach of Northwestern University. “I have athletes who are shy who have been really coming out of their shell today to cheer for one another. They’re all really excited for the next tournament.”
The competition exclusively featured a 3v3 team format, with teams of up to three members from the same school competing in single-elimination brackets in both Poomsae and Sparring. Mixed-Gender Poomsae Divisions included an A-Team bracket for Black Belts, a B-Team bracket for Blue and Red Belts, and a C-Team bracket for White, Yellow, and Green Belts. Similarly, six Sparring Divisions were contested, with three each for men and women across A, B, and C teams. The 3v3 format was a resounding success and introduced a fresh dynamic to the Midwest athletes.
“I really like the random 3v3 format for poomsae,” said Jason Dahlberg, athlete from UIUC and seasoned USATKD competitor. “It makes poomsae feel more like a sport instead of just a performance.” Miles Jackson, President of the Northwestern Sport Taekwondo Club, shared, “The 3v3 format really adds that team element to everything, and it makes you feel less alone.”
In the Poomsae Divisions, Ohio State University (OSU) PA1 (Manami Fukuda, Abby Schwarz, Jed Jung) took gold in the A Team Division, UIUC PB1 (Alice Lua, Angelina Yan, Edward Guo) won in the B Team Division, and Northwestern PC1 (Iris Hernandez, Jillian Tabak, Bianca Diaz) took first place in the C Team Division.
The Sparring Divisions saw OSU Men’s A1 (Shagnik Sarkar, Saketh Balakumar, Alex Papadopol) take gold in the Men’s A Team Division, while UIUC Women’s A1 (Ashley Chen, Rui Su) won the Women’s A Team Division. OSU Men’s B1 (Sirojiddin Aripov, Maxton Colby, Brayden Mikulski) took first in the Men’s B Team Division, and OSU Women’s B1 (Manami Fukuda, Sophia Weiss, Sara Sun) won in the Women’s B Team Division. In the C Team Division, University of Chicago Men’s C2 (Noah Michel, Anthony Chiu) claimed gold in the Men’s Division, while Northwestern Women’s C1 (Lacey Thompson, Jillian Tabak, Bianca Diaz) secured first place in the Women’s Division.
As the event concluded, overall team trophies were awarded based on cumulative results. OSU captured first place, Northwestern took second, and UIUC came in third. “The energy of the event was amazing,” David Lee said. “All of these different universities only had a few weeks to prepare, and they showed up to this event anyway. In the end, these athletes left with an experience of a lifetime that will propel them into purposeful training, recruiting, and pursuing of their club’s missions. I had so many athletes, coaches, and parents come up to me with gratitude and excitement for another event. We will have a third MCTC event sometime in the spring, and we’ll be accepting requests for bids at mctc.tkd@gmail.com.”
Photos from the event can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Zt-AAY1SgjQ2InS17WOpxAhf3401FtrC
MCTC Hosts First Rocky Mountain Championship at UC Boulder
4 months
by Abhi Routray
in Uncategorized
Boulder, CO, October 19 – The Midwest Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (MCTC) successfully held its inaugural Rocky Mountain Championship at the University of Colorado Boulder (UC Boulder) this past weekend. This tournament marked the first collegiate event of the academic year under the newly introduced National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional Initiative.
“Six regional conferences are being recognized and organized around the United States and will provide more opportunities than ever before for college students to compete and grow as athletes and leaders”, said Dan Chuang, President of the NCTA. “Participation in the regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for a new additional division at the NCTA Championships, the NCTA Team Championships. This division will see athletes competing to take home a traveling cup, the new NCTA Cup, which will reside with the winning Team Division school each year.”
The Rocky Mountain tournament, which featured 95 collegiate athletes from five schools, was the first of its kind in the region in five years. “The last official championship we hosted was in 2019, just before the COVID pandemic,” said David Lee, MCTC League Director. “I’ve received many messages from former athletes expressing their gratitude and excitement about MCTC’s return, bringing these teams back to a major stage. It’s heartening to see that MCTC remains a vital part of the collegiate experience.”
For the first time in the region, the tournament also introduced a 3v3 team format, where teams of up to three members from the same school competed against one another in a single-elimination bracket for both Poomsae and Sparring. Three Mixed-Gender Poomsae Divisions were contested: an A-Team bracket for Black Belts, a B-Team bracket for Blue and Red Belts, and a C-Team bracket for White, Yellow, and Green Belts. Additionally, six Sparring Divisions, three for men and three for women, represented the A, B, and C teams. Athletes earned 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each of the nine brackets.
“This 3v3 format is fantastic,” said Lee. “It gave athletes a strong sense of team identity and connection with their teammates, something we hadn’t seen before. The best part was hearing the school cheers and watching everyone smile and high-five. It truly helped newer athletes overcome competition nerves, especially with their teammates right by their side for support.”
Athletes echoed Lee’s sentiment. “With the 3v3 format, you really feel the team camaraderie,” said Ethan Moss of the University of Arkansas. “Even if your team is smaller, you still have a chance to advance through the bracket.”
The athletes’ enthusiasm was palpable throughout the day. “I had an incredible time, and this was a great way to prepare for the NCTA Collegiate Championships,” said Hayle Nguyen from UC Boulder. Stephanie Cotariu, athlete and coach of the University of Arkansas Taekwondo Team, added, “It’s been an amazing event. It’s a great way for athletes to gain experience, and you could really see their growth as the day progressed.”
In the Poomsae Divisions, the University of Arkansas PA1 Team (Stephanie Cotariu, Rena Lim) claimed 1st place in the A-Team Division. UC Boulder PB1 (Tania Varesano, Summer Levin, Jasper Shen) took 1st in the B-Team Division, while UC Boulder PC1 (Gabriela Gallelli, Brendan Connors, Anjali Misra) secured 1st in the C-Team Division.
In the Sparring Divisions, UC Boulder Women’s A4 (Sadiya Muratova, Yasmin Muratova) won 1st place in the A-Team Women’s Division, while UC Boulder Men’s A1 (Noah Holt, Heramb Mohite, Imran Ikromov) triumphed in the Men’s A-Team Division. In the B-Team Divisions, UC Boulder Women’s B5 (Tania Varesano, Tenley Hollman, Diana Guadalupe) earned 1st place in the Women’s Division, while UC Boulder Men’s B3 (Grayson Richard, Jasper Shen) secured 1st after a competitive final against Denver University’s Men’s B1 (Kailar Hayes, Price Schaeffer). In the C-Team Division, Denver University Women’s C1 (Tawnia Ayala-Ramos, Sophie McDuffee) took 1st in the Women’s Division, while UC Boulder Men’s C1 (Enfal Arisoy, Nathan Kerr) won a hard-fought match against University of Northern Colorado’s Men’s C1 (Canada Po).
At the conclusion of the event, overall team trophies were awarded based on results across all brackets. UC Boulder claimed 1st place overall, followed by Denver University in 2nd, and the University of Arkansas in 3rd.“Our next MCTC event is just around the corner this Saturday, October 21, at Northwestern University for the Central Division Championship,” said Lee. “We’re excited for the Midwest regional schools to show up in Evanston, Illinois! We’re also planning MCTC training camps and potentially a third championship event in Spring 2025. Stay tuned by following us on Instagram @mctc.tkd and @nctakicks for all the updates!”
Photos from the event are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QRq2PDE9bajcCtb7SVjKB2jzxO1GVc58
ECTC Hosts First Tournament of the Season at MIT
4 months
by Abhi Routray
in Uncategorized
Cambridge, MA, October 20 – The Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) successfully kicked off its season with an exciting tournament hosted at MIT this past weekend. This year marks a significant milestone as the 20th anniversary of MIT’s Sport Taekwondo Club hosting an official ECTC tournament, and the 41st year of ECTC league competition. “The team competition format that has made the league special from its inception is still going strong, providing positive, life-changing experiences for collegiate athletes year after year,” said Dan Chuang, Head Coach of the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club, ECTC Director, and NCTA President. “I’m eager to elevate this format to the national level for the first time at the 2025 NCTA Championships in the new NCTA Cup division.”
The ECTC is now part of the recently launched National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional Initiative. “Six regional conferences are being formally recognized and organized across the United States, creating more opportunities than ever for college students to compete and grow as athletes and leaders,” said Chuang. “Participation in these regional conferences will qualify collegiate athletes for a new division at the NCTA Championships—the NCTA Team Championships—where teams will compete for the newly introduced traveling trophy, the NCTA Cup, which will reside with the winning school each year.”
The energy was high throughout the day as 563 athletes from 24 schools gave their all to bring home medals and team trophies. “The athletes, coaches, and volunteers were full of excitement, enthusiasm, and camaraderie,” said Rae Drach, ECTC Tournament Committee Co-Chair. “It was wonderful to see teams cheering on their competitors and returning athletes reconnecting after months off during the off-season.”
The MIT Tournament followed ECTC’s traditional 3v3 team format, where teams of up to three members from the same school compete against one another in a single-elimination bracket for both Poomsae and Sparring. Three Mixed-Gender Poomsae Divisions were contested: an A-Team bracket for Black Belts, a B-Team bracket for Blue and Red Belts, and a C-Team bracket for White, Yellow, and Green Belts. Additionally, six Sparring Divisions—three for men and three for women—featured teams from the A, B, and C levels. Athletes earned 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each of the nine brackets.
“It was nice to get back into it,” said 2022-2023 ECTC MVP Abhishek Narang from Northeastern. “I’ve competed nationally, but the camaraderie of the team format pushes you harder because you’re not just fighting for yourself—you’re fighting for your team.”
The competition ran deep in all nine brackets, with 60 teams competing in the A and C Poomsae Divisions, and all Sparring Divisions starting with a Round of 32 bracket. The Men’s A and C Team brackets were particularly intense, beginning in a Round of 64. As a result, teams had to battle through several hard-fought matches to reach the medal rounds.
In the Poomsae Divisions, UPenn A1 (Ryan Real, James Santos, Chloe Ng) secured 1st place in the A-Team Division, Northeastern B1 (Alexander Lai, Jenny Tran, Victoria Mung) took 1st place in the B-Team Division, and Yale C1 (Annli Zhu, Camila Otero, Zaneta Otoo) captured 1st place in the C-Team Division.
In the Sparring Divisions, Northeastern A1 (Immanuel Ampomah Mensah, Abhishek Narang, Ayush Zenith, Alternate Nathaniel Chung) won gold in the Men’s A-Team Division. In the Women’s A-Team Division, West Point A1 (Grace Kim, Megan Cho, Micaela Choi) and Northeastern A1 (Taylor McMordie, Nicole Chen, Rachel Zhang, alternate Samantha Panarese) tied for 1st place. In the Men’s B-Team Division, MIT B1 (Ricardo Carrillo, Jeryl Lewis, William Nolan) took gold, while Cornell B1 (Jenna Kafrawi, Audrey Kohlman, Jhanique Berridge) claimed gold in the Women’s B-Team Division. Finally, in the C-Team Division, Brown University C1 (Christopher Lee, Jacob Schmidman, Jerome Jacobs) earned gold in the Men’s Division, while Northeastern C1 (Maia Delagneau, Helen Wang, Ella Green) won gold in the Women’s Division.
At the conclusion of the event, overall team trophies were awarded based on results across all brackets. In Division 1, Northeastern took 1st place, MIT took 2nd place, and Cornell took 3rd place. In Division 2, University of Pennsylvania claimed 1st place, West Point secured 2nd place, and the University of Michigan took 3rd place. Finally, in Division 3, Yale finished 1st, the University of Connecticut came in 2nd, and Boston University placed 3rd. Full results from the tournament can be found on the ECTC website.
The next ECTC event will take place at Brown University on Saturday, November 2. Teams are eagerly anticipating another exciting competition as they set their sights on the coveted ECTC Cup, which will be awarded at the end of the season. Photos from the event can be found at this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1noRE9wYv6uQMMVPDe__ZZChvJHr63RfH
