{"id":912,"date":"2012-06-04T10:17:01","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T18:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/?p=912"},"modified":"2012-06-04T10:17:01","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T18:17:01","slug":"2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Day 3<\/strong><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Team USA opened up in spectacular fashion on the first day of sparring competition with thrilling fights<\/div>\n
from finweights Kelsey Kitagawa (University of Hawai’i-Manoa) and Johnny Nguyen (Mesa Community<\/div>\n
College) and featherweights Stepfon Westbrook (California State University of Northride) and Emilia<\/div>\n
Morrow (Miami Dade College).<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Both Kitagawa and Morrow fought with great passion and drive, but unfortunately they came up short<\/div>\n
in their first rounds against Turkey and Chinese Taipei, respectively. Kitagawa scored the initial point and<\/div>\n
kept her lead throughout the majority of the match. Turkey received both her points through warnings.<\/div>\n
Kitagawa tied it up, but unfortunately fell one point shy of moving on to the next round. Morrow drew<\/div>\n
a tough first round against eventual silver medalist from Chinese Taipei. She gave an extremely strong<\/div>\n
effort, staying aggressive and throwing some hard cuts, but also fell short and did not advance to the<\/div>\n
next round.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Westbrook had an uphill battle but lost to eventual silver medalist from Korea. The round was evenly<\/div>\n
matched, with Korea slightly ahead near the close of the third round. Westbrook tied the match in the<\/div>\n
final second, pushing the fight into overtime. After some exciting exchanges, Korea scored first. Despite<\/div>\n
his loss, Westbrook’s reflection of his match is positive, “I gained a lot of confidence. Not only did I fight<\/div>\n
on a world level, but I fought against a finalist from Korea.”<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Nguyen emerged victorious in his first match against Japan. He took an early lead with a beautiful axe<\/div>\n
kick and finished the round with a final result of 9-5. Next, Nguyen had an amazing comeback against<\/div>\n
Thailand in the quarterfinals. Near the end of the second round, he was down 0-5. Within the last 30<\/div>\n
seconds, Nguyen threw an impressive jump spinning hook to bring the score to 4-5. Nguyen increased<\/div>\n
his lead with a solid back kick and eventually won the match with a final score of 10-8. He advanced<\/div>\n
to the semifinals against Indonesia, ensuring the US our first medal of the tournament. Even though<\/div>\n
Nguyen fought aggressively, Indonesia proved to be a formidable opponent, and he finished the evening<\/div>\n
with a bronze medal. “It’s an honor to have been a part of this experience“ said Nguyen. “Having the<\/div>\n
opportunity to wear the stars and stripes at medal ceremonies made the sacrifice, hard work, and<\/div>\n
dedication all worth it.”<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Day 4<\/strong><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Team USA had another exciting day with matches from welterweights Phillip Yun (University of the<\/div>\n
Pacific) and Alex Cinque (Fordham University) and flyweights Haley Kong (Stanford University) and Tyler<\/div>\n
Sawyer (Santa Clara University).<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Cinque drew Australia first round. Despite taking an early lead, Australia fought back to tie up the score.<\/div>\n
It was a riveting match with many exchanges, but Australia scored in the final seconds of the match,<\/div>\n
preventing Cinque from advancing.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Kong drew eventual bronze medalist from Korea first round. She managed the match with great<\/div>\n
composure the entire way through. No points were scored until the final round when Korea landed a<\/div>\n
headshot in the last 30 seconds. Kong gave a strong effort but was unable to catch back up.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Sawyer drew a tough first round against a Chinese Taipei competitor who will be fighting at the<\/div>\n
upcoming Olympic Games. Sawyer took an early lead, but Taipei evened the score in the second round.<\/div>\n
The match stayed close with Sawyer showing great defense and nearly pulled away victorious but fell<\/div>\n
short with a final score of 5-7.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Yun started the day off against Spain, controlling the match the entire way through. He scored<\/div>\n
with various techniques, including a couple strong punches which have barely been scored at this<\/div>\n
competition. He won 12-2 to advance to the quarterfinals against Turkey. Yun gave a valiant effort<\/div>\n
against Turkey keeping the score close, but fell slightly short of advancing to the next round.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Day 5<\/strong><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Team USA had another great day with exhilarating matches from lightweights Nicole Palma (University<\/div>\n
of Miami, Lake Worth, FL) and Thomas Rahimi (North Lake Community College) and heavyweights<\/div>\n
Danielle Harrison (Johnson and Wales University) and Stephen Lambdin (Oklahoma City Community<\/div>\n
College).<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Palma drew Korea in the first round. She had some great shots and gave her best, but Korea’s aggressive<\/div>\n
tactics and strong defense prevented Palma from advancing to the next round.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Harrison drew Brazil in the first round. She had some amazing moments including a powerful cover<\/div>\n
punch that wowed the crowd. Despite her determination, Brazil won the round.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Rahimi drew former World Champion from Iran in the first round. He started off strong with a quick cut<\/div>\n
kick in the first few seconds of the match. Down a couple points in the third round, Rahimi came back<\/div>\n
to push the match into overtime. In sudden death, Rahimi threw a strong cover punch which forced the<\/div>\n
judges to convene, but it was not awarded. Rahimi sparred hard but eventually, Iran scored.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Lambdin started the day off against China, whom he fell to last year at the Universiade in Shenzhen,<\/div>\n
China. The match stayed close and eventually went into overtime. Lambdin scored within the first five<\/div>\n
seconds of sudden death, advancing him to the quarterfinal rounds against Russia. Russia had an early<\/div>\n
lead with a headshot but Lambdin kept his composure looking for the right opportunity. “Even though<\/div>\n
I was down early, if I stuck to our gameplay, I would be fine. I just needed to stay calm and wait for my<\/div>\n
shots,” said Lambdin. Towards the end of the third round, Lamdbin tied the score with a fierce axe kick,<\/div>\n
once again, pushing the match into overtime. There were some nail-biting exchanges, but Lambdin<\/div>\n
pulled through with a solid body shot to advance him to the semi-finals against eventual gold medalist<\/div>\n
Iran. Similarly to Russia, Iran started off strong and took an early lead with a headshot. Despite another<\/div>\n
beautiful axe kick Lambdin scored towards the end of the third, Iran came away victorious with a final<\/div>\n
score of 4-3. Reflecting on his matches, Lambdin noted, “I need to take more chances. Most of the<\/div>\n
heavyweights couldn’t match my speed. I need to spend less time in my own head and just go for it.”<\/div>\n
Lambdin earned a bronze medal and is the second person to medal on the US Team.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Day 6<\/strong><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
The final day of sparring competition was another exciting day with matches from bantamweight Aziza<\/div>\n
Chambers (Wright State University) and middleweight Kellie Fairbanks (Hillsdale Community College).<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Chambers drew Korea and eventual gold medalist in the first match. She maintained an early lead in the<\/div>\n
first round. She continued to fight aggressively, throwing some amazing headshots but unfortunately did<\/div>\n
not land. Despite a strong effort by Chambers, Korea moved onto the next round.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
Fairbanks drew Germany in the first round. She kept the score close but in the very beginning of the<\/div>\n
third round, tragedy struck as Fairbanks completed tore her ACL as she landed an axe kick. Despite the<\/div>\n
immense amount of pain, she continued to fight until Coach Brian Singer pulled her from the match to<\/div>\n
protect her knee. She was rushed to the hospital immediately after. Fairbanks is in great spirits despite<\/div>\n
the injury. She cannot wait to return to practice and get back into competition.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
This concludes Team USA’s trip to the 12th World University Taekwondo Championships. Team USA<\/div>\n
brings back two bronzes, new experiences, and a plethora of knowledge to bring forward into the<\/div>\n
future.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Day 3   Team USA opened up in spectacular fashion on the first day of sparring competition with thrilling fights from finweights Kelsey Kitagawa (University of Hawai’i-Manoa) and Johnny Nguyen (Mesa Community College) and featherweights Stepfon Westbrook (California State University of Northride) and Emilia Morrow (Miami Dade College).   Both Kitagawa and Morrow fought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-team","count-0","even alt","author-webmaster","last"],"yoast_head":"\n2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary - NCTA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary - NCTA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Day 3   Team USA opened up in spectacular fashion on the first day of sparring competition with thrilling fights from finweights Kelsey Kitagawa (University of Hawai’i-Manoa) and Johnny Nguyen (Mesa Community College) and featherweights Stepfon Westbrook (California State University of Northride) and Emilia Morrow (Miami Dade College).   Both Kitagawa and Morrow fought […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NCTA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-04T18:17:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Webmaster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Webmaster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Webmaster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6a428c9e0b0d8cb8dd9e27f6995d7a21\"},\"headline\":\"2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-06-04T18:17:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\"},\"wordCount\":1277,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Team\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncta-usa.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/04\/2012-world-university-taekwondo-championships-sparring-summary\/\",\"name\":\"2012 World University Taekwondo Championships Sparring Summary - 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