PRESS RELEASE

JMJC Athletes Shine at US Sr. Nationals
San Diego, CA - Athletes from the Glenville, NY based Jason Morris Judo Club (JMJC) had an outstanding weekend at the US Sr. Nationals sending eight out of eleven athletes into the medal rounds which was held in the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego, April 30-May 1. The JMJC claimed 6 total medal which was the best for the private clubs. The only team to do better was the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, CO who won 11 medals. The JMJC tied for the most Gold medals (2) with the OTC, East Bay Judo Institute and Cohen's Judo who also had 2 champions. Carrie Chandler (22) from Pittsfield, MA led the way capturing her second 57kg National title in Dominate fashion. This marked the fourth year in a row that Chandler has made the final winning the title in 2001. She won all her matches by ippon including dismantling #3 Katherine Ensler in the final. Chandler locked up the #2 seed at the US Olympic Trials on June 5, 2004 in San Jose, CA. Jen Conte (25) decided to compete at +78kg instead of 78kg since it was almost mathematically impossible for her to get into the trials there. Conte breezed to a 3-0 record to capture her second National crown. Her first title came in 1996. Conte remains the #1 player in +78kg but that weight class did not qualify for the Olympics due to poor performances in the Pan Am union events. Conte will now turn her focus to helping her teammates prepare for the trials and making the US World team next year which will compete in Cairo, Egypt. Gina Franzese (23) from Spokane, WA put together her best performance since joining the JMJC making the final of 52kg putting up a mark of 4-1. She won all her preliminary bouts by ippon with various techniques. In the final, Gina met four time National Champ in 48kg, Sayaka Matsumoto who moved up to 52kg since she didn't qualify 48kg for the Olympics. Matsumoto took the early lead and looked to be on her way to an easy victory, but Franzese battled back and made it one of the most exciting finals of the tournament. Franzese came extremely close to throwing Matsumoto on several occasions but just couldn't overcome the early deficit. This was Gina's first ever medal at the Nationals. She is now #6 at 52kg and could possibly be invited to the trials if Matsumoto who is #5 doesn't accept which is likely since that is what she has been rumored to be thinking. Nate Torra (21) of Clarksburg, MA went 4-1 at 66kg to nail down a Silver medal. Torra lost a thrilling final in overtime to Taylor Takata. Torra controlled most of the fight and wasn't fairly penalized for stalling which sent it into overtime. Nate then dominated the first couple of exchanges in the extra period but was countered for yuko in what appeared to be a throw way out of bounds, but the officials met at the center of the mat and ruled it in bounds giving Takata the victory. This is Torra's third medal at the nationals with winning a gold at 60kg in 2001 and a bronze at 66kg last year. Torra will be the #3 seed at the trials while Takata sneaks in at #5. Katie Mocco (20) of North Bergen, NJ earned a spot in the trials at 70kg due to her bronze medal performance here going 3-1 including a must win in the bronze medal bout. That match allowed Mocco to slide into the #5 spot and qualify for the trials. Mocco's only other medal at Nationals was a bronze in 2002 in 78kg. Jeremy Liggett (15) of West Glenville, NY went 3-1 in his first Nationals at 55kg which he is ranked #1 to win a bronze. Liggett's loss in the semis was to fellow youngster Aaron Kunihiro (15) who should have been penalized for stalling on numerous occasions but wasn't and was able to cling to a yuko to koka lead for the win in a horribly officiated match. Regardless of the officiating, Liggett made technical and tactical gains as that is the ultimate goal. AJ Silverman (16) of Palm City, FL turned in a fantastic performance posting a 3-2 record for a fifth place finish. Silverman was 25 seconds from taking a bronze at his first Sr. Nationals when he held a yuko lead in his bronze medal bout against Grant Nakashima (19). Nakashima came in osoto and as AJ attempted to counter, but got tripped up and couldn't clear himself resulting in an ippon throw for Nakashima. Although he was disappointed from that mistake he took a monster step forward in his development and gained valuable experience for the future. Liz Burns (19) from Lake Havasu, AZ moved up from her normal weight class 52kg to 57kg since she couldn't improve her #2 seed in the trials and her plans to move up after the Olympics. Burns easily beat some of the top 57kg players including a convincing win over #4 Christal Ransom. Burn's only real loss was to 1992 Olympian, Valerie Gotay (30) in the bronze medal bout. Burns let JMJC teammate Chandler beat her in the second round so Carrie could face Gotay in the final, but she was upset by Katherine Ensler so Burns ended up going up against Gotay. Chandler will face Gotay in the first round of the Olympic Trials. Burns' fifth place finish here puts her at the #8 spot in the rankings which will be a good base as she moves into this weight class. Dave Champan (17) of Plainville, CT turned a great performance in his National debut at 90kg and was 1 second away from a quarterfinal berth. Chapman won his first two matches and was leading in the third round by a yuko and koka but gave up a yuko with 7 seconds left then got thrown again as time expired and was eliminated. Conditioning and inexperience played a huge part in that last 20 seconds. Leah Fisher (21) went 1-2 at 63kg and did not place but fought extremely well. Her losses where to #2 ranked 1992 Olympian Grace Jividen and  #8 Valerie Greenslade. Fisher almost pulled off an upset of Greenslade but couldn't quite get it done but went the full five minutes threatening to score big the entire match. Talyor Middindorf (22) was 0-2 at 63kg to close out the competitors of the JMJC in San Diego. Middendorf gained some needed and experience and looks to be a factor in the near future.
        Next up for the JMJC: The JMJC will be hosting the third annual Morris Cup Judo tournament on Saturday, May 8, 2004. The Morris Cup has grown into one of the Northeast's biggest Judo events and attracts athletes from over 10 states and Canada. You can catch all the JMJC athletes in action at the Morris Cup which will be held at the Burnt Hills High School. Competition will begin at 11am.