October 18th, 2003

      The Army Judo Team traveled south to the U.S. Naval Academy to compete in the Navy Invitational Judo Tournament, on 18 October 2003, for their second competition of the season.  Bringing 26 competitors, Army gave a strong presence at the regional tournament. Army fielded two lineups for the Team Competition; each team consisted of 5 males and 1 female. Both teams fought very well against some challenging competitors and defeated both Navy lineups. At the close of the day, the Army Team left from the tournament with a strong 17+ individual victories over Navy fighters.

 Team Competition:

      Taking 2^nd in the Team Competition, Army A Team made a great impression amongst the regional Judo players. With 5 male seniors, this tournament marked the beginning of their last season on the Army Team. Their dedication to winning was unmistakable as they faced the Washington Judo Club in the finals. Consisting of mostly 2^nd Degree Black Belts, the Washington Judo Club was the returning champion of the Navy Invitational. The Army Team gave a strong fight, but was unable to defeat the very experienced players from Washington, DC.

 Men’s Black belt Individuals:

The Men’s Team took home a strong share of the medals in the individual competition. Michael Kolton (light weight division), Dave Park (medium weight division), and Chane Jackson (open weight division) took 1^st. Brandon Hathorne, fought to a 2^nd place finish against some very tough opponents. CDT Kolton defeated a sankyu from Navy throwing left-outside uchimata for wazari and also gaining 3 yuko with no scores against him. Jackson’s entered into the open Jiu-jitsu division and defeated two experienced black belts with a submission and a pin.

 Men’s Novice Individuals:

The new members of the Team exceeded expectations. Dominating the individual competition, Nick Blunt, Mike Lee, and Tom Buller all took 2^nd placed. Additionally, Dave Pierce dominated with a first place finish while Michael Cho and Sean O’Connor took a strong 3^rd. The team’s improvement in the lower belts since the September 20^th competition in New Jersey was very noticeable. Strong finishes for the lower belts can be expected throughout the remainder of the season.

Women's Divisions:

With the fierce competition at New Jersey as a frame of reference, the Women trained hard for the Navy Tournament. Tanilla McDaniel fought a total of 8 matches by the end of the grueling day, which included a 2^nd place finish in the Team and 3^rd in the individual competitions. Green belt Shea Nero also faced a very tough a successful day defeating navy twice as well as two brown belts. Jean Scrivner grabbed a first place finish going undefeated. The Women will travel with the rest of the Team to Miami for the Eastern Collegiate Championships where they will face the large Women’s Team of Florida International University. With the experience and success shown already this season, high expectations are held for their performance in Miami.