Spring Break
SJSU judo club to host U.S. Open Championships
Amber Simons
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Sports
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"This weekend I'm looking forward to getting my first gold medal at the U.S. Open," said Malloy, a senior advertising major who has been practicing judo for 17 years. "I took two bronzes and two silvers. I've never won it, so this year I'm going to win it - on our home turf."
Sixteen SJSU students will be competing in the 2009 Senior U.S. Open Championships that will be held tomorrow and Saturday at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
Thirty years after the first U.S. Open, San Jose will once again welcome athletes from at least 20 nations to compete in one of the premier international events in North America, according to the USA Judo Web site.
Malloy will be fighting in the 57kg weight class.
"Me and Jeff (Fong) recently competed in the world championships, and the training for that was really intense," Malloy said. "We're still in shape from the prior training, and then we just basically maintain that training all the way through. I didn't have to start from scratch like you usually do."
Jeff Fong, a senior political science major, said he's looking forward to the championships, and he is fighting in the 66kg weight class.
"I medaled last year, and that was the first time I medaled at this tournament, so just to do at least as good or better," said Fong, who has been practicing judo for nine years.
In preparation for the Senior U.S. Open, the members of the SJSU judo club have been working tirelessly, assistant coach Jose Bencosme said.
"We practice six days a week, always, in this combination of actual judo practice and running and weight lifting," Fong said.
Bencosme, who is also fighting in the tournament, said the key for the SJSU judo club is being in shape and staying mentally strong.
"We've been doing a lot of drills, pushing them real hard, just making sure that each player has an individual strategy and we really tried to focus on that, " said Bencosme, who has been practicing judo for 20 years.
Allison Clifford, who will be fighting in the 78kg weight class on Friday, said she has been training in judo for six years and is looking forward to competing at the highest level.
"This is the biggest tournament in the United States, so I'm really looking forward to getting a couple good fights in on Friday," she said.
Clifford, a senior occupational therapy major, said she credits Bencosme for his training regiment.
"Jose is the running king, so we've been running almost every day, six days a week," Clifford said. "We've been doing circuit training for weights and as far as judo, we are doing a lot of drills like transitions, like standing to grounds, and very intense fighting."
Clifford said the U.S. Open is one of the biggest events of the year because it includes international fighters.
The open events will include senior elite (such as SJSU students), masters (ages 30 and older), kata (forms/techniques) divisions, and for the first time, a visually impaired division, according to the USA Judo Web site.
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