Waka Mu Sha Shiai
Atlanta, GA
February 14, 2009
On February 14, a total of 9 people traveled to Atlanta Georgia to represent the UTMA Club at the 18th Annual Waka Mu Sha Judo Shiai. The players and coaches would like to thank Amanda Rieger for recording video during the tournament. Mike Takata, Matt Coleman, Jason Rieger, and Amy Haurilak-Stuck volunteered their time refereeing matches. Matt, Jason, Amy, Evan Williams, Hatem ElDakhakhni, Charlie Compton, and Chris Graves all competed in the tournament.
The Waka Mu Sha Shiai is traditionally on of the toughest local tournaments. Charlie and Chris both played well their divisions. Both competitors have only played in a handful of tournaments and were unable to advance. Hatem played in a best two out of three with the only person in his division and won both matches to finish first. Evan Williams played in a tough bracket and was ultimately eliminated from the tournament by Matt. Amy won two straight in her bracket to earn first place in the tournament. Jason was thrown for Ippon in his first match, but met the same opponant again to compete for advancement to the silver medal round. Jason won the second match and was defeated in the silver medal match. Matt Coleman played with Evan in one of the toughest divisions in the tournament but played well and finished in third.