MIT Sport Taekwondo ends the fall season on a high note
The Engineers kick their way to second place in the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference
Courtesy of MIT Taekwondo Team
MIT Sport Taekwondo team wrapped up a fantastic fall season in 2019-20 as part of the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC). The season kicked off with a home tournament, followed by tournaments at Cornell and Brown.
MIT Taekwondo Tournament Oct.19, 2019
At the sixth MIT Sport Taekwondo Tournament held at the Johnson Athletic Track in the Zesiger Center on Oct. 19, 25 schools and over 400 competitors participated in Poomsae (forms) and Sparring. MIT fielded a record 51 members.
Poomsae:
In forms (poomsae), which involves demonstration of choreographed techniques of attack and defense moves in taekwondo, MIT asserted its dominance, medaling in nearly all divisions. With a total of 173 points in poomsae, MIT charged ahead, leaving Cornell and West Point trailing behind with scores of 92 and 33 points, respectively. MIT was awarded the following poomsae medals:
Women
Black Belt: Karyn Real ’23 GOLD (1st), Elizabeth Zou ’22 BRONZE (3rd)
Red Belt: Iris Hwang ’20 BRONZE (3rd)
Green Belt: Laney Flanagan ’22 GOLD (1st), Jiaxing Liu ’21 BRONZE (3rd)
White/Yellow Belt: Erinn Fagan ’22 GOLD (1st), Alexandra Vernich ’23 SILVER (2nd), Svetlana Makarova G TOP 10 (9th)
Men
Black Belt: Kevin Jiang ’22 SILVER (2nd)
Red Belt: Andy Lambert ’21 BRONZE (3rd), Peter Tran ’20 BRONZE (4th)
Blue Belt: Moctar Fall ’22 BRONZE (3rd)
Green Belt: Osmany Corteguera G SILVER (2nd)
White/Yellow Belt: Tenzin Jampa ’23 TOP 10 (5th)
Participating teams sparred in three divisions, with competitors sorted by their belt level. The MIT teams fought several memorable matches and registered personal records.
In Division A (Advanced), MIT’s Women faced West Point in the opening round. MIT’s Zeng, fighting her first career Division A match, dominated her opponent 14-4. In the quarterfinals Zou’s valiant comeback to the ring from a concussion was memorable despite her loss to Stonybrook. Zeng however crushed her opponent 19-2 to power the team to the semis. MIT Women met their match against Cornell who eventually took the gold.
MIT Women in Division B (Intermediate) had to spar in categories above their weight level. Flanagan dominated her match against Cornell and handily won 22-0. Brode-Roger sparred Cornell in the middleweight category. Despite an initial lead of 12-9, the match tied and Brode-Roger lost 0-3 in overtime. Although injured, MIT’s Price braved the heavyweight category and handily won her bout showcasing the depth of the team. In the semis, with Price injured, it was up to Flanagan to fight in the middle weight category. She fought a close match against UT Austin and eventually went down 0-2 in overtime.
For the MIT men, in Division B, notable bouts included Lambert’s head shots against Northeastern, which Lambert won 21-0. Peter Tran won his match 14-5. Fall displayed some great sparring against his heavyweight opponent scoring 17-2. In the quarterfinals, Lambert scored 4-0 against Penn State. An injured Tran valiantly fought but eventually went down 16-19. Fall, eager to avenge Tran, overwhelmed his opponent 32-14. Thirsting for more, the team moved forward to the semis to face Cornell. While Lambert won his match 1-0, Fall and Tran ended their blazing run with scores of 13-20 and 6-16, respectively.
Meanwhile in Division C (Beginner), MIT sent six Women’s teams and five Men’s teams. The team comprising Liow, Li, and He, made it to Quarterfinals.
MIT was awarded the following sparring medals:
Women
Division A: Elizabeth Zou ’22, Joy Zeng G, and Renee Silva ’21 BRONZE
Division B: Laney Flanagan ’22, Olivia Brode-Roger G, and Lena Price ’21 BRONZE
Division C: Priscilla Liow ’20, Walin Li ’22 and Michelle He ’22 Quarters
Men
Division B: Andy Lambert ’21, Peter Tran ’20, and Moctar Fall ’22 BRONZE
In the final tally, MIT finished third at the MIT tournament with 261 points. Cornell came first with 528 points and West Point came second with 329 points.
Cornell Tournament
Cornell hosted the second ECTC tournament on Nov. 3, 2019. Despite an eventful trip to Ithaca, NY with a bus breakdown and consequent delays, the team had a memorable day.
MIT scored 102 points in Poomsae with following medals:
Black Belt Team
Kevin Jiang ’22 and Elizabeth Zou ’22 BRONZE
Women
Green Belt: Laney Flanagan ’22 GOLD (1st)
White/Yellow Belt: Alexandra Vernich ’23 TOP 10 (8th)
Men
Red Belt: Peter Tran ’20 SILVER (2nd)
Blue Belt: Moctar Fall ’22 GOLD (1st)
Green Belt: Osmany Corteguera G GOLD (1st), Corey Ferrier ’21 SILVER (2nd), Liam Herndon ’21 BRONZE (4th)
In sparring, MIT scored 212 points. The medals included:
Women
Division A: Elizabeth Zou ’22 and Renee Silva ’21 QUARTERS
Division B: Laney Flanagan ’22 and Olivia Brode-Roger G GOLD
Division C: Priscilla Liow ’20, Svetlana Makarova G, and Anastasiia Uvarova ’21 BRONZE; Suzie Byun ’21, Jimin Lee ’23, and Alexandra Vernich ’23 QUARTERS
Men
Division B: Peter Tran ’20 and Moctar Fall ’22 QUARTERS
Division C: Osmany Corteguera G, Tenzin Jampa ’23, and Liam Herndon ’21 GOLD
MIT finished third overall with 314 points, behind Cornell’s 565 and West Point’s 391.
Brown Tournament
The last ECTC fall tournament for 2019–20 was hosted by Brown on Nov. 24, 2019. It was a great day for MIT teams with an overall score of 344 points and a second place finish at the tournament behind Cornell’s 548 points.
In Poomsae, MIT scored 204 pts with several notable medals:
Black Belt Team
Kevin Jiang ’22, Karyn Real ’23, and Elizabeth Zou ’22 GOLD
Women
Red Belt: Joy Zeng G GOLD (1st), Iris Hwang ’20 BRONZE (3rd)
Blue Belt: Laney Flanagan ’22 GOLD (1st)
Green Belt: Carolyn Mei ’22 BRONZE (3rd), Suzie Byun ’21 BRONZE (4th)
White/Yellow Belt: Susan Su ’22 TOP 10, Alexandra Vernich ’23 TOP 10
Men
Red Belt: Andy Lambert ’21 BRONZE (3rd)
Green Belt: Daniel Dangond ’20 BRONZE (3rd)
White/Yellow Belt: Tenzin Jampa G TOP 10 (5th)
In Sparring, MIT scored 140 points. Awards included:
Women
Division A: Elizabeth Zou ’22, Joy Zeng G, and Renee Silva ’21 QUARTERS
Division B: Laney Flanagan ’22, Olivia Brode Roger G, Michelle He ’22, Silvia Knappe ’21 SILVER; Priscilla Liow ’20, Wanlin Li ’22, and Vivian Hou ’22 QUARTERS
Division C: Suzie Byun ’21, Svetlana Makarova G, Erinn Fagan ’22 GOLD
With the outstanding performance at Brown, MIT’s has now catapulted to second place in the league with an overall score of 919 points after trailing behind West Point (current overall score: 870) since the start of the season. Cornell leads the pack with 1641 points.
MIT has been powering through the season with fierce determination, team camaraderie, and significant personal improvements. Despite setbacks due to injuries and illnesses, it has been a great Fall semester. Practice for the Spring season has begun in full earnest and all eyes will be on the team at Princeton and UVM for the remaining ECTC tournaments of the year.