Citadel judo club victorious in first tournament – now on to the next

By Lisa Capriotti, Ph.D., The Citadel Judo Club coach and School of Science and Mathematics chemistry professor

The Citadel Judo Club travels to its second tournament in April after a successful first-run recently in Jacksonville, North Carolina. This was a great opportunity for our fledgling team to see what it takes to turn practice and skills into wins on the mat. As the team coach, I have the honor of mentoring 25 members who train six days a week, working around the busy academic and military training schedules of a cadet.

Seven cadets competed in individual and team competitions at the 2017 Judo Jones Invitational led by the team captain, Cadet William Winston. Winston led the individual competition in the elite 90 Kilogram Division, defeating James Kreuger who was ranked ninth in the country. Winston’s father Robert, Citadel Class of 1979, a fifth-degree black belt, judo instructor, and referee, watched proudly as The Citadel defeated the Naval Academy team, winning four out five matches. Senior Cadet Strom Altman, junior Cadet Nigel Bostick, and sophomores Cadets Dillon Chow and John-Robert Maddray each won a silver medal in their intermediate weight divisions. Freshman Cadet Will Jacobs took home a bronze from his division.

I joined as coach when several students promised to train harder and longer than the Naval Academy Team, which is coached by my close friend and mentor, Sensei Edwin Takemori, and two others. I train hard, they train hard, and that’s the deal. They are a new team and they have a lot of work to do, but I am very proud of their progress.

Though the current team has almost all new members, The Citadel Judo Club itself has a long history. My sensei, (Japanese for teacher), Ronald Allen Charles,Ph.D., is a 1965 Citadel graduate and notable alumnus. He started judo as a freshman in 1961. Previously, the club was a student organization with no coach on campus, but in order to compete with top collegiate judo programs around the country, like those at the Naval Academy, West Point, Texas A&M, and the University of Tennessee, The Citadel needed a campus coach, so I stepped in.

The Citadel Judo Club hopes to develop a resilient program that will build athletic ability and strong moral character, two of the most important concepts of Olympic judo that directly align with the traditions of The Citadel.

Dr. Lisa Capriotti is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in the F2 -57 kg division. She continues to train at the American Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Summerville under Al Jacobs and at the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek under Dr. Ronald Allan Charles. She is a chemistry professor in The Citadel School of Science and Mathematics.

Media Contact: Kim Keelor-Parker kkeelor@citadel.edu (843) 953-2155

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