2013.08.22

MATSUZAWA LEADS NSSU CHARGE IN GRECO AT COLLEGIATE OPEN

TOKYO (August 21-22) – Defending champion Rikiya MATSUZAWA held onto his 60kg crown and led the Nippon Sports Sciences University to four individual titles at the All-Japan collegiate open wrestling championships.

Along with MATSUZAWA’s win, Yasuhiro YONEHIRA upset defending champion Akira OSAKA in the 96kg final, Takaharu NAKAMURA won his second title at 74kg and Hiroki KIMURA won at 55kg for NSSU.

In the other three weight categories, Arata SONODA (Takushoku) won the 120kg title to become the 19th freshman champion in the collegiate open.

Ryo KIKUCHI won at 84kg to become Aoyama Gakuin’s first open winner since 2008 and, at 66kg, Kazuhiro HANAYAMA gave Waseda a greco-roman champion in the open for the fourth straight year.

In addition to the seven greco-roman finals at Komazawa Gymnasium, world team members Eri TOSAKA and Sara DOSHO paced Shigakkan University in the women’s freestyle events.

TOSAKA, wrestling up a weight at 51kg, DOSHO (67kg), Rio WATARI (63kg) and Tamae YOSHII (72kg) gave Shigakkan four titles.

Meanwhile, Yuki IRIE of Kyushu Kyoritsu won her third straight title at 48kg and Chiho HAMADA (NSSU) made it three in a row at 55kg. Nihon University freshman Kanako MURATA grabbed her first collegiate open crown at 59kg.

Greco-roman finals

55kg – Hiroki KIMURA (NSSU) df. Yuma KITAMURA (Senshu) by TF, 8-0=3:56

60kg – Rikiya MATSUZAWA (NSSU) df. Shinobu OTA (NSSU) by TF, 7-0=1:22

66kg – Kazuhiro HANAYAMA (Waseda) df. Naoya NAKAMURA (NSSU), 7-3

74kg – Takaharu NAKAMURA (NSSU) df. Kazuhiro TSUBAKI (Kyushu Kyoritsu), by TF, 7-0=2:06

84kg – Ryo KIKUCHI (Aoyama Gakuin) df. Keisuke OKUDA (Takushoku) by fall, 0:19

96kg – Yasuhiro YONEHIRA (NSSU) df. Akira OSAKA (Wa), 1-0

120kg – Arata SONODA (Taku) df. Tomoyuki OKA (Nihon), 6-3

Women’s freestyle champions

48kg – Yuki IRIE (Kyushu Kyoritsu)

51kg – Eri TOSAKA (Shigakkan)

55kg – Chiho HAMADA (NSSU)