American Performance on Day 2 of the Gold Coast Oceania Open

Previously, on the first day of the event, the women outdid the men, winning four out of the six medals (including a silver). But on Day 2 of the event, the men shined, bringing back four medals, including a gold and a silver.  

Men’s -81kg
Johan Silot got a bye in the first round and then defeated Ryan Koenig (AUS) to make it to the semifinal. Meanwhile, Dominic Rodriguez also got a bye in the first round and then defeated Louis Mott (AUS) to also make it to the semifinal. Because Silot and Rodriguez were in Pools C and D respectively, they were drawn against each other in the semifinal, where Rodriguez would prevail. Silot managed to beat Jordan Kouros (GRE) to claim the bronze. Rodriguez lost to Eetu Ihanamaki (FIN) to end up with a creditable silver.

Women’s -70kg
In a very small category, Melissa Myers defeated Ella Kelso (NZL) to enter the semifinal. There, she lost to Liao Yu-Jung (TPE). In bronze medal match, she lost to Rachael Hawkes (GBR) and had to settle for fifth place.

 
Men’s -90kg
In Pool C, Alexander Knauf got a bye for the first round and then beat Robert Vukovich (AUS) to get into the semifinal, where he defeated Danny Vojnikovich (AUS). This thrust him into the final, where he defeated Noah Walliss (NZL) with a magnificent uchimata for ippon to secure the gold for the USA. The other American player Harutyun Mutafyan lost his first match and his repechage match.

Women’s -78kg
The USA had no player in this category.

Men’s -100kg
Tokuzo Takahashi got a bye in his first round and was defeated Chino Sy (PHI). Since this was a small category, he was thrust into the repechage where he lost to Nikola Pavlovski (MKD).

Women’s +78kg
The USA had no player in this category.

Men’s +100kg
In a super tiny category, Philip Horiuchi’s bye in the first round put him into the semifinal. There, he lost to Kayhan Ozcicek-Takagi (AUS). This pushed him to the repechage where he defeated Jack Marston to win the bronze medal.