The ISU Karate Club took three third-place team finishes at the 29th National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships last weekend in Bridgeport, Conn.

The tournament began Friday night with form competition and continued Saturday with sparring.

The club’s finishes came from three divisions: championship/black belt, novice/colored belt and overall. In the championship division of black belt, club president Keri Andersen earned first place in forms and second in sparring.

“Forms were scored on a scale of 1 to 10, similar to the scoring of figure skating, and the highest score wins. Sparring is also on a point system — the player with the higher points wins,” said Andersen, senior in microbiology.

Danny Fath, sophomore in community and regional planning, and Ben Brooks, graduate student in animal science, each earned third place in forms and first in sparring.

In the novice/colored belt division, Fred Lucas, senior in computer science, and Jay Clifford, junior in veterinary medicine, were each awarded first place in forms and second in sparring.

This was Andersen’s fourth appearance in the national tournament.

“[I was] extremely pleased with the team’s performance, not only during nationals, but during the three months of training leading up to this point,” she said.

In order to make the trip, the 20 athletes who participated had to consistently attend practices, which were held every weeknight and every other Saturday. The members also had to compete at all the local tournaments.

The club competed against 30-40 universities, including teams from Brown, Johns Hopkins and California-Berkely.

“The team had an excellent attitude going into the trip, even after the 20-hour drive. After training for five to six days a week with each other for the past three months, we became very close,” Andersen said. “All of our players fought extremely well, and I think most of the team came back with a very positive experience.”

Andersen, Brooks and Fath all qualified to compete at the U.S. Collegiate Team Trials. If they win, a trip to the University Games in Istanbul, Turkey, will await them as part of the U.S. Collegiate Team in 2005.

The next nationals will be held in the spring of 2005 at California-Berkeley.

Andersen said this year was the closest the team has ever been to winning, and the team spirit was what allowed the team to compete so well. The team is compiled of a number of young members, and Andersen is excited to see what the karate club can do next spring.

“We had one of the hardest working teams I’ve ever been on,” she said. “The future of the club looks very strong.”