Laura (20 years old – Chelmsford Resident and Junior at University of Delaware) grew up in the karate program at One Stop Fun at the age of 9. Laura teaches karate in the summer for her sensei and coach Eric Rossini.
Laura is not able to train much during the school year in Delaware, but comes home for the summer and does a crash course of training to prepare. Laura was able to secure a bronze medal in the women’s advanced (black belt) division for the second year in a row.
“She had a couple of really bad calls in the second round that eliminated her from the finals, and probably should have won the match against a touted woman from Cuba. However, she fought incredible well and had to come from behind in her last two matches” – Eric Rossini.
Laura beat her opponent for the bronze, or so she thought and then found out the head table made an error. She had to compete again against a different woman and beat her too. “The first match was really dramatic. She was losing 6-1, but came back with some big kicks to win 8-7 with not much time left. We all erupted into joy. Then, we got the news… and without hesitation we got back to work and beat the other woman”.
Laura also coaches for the national team and does a sensational job with the younger kids.