Gustavo won the Black Belt/Feather/Master

From: www.novauniao.com

The 2010 Vegas International Open and the U.S. No-Gi Nationals took place in Las Vegas on August 14th. Team Nova Uniao had an awesome performance taking 2nd place at the Vegas Open (Gi), and 3rd place at the U.S No-Gi Nationals. Thanks IBJJF for promoting another great event, and special thanks to Nova Uniao instructors Gustavo Dantas, Steve Rosenberg, Paul Nava, Pedro Diaz, John Lewis, Chris Lopez, Bob Merriman, and Bruno Bastos.

Here are the standouts of our Team:

Las Vegas International Open

Team GD Jiu-Jitsu:

Steve Rosenberg in 2nd place

Nova Uniao Arizona’s leader, Gustavo Dantas, contributed 9 points to the Team by winning his division in the Black Belt/Master/Feather. Kids Program instructor, Steve Rosenberg, placed 2nd in the Black Belt/Adult/Light, with the Adult division always offering the toughest competitors. After testing his new Purple Belt by becoming the 2010 AZ BJJ State Champion, Issa Able was able to continue his winning streak by claiming victory in the Purple Belt/Adult/Light. Issa took 3rd place in the Open Class.

Issa Able took 1st in the Purple/Light

Nava BJJ:

Nava BJJ Well represented!

Gustavo’s Brown Belt, Paul Nava, was able to represent his team alongside 4 of his students. The 5 competitors were able to bring home 4 Golds and 1 Bronze. Aaron Wilson was the standout of the Team, winning all 3 of his matches to become the White Belt/Adult/ Light Division Champion.

Tigers Lair AZ:

Pedro Diaz, Gustavo’s Purple Belt, competed with one of his students, Jason Estep, and were able to take 3 Silver Medals back to AZ. Although competing for the first time, Jason performed well to place 2nd in the White Belt/Master/Middle.

J-Sect Jiu-Jitsu:

Christopher, GD and Christian Broadnax

Newly promoted Purple Belt, Christian Broadnax had an outstanding first time performance in his new belt by placing 2nd in the Purple Belt/Adult/Middle.

ISMA:

Represented by only 3 competitors, the Chris Lopez Blue Belts won 5 medals. 2 of those medals came from Dan Krpata who won the Blue Belt/Senior 1/Medium Heavy and placed 2nd in the Open.

East West MMA:

A student of Gustavo Dantas and Bob Merriman, Kelly Fiori fought hard to place 2nd in the White Belt/Senior 1/Heavy.

Bruno Bastos Jiu-Jitsu:

Traveling from Texas, Bruno Bastos Blue Belt, Nicolas Nuila, represented his team and his instructor very well by becoming the Blue Belt/Adult/Middle Division Champion.

US No-Gi Nationals

3rd @ U.S Nationals & 2nd @ Vegas Open

Team Nova Uniao was only represented by 8 competitors, but was still able to claim 4 Golds, 2 Silvers, and 2 Bronze to repeat their 2009 performance and placing 3rd overall in the Team Division. The standouts of the team include father and son duo, Steve and Ryan Heilman, Christian Broadnax, and Kristina Barlaan who all won their respective divisions.

Check out the Full Results:

Black Belt

Gustavo Dantas – 1st place (Master/Feather/Gi)
Steve Rosenberg – 2nd place (Adult/Light/Gi) & 3rd (Adult/Light/No-Gi)

Brown Belt

Paul Nava – 1st place (Senior 1/Brown/Gi) & 3rd place (Senior 1/Open/Gi)

Purple Belt

Issa Able - 1st place (Adult/Light/Gi) & 3rd place  (Open/Gi)
Christian Broadnax – 2nd place (Adult/Middle/Gi) & 1st place (Adult/Middle/No-Gi)
Ryan Heilman - 1st place (Adult/Light/No-Gi)
Steve Heilman – 1st place (Master/Light/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Master/Light/Gi)
Pedro Diaz - 2nd place (Senior 3/Medium Heavy/Gi) & 2nd place (Senior 3/Open/Gi)

Blue

Nicolas Nuila – 1st place (Adult/Middle/Gi)
Dan Krpata - 1st place (Senior 1/Medium Heavy/Gi) & 2nd place (Senior 1/Open/Gi)
Kristina Barlaan – 1st place (Female/Feather/No-Gi), 3rd place (Feather/Gi) & 3rd place (Open/Gi)
Alex Centner - 2nd place (Adult/Open/Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Ultra Heavy/Gi)
Arnold Monterroso – 2nd place (Adult/Light Feather/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Light Feather/Gi)
Josh Rodriguez – 2nd place (Adult/Feather/Gi)
Zack Surdyka – 2nd place (Adult/Middle/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Open/No-Gi)
Jonathan Van Buren - 3rd place (Adult/Feather/Gi)

White

Aaron Wilson – 1st place (Adult/Light)
Summer Begay – 1st place (Female/Heavy)
Vincent Ortega - 1st place (Master/Feather)
Michael Leonard - 1st place (Master/Super Heavy)
Jason Estep - 2nd place (Master/Middle)
Kelly Fiori – 2nd place (Senior 1/Heavy)
Kevin Duran – 3rd place (Adult/Light Feather)