Ohashi traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to participate in a best-of-three fight-off, but her opponent, Edeliene Bienaine (HAI), failed to make weight Friday morning, eliminating the need for a fight-off.

Following the Pan American Championships in Montreal on May 24-25, Team USA qualified 13 of 14 weight divisions (all but 52kg) for the Pan American Games, July 19-22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Each weight division at the Pan Am Games was allotted between eight and nine entries through a qualification system that included results from the 2007 Pan Am Championships and the 2006 Pan Ams in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the conclusion of the 2007 Pan Ams, there were ties between nations for qualifying slots in 10 of the divisions, so those countries were given the opportunity to participate in a fight-off in Santo Domingo.

Although Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) won the 52kg Pan American Games and World Team Trials fight-off for the U.S. team slot in April against 2005 Pan American Champion Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) in April, Durand withdrew from both the fight-off against Haiti and the Pan American Games on Monday. Chandler is recovering from shoulder surgery and also will not be able to compete in the Games. As the third-ranked player in the division, Ohashi was selected to participate in the fight-off against Haiti and will be nominated to the Pan American Games team in the 52kg division.

For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 719.866.4732 or Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us.