March 2025 NAC Recap, Day 2: Double Gold, Comeback Stories, and an Olympic Dream in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio — With two events on his agenda for Cleveland, the best result Alex Huang (Lilov Fencing Academy) could’ve hoped for was returning to New Jersey with two medals.

And on Saturday, the second day of the March 2025 North American Cup, he did exactly that — earning not just a second medal but a second gold. After winning gold in Cadet Men’s Saber on Friday, Alex doubled up with gold in Y-14 Men’s Saber on Saturday.

“After winning last night, I was like, oh, tomorrow — no expectations on myself,” he says. “I’m just going to fence for fun. And I think that just eased off all the pressure and allowed me to fence freely.”

With just 12 hours between his win on Friday night and the start of pools on Saturday morning, Alex says he focused on rest and getting his mind right for the next day. With his tournament over, he’ll now set his sights on channeling these positive results into future competitions.

“Winning these two bouts brings back my confidence,” he says. “I hope I can make more results just like this in the future.”

The story was a bit different for Simon Shan (Dynamo Fencing), who saw a fifth-place finish the previous day in Cadet Men’s Epee as a disappointment. Rather than wallow in that defeat, he used it as fuel in the Y-14 Men’s Epee competition.

“I went home, got some rest, and I took the results as motivation to fence better today,” he says. “I had it in mind that this is my last competition as a youth fencer, so I was really trying to win today.”

That’s just how fencing goes sometimes — you’ll win and you’ll lose, but the important part is to continue moving forward.

“Fencing is an up-and-down sport,” he says. “Sometimes you fence great, sometimes you don’t fence well, but you’ve just gotta keep going. I fence badly often, but it’s important that you work harder at practice and at the next competition, to just keep going.”

Emma Yang (Star Fencing Academy) also fenced on back-to-back days, earning a bronze on Friday in Cadet Women’s Foil before winning gold in the Y-14 edition of the event.

“My hand’s been cramping the whole day,” she says. “I got less than five hours of sleep last night and just had to be mentally strong.”

In Y-12 Women’s Saber, Evelyn Jiang (LA Fencing Academy of Pomona) demonstrated her own mental toughness — though she admits a few well-timed cheers from teammates never hurt.

“It helps me when I’m winning,” she says. “And then when I’m losing, it also motivates me to win.”

So what’s next for Evelyn after her NAC gold in Cleveland? She’s thinking ahead.

“I want to win the Olympics,” she says.