November 2025 NAC, Day 3 Recap: Comebacks, Close Calls and Calm Under Pressure in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas — Down 4–0 in the Round of 32 to Bryce Louie — his Team USA teammate and close friend — Chase Emmer (Massialas Foundation (M Team) & University of Notre Dame) could’ve accepted the early deficit as the end of the road. Instead, he chose a different mindset.

“So it's always tough to block out the friend aspect and go into the warrior mindset — the one-on-one fencing mindset,” Emmer says. “But I fought my way back, and then got to lead, and then secured the lead. And so that was a great bout that propelled me into beating some other really good fencers that maybe I haven't really beaten in a while.”

That swing of momentum didn’t stop there. Emmer went on to defeat Roy Graham, Nick Itkin OLY and Marcello Olivares before topping Yechan Seo of Korea in the final — earning his first Division I Men’s Foil gold since October 2024.

“I’ve had a couple of poor results recently, so it's been really nice to put together a full day of good fencing, because I had a really, really tough bracket,” he says. “I fenced a lot of really good people, and I'm happy to come out with a win here.”

Emmer’s victory was one of six gold medals awarded Sunday — Day 3 of the November 2025 North American Cup in Fort Worth.

Collin Chon (Globus Fencing Academy) added another comeback to the day’s highlight reel, rallying from a 14–12 deficit in the quarterfinals on his way to Cadet Men’s Saber gold. For the hometown fencer, it was a win filled with emotion, exhaustion and gratitude.

“It feels great, especially being in Dallas,” he says. “It feels good to be on home soil and taking home the gold. So I'm happy for that.”

Chon says he leaned heavily on support from his coaches and teammates throughout the day — especially during the final, where fatigue began to creep in.

“The final — like during the half, I was exhausted. I couldn't breathe,” he says. “But my coaches and everybody who's cheering for me, they really helped me get through the bout.”

And when the pressure peaked in those tight moments?

“Because I have trouble with rushing, my coach told me to go back to the fundamentals — start basic,” he says. “I think starting off very small is what helps me build up to it.”

The women’s foil strip delivered its own drama, courtesy of newly crowned Y-14 Women’s Foil champion Ella Zou (Team Touche Fencing Center). Her final came down to a tense 13–13 moment — but she found a way through.

“It was really scary because the score was 13–13,” she says. “I tried to waste the time, but that was not working, so I counter-attacked.”

Zou relied on clear tactical cues between bouts — and a little bit of patience during a long day. And that helped her reach new heights.

“​​I've always been getting third place, but today I got higher than third place,” Zou says. “I’m proud.”

Whether rallying from deficits, navigating tense 13–13 moments or harnessing home-crowd support, Sunday’s champions showed that staying calm and making good decisions under pressure can turn any bout around.