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2022 Summer Nationals: Day 8 Recap

07/10/2022, 12:00am CDT
By Bryan Wendell

A long time ago in a fencing club far, far away from Summer Nationals, Sophia Schiminovich’s mom took her Star Wars-loving daughter to her first fencing lesson. That investment paid off Saturday when Schiminovich became the 2022 Y-14 women’s saber national champion.


Sophia I. Schiminovich (Oregon Fencing Alliance) advances toward Minna Krastev (Cardinal Fencing Club) in the finals of Y-14 women's saber. (Photo by Serge Timacheff)

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A long time ago (seven years) in a fencing club far, far away (Oregon), Sophia Schiminovich (Oregon Fencing Alliance) took her first fencing lesson.

Schiminovich’s mom, knowing her daughter was a Star Wars fan, figured she’d love the high-energy sport that requires you to think on your feet and hone your Jedi instincts.

That investment paid off Saturday when Schiminovich became the 2022 Y-14 women’s saber national champion, earning one of six medals on the line during the eighth day of the 2022 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge, or Summer Nationals.

And what is Schiminovich’s advice to other young Star Wars fans with medal hopes?

“Find a club near you and just do it,” she says. “It's fun once you get into it. And you meet a lot of cool people.”

Speaking of cool, in the Y-14 men’s foil competition, Luao Yang (Renaissance Fencing Club) kept his cool all the way to the event’s top prize: a national title. 

The competition started at 8 a.m., but Yang was up at 6 getting himself ready for the day. He arrived at the venue at 7 and soon found his tiredness evaporate.

“Whenever I get to the venue, I feel a lot more energized,” he says. “I did warmups for around an hour, and that helps me prepare.”

After finishing pools 6-0, Yang kept winning all day until he stepped onto the finals strip around 3 p.m. He said it felt a little surreal being up there in front of a large crowd, but he tried to keep focused.

“It’s different. Yeah. But you just focus on the bout,” he says. “You don't look at anything else — only the bout.”

Gold medal in hand, Yang was leaving straight from the awards ceremony to drive home to Michigan. And what’s the first thing he plans to do when he gets there?

“Sleep,” he says. 

Four other national champions were crowned Saturday, including:

  • Y-12 Women’s Epee: Regina Lee (Swords Fencing Studio)
  • Division II Men’s Saber: Zachary Tong (Nellya Fencers)
  • Division II Women’s Foil: Anice Orvananos (Fencers Club Inc.)
  • Division III Men’s Epee: Daniel Chirashnya (Academy of Fencing Masters (AFM))

Day 8 Results

Y-12 Women’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Regina Lee (Swords Fencing Studio)

Silver: Alexandra S. Smuk (Rhode Island Fencing Academy And Club)

Bronze: Anda Wattanakit (Advance Fencing Academy (Salle Stepien))

Bronze: Chloe (Cj) Tolsma (Alliance Fencing Academy)

5th: Natalya Cafasso (Olympia Fencing Center)

6th: Avni Shiv (Alliance Fencing Academy)

7th: Ava Beaver (Rain City Fencing Center / Kaizen Academy LLC)

8th: Jessie Wang (True Focus Sports Academy / Davis Fencing Academy)

 

Y-14 Men’s Foil

Gold and National Champion: Luao Yang (Renaissance Fencing Club)

Silver: Cristiano P. Coelho (Massialas Foundation (M Team))

Bronze: Richard Li (Star Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Eric Li (Star Fencing Academy)

5th: Aditya Jain 

6th: Alexander Wu (Star Fencing Academy)

7th: Conrad Lo (Massialas Foundation (M Team))

8th: Akhil Lewis (Top Fencing Club)

 

Y-14 Women’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Sophia I. Schiminovich (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

Silver: Minna Krastev (Cardinal Fencing Club)

Bronze: Grace Ker (Cardinal Fencing Club / Premier Fencing Academy LLC)

Bronze: Aria F. Bevacqua (Manhattan Fencing Center)

5th: Charmaine G. Andres (Southern California Fencing Academy (SOCALFA))

6th: Olympia C. Christothoulou (Laguna Fencing Center / LA International Fencing)

7th: Gabriela M. Hwang (Phoenix Fencing Academy)

8th: Haojiao Xiong (The Fencing Center)

 

Division II Men’s Saber

Gold and National Champion: Zachary Tong (Nellya Fencers)

Silver: Andrew Deng (Integrity Fencing Studio)

Bronze: Ansh Ghayalod (Durkan Fencing Academy / Avant Garde Fencers Club Inc (CA) (AGFC))

Bronze: Silas Choi (Globus Fencing Academy)

5th: Miles Zhou (Delaware Valley Fencers Club-PA)

6th: Malik Resheidat (IndySabre)

7th: Richard Ren (Globus Fencing Academy)

8th: Vasil V. Atanassov (Oregon Fencing Alliance)

 

Division II Women’s Foil

Gold and National Champion: Anice Orvananos (Fencers Club Inc.)

Silver: Yukari Takamizawa (Golden State Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Aileen Mi (Rochester Fencing Club)

Bronze: Konnie Duan (Elite Fencing Club)

5th: Vera Fung (Bay Area Fencing Club)

6th: Crystal Han (Rain City Fencing Center)

7th: Emily Michaelsen (Pittsburgh Fencers Club)

8th: Annabelle Chow (Gutkovskiy Fencing Academy)

 

Division III Men’s Epee

Gold and National Champion: Daniel Chirashnya (Academy of Fencing Masters (AFM))

Silver: Andrii Uvarov (Gryphon Fencing / San Diego Fencing Center)

Bronze: Joshua Hutto (Olympic Fencers Club)

Bronze: Andrew J. Kim (Rain City Fencing Center)

5th: James E. Burgess (Heartland Fencing Academy)

6th: Braeden Langenderfer (Central Florida)

7th: Prange Patrick Knecht (Grand Rapids Fencing Academy)

8th: Alexander Dao (Battle Born Fencing Club)

 

Find full results at Fencing Time Live.

Tag(s): Updates  2022 Summer Nationals