USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The stage is set; the cast is complete.

With the announcement of the Junior Women’s Epee, Junior Women’s Saber and Junior Men’s Foil squads, we now know the complete list of athletes who will compete at the 2023 Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Last month, we shared nine of the 12 squads heading to Plovdiv for the tournament, which starts April 1. Today, we’re announcing the final three squads. 

The list of 12 athletes being named today includes two Junior World Champions from the 2022 Junior & Cadet Worlds in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Hadley Husisian (Oakton, Va./Fencers Club, Princeton University, Elite Fencing Academy, DC Fencers Club) and Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Portland, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance).

Husisian will attempt to hold on to her world title in Junior Women’s Epee. Her gold was the first for Team USA in the event since 2008 (Kelley Hurley).

Meanwhile, Skarbonkiewicz will try to do the same in Junior Women’s Saber. In 2022, Skarbonkiewicz earned gold medals in both Junior Women’s Saber and Cadet Women's Saber, becoming the first athlete — man or woman — to win golds in both saber events at the same tournament since Rebecca Ward (USA) did so in 2006. Mariel Zagunis (USA) also accomplished this feat in 2001.

The Junior Women’s Epee squad includes three returnees from 2022 as well as one newcomer: Tierna Oxenreider.

• Hadley Husisian (Oakton, Va./Fencers Club, Princeton University, Elite Fencing Academy, DC Fencers Club)

• Ketki Ketkar (Sammamish, Wash./Cornell University, Kaizen Academy LLC)

• Faith Park (Lorton, Va./DC Fencers Club, Harvard University)

• Tierna Oxenreider (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Columbia University)

In Junior Women’s Saber, Skarbonkiewicz and Tatiana Nazlymov return, joined by Zoe Kim, who last appeared on the 2021 Junior Women’s Saber World Team, and newcomer Kaitlyn Pak.

• Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Portland, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance)

• Tatiana Nazlymov (Bethesda, Md./Nazlymov Fencing Foundation)

• Zoe Kim (Basking Ridge, N.J./Harvard University, Nellya Fencers Club)

• Kaitlyn Pak (Jersey City, N.J./Manhattan Fencing Center)

In Junior Men’s Foil, Daniel Zhang makes his third consecutive Junior Men’s Foil World Team, while Brandon Li makes it for the second year in a row. They’re joined by first-time Junior World Team member Samarth Kumbla as well as Andrew Chen, who won a bronze in Cadet Men’s Foil at the 2022 Junior & Cadet Worlds.

• Samarth Kumbla (San Jose, Calif./Silicon Valley Fencing Center)

• Brandon Li (Acton, Mass./Princeton University, Marx Fencing Academy)

• Andrew Chen (Lexington, KY./Bluegrass Fencers' Club)

• Daniel Zhang (Belmont, Mass./Star Fencing Academy)