USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — They’ve trained relentlessly, crisscrossed the globe and taken on some of the country’s — and the planet’s — top fencers. When the dust settled and the points were counted, these select few found themselves on top.

We now know five of the six squads (all but Women’s Foil) who will represent Team USA at a pair of important international competitions later this year: the Pan-American Senior Championships and the FIE Fencing World Championships. 

These athletes will face the best from around the world as they seek to bring home medals and cement their places in the fencing world.

The Women's Foil team selection process is still underway, with two FIE tournaments remaining before the final roster is set. The Plovdiv World Cup in Bulgaria (May 5–7) and the Shanghai Grand Prix in China (May 19–21) will determine the four members of Team USA's Women's Foil squad.

As for the 20 athletes being named today, they’ve shown determination, skill and sportsmanship throughout the qualification period. And their passion for the sport and drive to succeed have been inspiring to watch. 

Our Senior World Team athletes will represent Team USA at the:

• 2023 Pan-American Senior Championships (Zonals): June 14–21 in Lima, Peru

• 2023 FIE Fencing World Championships: July 22–30 in Milan, Italy 

At these tournaments — and other FIE competitions both before and after throughout the qualification cycle — these fencers will fight for spots on the 2024 Paris Olympic team. The experience and results gained at the Pan-American Senior Championships and the FIE Fencing World Championships will be crucial for these athletes as they aim for Olympic glory.

Here’s the team and how they qualified.

All season long, Team USA athletes have traveled the country and the globe to face off against the best athletes in the nation and the world. 

These domestic and international tournaments present an opportunity for fencers to earn qualification points. The higher a fencer places in a tournament, the more points they earn. This process is made more interesting by something called the “strength factor” multiplier. Tournaments with a tougher field of competitors are worth more points. 

For fans, following along is easy. At USA Fencing, we “show our work” when calculating these points, so fans always know where fencers rank.

You can start by consulting the point charts in the Athlete Handbook to know the value of each finishing position. You can also check the Selection Criteria page for even more information. Then visit USA Fencing’s Current Point Standings page. Here, you get a complete look at each fencer’s point totals, updated the Monday after a weekend tournament. For the Senior World Team discussed in this post, find the weapon you want and look for the PDF that includes the words “Sr Team.”

Let’s look at the qualifying path of women’s saber fencer Elizabeth Tartakovsky as an example. Tartakovsky earned a total of 6,857 points — enough to finish ranked first in her weapon. She earned those points as follows:

• Group I: 737 points

  • Sum of the two highest points earned at Division I NAC events, the 2023 Division I National Championship and competitions in Group II not included in the Group II sum.

    • 368.5 points: 20th place, October 2022 NAC

    • 368.5 points: 20th place, January 2023 NAC

• Group II: 6,120 points

  • Sum of the four highest points earned at designated Senior World Cup and Grand Prix competitions and the 2022 Senior World Championships

    • 2,040 points: Bronze medal, Tashkent World Cup

    • 1,656 points: 7th place, Sint-Niklaas World Cup

    • 1,224 points: 14th place, Tunis Grand Prix

    • 1,200 points: 16th place, Orleans Grand Prix

• Sum of Group I and II: 6,857 points

The athletes below are listed in order of their final ranking in the point standings.

Women’s Epee

Kat Holmes OLY: 

• Pools: 4-2 (+9 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 128: Defeated Laura Katalin Wetzker (Germany), 15-10
• Preliminary Round of 64: Lost to Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh (Hong Kong), 7-6

Isis Washington: 

• Pools: 5-0 (+11 indicator)
• Based on pools result (10th best), advanced directly to Tuesday’s table of 64

Kasia Nixon: 

• Pools: 6-0 (+20 indicator)
• Based on pools result (best), advanced directly to Tuesday’s table of 64

Anne Cebula: 

• Pools: 4-1 (+8 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 128: Defeated Daniela Jurado Salazar (Costa Rica), 15-9
• Preliminary Round of 64: Defeated Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk (Poland), 15-8

Men’s Saber

Eli Dershwitz OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Tuesday’s table of 64

Colin Heathcock: 

• Pools: 6-0 (+20 indicator)
• Based on pools result (fourth best), advanced directly to Tuesday’s table of 64

Andrew Doddo:

• Pools: 4-2 (+12 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 128: Bye
• Preliminary Round of 64: Defeated Muhammed Anasiz (Turkey), 15-10

Mitchell Saron: 

• Pools: 4-2 (+7 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 128: Defeated Jose Quintero (Venezuela), 15-7
• Preliminary Round of 64: Defeated Andres Hernandez Caballero (Spain), 15-9

Women’s Foil

Lee Kiefer OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Wednesday’s table of 64

Jackie Dubrovich OLY:

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Wednesday’s table of 64

Lauren Scruggs: 

• Pools: 5-1 (+16 indicator)
• Based on pools result (14th best), advanced directly to Wednesday’s table of 64

Maia Weintraub: 

• Pools: 6-0 (+22 indicator)
• Based on pools result (third best), advanced directly to Wednesday’s table of 64

Men’s Epee

Dylan Nollner: 

• Pools: 4-1 (+5 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 256: Bye
• Preliminary Round of 128: Lost to William East (Great Britain), 15-11

Stephen Ewart:

• Pools: 2-3 (+3 indicator) 
• Preliminary Round of 256: Lost to Samuel Gallagher Pelletier (Canada), 15-9

Tristan Szapary: 

• Pools: 5-1 (+6 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 256: Bye
• Preliminary Round of 128: Defeated Al Harith Al Harthi (Oman), 15-9

• Preliminary Round of 64: Defeated Alvaro Ibanez (Spain), 15-10

Samuel Imrek:

• Pools: 4-1 (+12 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 256: Bye
• Preliminary Round of 128: Lost to Bron Sheum (Singapore), 15-12

Women’s Saber

Elizabeth Tartakovsky: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Magda Skarbonkiewicz:

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Maia Chamberlain: 

• Pools: 5-1 (+15 indicator)
• Based on pools result (10th best), advanced directly to Thursday’s table of 64

Tatiana Nazlymov: 

• Pools: 4-1 (+10 indicator)
• Preliminary Round of 128: Bye
• Preliminary Round of 64: Defeated Alena Lisina (AIN), 15-5

Men’s Foil

Alexander Massialas OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Gerek Meinhardt OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Nick Itkin OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Miles Chamley-Watson OLY: 

• Exempt from pools and moves straight to Thursday’s table of 64

Men’s Saber

Eli Dershwitz OLY: Gold Medal and World Championship

• Round of 64: Defeated Mohammad Fotouhi (Iran), 15-12
• Round of 32: Defeated Bongil Gu (Korea), 15-14
• Round of 16: Defeated Luigi Samele (Italy), 15-6
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Hansol Ha (Korea), 15-10
• Semifinals: Defeated Aron Szilagyi (Hungary), 15-13
• Finals: Defeated Sandro Bazadze (Georgia), 15-6

Colin Heathcock: 24th place

• Round of 64: Defeated Olivier Desrosiers (Canada), 15-8
• Round of 32: Lost to Michele Gallo (Italy), 15-12

Andrew Doddo: 50th place

• Round of 64: Lost to Kento Hoshino (Japan), 15-13

Mitchell Saron: 16th place

• Round of 64: Defeated Sebastien Patrice (France), 15-11
• Round of 32: Defeated Enver Yildirim (Turkey), 15-7
• Round of 16: Lost to Sandro Bazadze (Georgia), 15-7

Women’s Epee

Kat Holmes OLY: 72nd place

Isis Washington: 39th place

• Round of 64: Lost to Miho Yoshimura (Japan), 15-12

Kasia Nixon: 34th place

• Round of 64: Lost to Irina Embrich (Estonia), 15-7

Anne Cebula: 15th place

• Round of 64: Defeated Sofiya Nikolaichuk (Kazakhstan), 15-8
• Round of 32: Defeated Mingye Zhu (China), 15-12
• Round of 16: Lost to Anna Kun (Hungary), 15-7

Women’s Foil:

• Lee Kiefer OLY: Bronze Medal
  • Round of 64: Defeated Aliya Dhuique-Hein (Germany), 15-8
  • Round of 32: Defeated Sophia Wu (Hong Kong), 15-11
  • Round of 16: Defeated Jackie Dubrovich OLY (USA), 15-5
  • Quarterfinals: Defeated Anne Sauer (Germany), 15-7
  • Semifinals: Lost to Alice Volpi (Italy), 15-13
• Jackie Dubrovich OLY: 12th place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Ester Schreiber (Sweden), 15-8
  • Round of 32: Defeated Leyla Pirieva (AIN), 15-8
  • Round of 16: Lost to Lee Kiefer (USA), 15-5
• Lauren Scruggs: 25th place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Laeticia Jorgensen (Denmark), 15-9
  • Round of 32: Lost to Alice Volpi (Italy), 15-14
• Maia Weintraub: 13th place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Amita Berthier (Singapore), 15-10
  • Round of 32: Defeated Arantza Inostroza (Chile), 15-11
  • Round of 16: Lost to Sera Azuma (Japan), 14-13

Men’s Epee: 

• Dylan Nollner: 106th place
• Stephen Ewart: 172nd place
• Tristan Szapary: 27th place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Chak Hin Nicholas Chau (Hong Kong), 14-13
  • Round of 32: Lost to Kazuyasu Minobe (Japan), 15-8
• Samuel Imrek: 103rd place

Women’s Saber:

• Elizabeth Tartakovsky: 19th Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Marina Paizi (Greece), 15-13
  • Round of 32: Lost to Rossella Gregorio (Italy), 15-10
• Magda Skarbonkiewicz: 21st Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Wing Kiu Chu (Hong Kong), 15-7
  • Round of 32: Lost to Larissa Eifler (Germany), 15-12
• Maia Chamberlain: 24th Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Eunhye Jeon (South Korea), 15-12
  • Round of 32: Lost to Anna Bashta (Azerbaijan), 15-6
• Tatiana Nazlymov: 42nd Place
  • Round of 64: Lost to Hayoung Jeon (Korea), 15-10

Men’s Foil:

• Alex Massialas OLY: 17th Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Maximilian Ettelt (Austria), 15-12
  • Round of 32: Lost to Carlos Llavador (Spain), 15-11
• Gerek Meinhardt OLY: 33rd Place
  • Round of 64: Lost to Jun Heo (Korea), 15-11
• Nick Itkin OLY: Silver Medal Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Yudai Nagano (Japan), 15-6
  • Round of 32: Defeated Ziwei Mo (China), 15-7
  • Round of 16: Defeated Chun Yin Ryan Choi (Hong Kong), 15-10
  • Quarterfinals: Defeated Carlos Llavador (Spain), 15-8
  • Semifinals: Defeated Kyosuke Matsuyama (Japan), 15-10
  • Finals: Lost to Tommaso Marini (Italy), 15-13
• Miles Chamley-Watson OLY: 12th Place
  • Round of 64: Defeated Chi Ka Yeung (Hong Kong), 15-7
  • Round of 32: Defeated Haiwei Chen (China), 15-4
  • Round of 16: Lost to Enzo Lefort (France), 15-5

Women’s Epee — Team (Isis Washington, Kasia Nixon, Anne Cebula, Hadley Husisian): 10th place

• Round of 64: Bye
• Round of 32: Defeated Colombia, 45-21
• Round of 16: Lost to Israel, 45-38
• 9-16 placement match: Defeated Egypt, 45-23
• 9-12 placement match: Defeated Hungary, 45-40
• 9-10 placement match: Lost to Estonia, 36-35

Men’s Saber — Team (Eli Dershwitz, Colin Heathcock, Andrew Doddo, Mitchell Saron):

• Round of 64: Bye
• Round of 32: Defeated India, 45-22
• Round of 16: Defeated Romania, 45-38

Men’s Saber — Team (Eli Dershwitz OLY, Colin Heathcock, Andrew Doddo, Mitchell Saron): Bronze Medal

• Round of 64: Bye
• Round of 32: Defeated India, 45-22
• Round of 16: Defeated Romania, 45-38
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Germany, 45-38
• Semifinals: Lost to Korea, 45-27
• Bronze Medal Match: Defeated France, 45-44

Men’s Epee — Team (Dylan Nollner, Stephen Ewart, Tristan Szapary, Samuel Imrek): 22nd place

• Round of 64: Defeated Turkmenistan, 45-22
• Round of 32: Lost to Germany, 45-36

Women’s Foil — Team (Lee Kiefer OLY, Jackie Dubrovich OLY, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Weintraub):

• Round of 32: Bye
• Round of 16: Defeated Hong Kong, China, 45-14

Women’s Foil — Team (Lee Kiefer OLY, Jackie Dubrovich OLY, Lauren Scruggs, Maia Weintraub): 4th place

• Round of 32: Bye
• Round of 16: Defeated Hong Kong, China, 45-14
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Poland, 45-28
• Semifinals: Lost to France, 45-42
• Bronze Medal Match: Lost to Japan, 45-34

Women’s Saber — Team (Elizabeth Tartakovsky, Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Maia Chamberlain, Tatiana Nazlymov)

• Round of 32: Defeated India, 45-23
• Round of 16: Defeated China, 45-40

Men’s Foil — Team (Alexander Massialas OLY, Gerek Meinhardt OLY, Nick Itkin OLY, Miles Chamley-Watson OLY)

• Round of 32: Defeated Iraq, 45-12
• Round of 16: Defeated Brazil, 45-19

Women’s Saber — Team (Elizabeth Tartakovsky, Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Maia Chamberlain, Tatiana Nazlymov): 7th Place 

• Round of 32: Defeated India, 45-23
• Round of 16: Defeated China, 45-40
• Quarterfinals: Lost to Ukraine, 45-44
• 5-8 Placement Match: Lost to Japan, 45-42
• 7-8 Placement Match: Defeated Greece, 45-32

Men’s Foil — Team (Alexander Massialas OLY, Gerek Meinhardt OLY, Nick Itkin OLY, Miles Chamley-Watson OLY): 4th Place

• Round of 32: Defeated Iraq, 45-12
• Round of 16: Defeated Brazil, 45-19
• Quarterfinals: Defeated Poland, 45-29
• Semifinals: Lost to China, 45-35
• Bronze Medal Match: Lost to Hong Kong, China, 45-31