USA Fencing

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Valerie Asher (DC Fencers Club) fenced in college at Yale. She’s represented Team USA at multiple Veteran Fencing World Championships. She’s even been a Vet World champion.

But there was one accomplishment that had eluded her to date: a USA Fencing national championship. Until now.

On Sunday at Summer Nationals, Asher conquered her latest obstacle, winning the Vet-60 Women’s Epee category against 34 other women from across the country. Her win came in one of 11 events held on the third day of the 2023 National Championships and July Challenge, also known as Summer Nationals.

“I feel great on so many different levels,” she says. “The difference maker was digging in. At least two of the people I fenced are people who have beaten me in the past, so it took rethinking, with the help of my coaches, my training partners, how I approached those bouts. And that was very successful.”

Asher’s performance secured her a spot at the 2023 Vet Worlds this October in Daytona Beach, Fla., where she’ll again wear the stars and stripes for Team USA.

“It’s great for us to show the rest of the world what an incredibly strong Veterans community we have,” she says. “It’s hard to get on the team here, because we have a lot of depth. And I want the rest of the world to see that.”

Joining Asher in Daytona Beach will be Liz Kocab (Plymouth/Ann Arbor Fencing Academy), who qualified in Vet-70 and won a national championship in the event on Sunday.

Kocab won the 2022 Vet Worlds in Croatia and will look to defend her title in Florida. But this tournament, she says, will feel a bit different.

“I believe it will be more special to me,” she says. “It’s nice to win the gold medal. But it's especially poignant when you hear the national anthem on American soil. So that's a big goal.”

Speaking of big goals, here’s one: After Samuel Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy) won Division I Men’s Epee gold on Day 1, he returned to the finals strip two days later to win Junior Men’s Epee gold.

In the semifinals, Imrek faced an opponent who was both familiar and unfamiliar: his younger brother Elijah Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy). The two have fenced countless times at their home club in Houston but never at a national tournament.

“So we have kind of different strategies for each other,” Elijah says. “It looked a little weird when we’re fencing. But yeah, it was an interesting bout I think.”

Samuel Imrek’s next stop will be Milan, where he’ll represent Team USA.

“This is my first Senior World Championships ever,” he says. “I'm really looking forward to it. I don't have any pressure on me. I'm just going to go in with the same mentality I had at this NAC. These are some of the best people in the world. I'm not favored, but I'm just going to try my best and see what I can do.”

Junior Women’s Foil

Gold: Jaelyn Liu (Star Fencing Academy / Fencing Institute Of Texas)

Silver: Katerina Lung (Moe Fencing Club LLC)

Bronze: Lydia Shen (Star Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Emily Jing (Star Fencing Academy)

5th: Jia Chen (V Fencing Club)

6th: Hailey Eyer (Manchen Academy Of Fencing)

7th: Katherine Kim (Golubitsky Fencing Center)

8th: Victoria Pevzner (V Fencing Club)

 

Junior Men’s Epee

Gold: Samuel Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy)

Silver: James Sennewald (Alliance Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Daniil Mazur (Penta Olympic Fencing Club)

Bronze: Elijah Imrek (Alliance Fencing Academy)

5th: Boris Muga (Alliance Fencing Academy)

6th: Caleb Su (DC Fencers Club)

6th: Daniel Lee (Elite Fencing Academy (VA) / Elite Fencing Academy (GA))

8th: Ryan Jeyoon (Elite Fencing Academy (VA) / Elite Fencing Academy (GA))

 

Cadet Women’s Epee

Gold: Sharika Gajjala (Medeo Fencing Club)

Silver: Ruien Xiao (CAN)

Bronze: Zoe Kim (Swords Fencing Studio)

Bronze: Amy Ai (CAN)

5th: Yeva Pohrebna (Kaizen Academy LLC)

6th: Catherine Witter (Fencing Sports Academy, Inc.)

7th: Elizabeth Zigalo (New York Fencing Academy)

8th: Maya Kozlowski (Woodlands International Fencing Club)

 

Cadet Men’s Saber

Gold: Shaun Kim (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club)

Silver: Robert Wang (Tim Morehouse Fencing Club / Tim Morehouse Fencing Club (Port Chester))

Bronze: William Lim (Southern California Fencing Academy (SOCALFA) / Globus Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Silas Choi (Globus Fencing Academy)

5th: Gabriel Babayev (Stamford Fencing Center, LLC)

6th: Emilio Gonzalez (Scarsdale Fencing Center / Fencers Club Inc.)

7th: Aydan Lee (Nazlymov Fencing Foundation)

8th: Zachary Shoman (Manhattan Fencing Center)

 

Senior Team Women’s Saber

Gold: Team Blue (Maia Chamberlain, Tatiana Nazlymov and Lola Possick)

Silver: Team White (Kara Linder, Jenna Shoman and Elizabeth Tartakovsky)

Bronze: Team Red (Zoe Kim, Maggie Shealy and Magda Skarbonkiewicz)

 

Senior Team Men's Foil

Gold: MFC #1 (Frederick Fogelson, Carter Hodges, Jack Oursler and David Sosnov)

Silver: AIC Team 1 (Dongrong Huang, Matthew Li, Amir Mohamed and Murad Mohamed)

Bronze: Golden State Fencing Academy (Ziyuan Chen, Kian Dierks, Ethan Gassner and Dean Myers)

 

Vet-40 Women’s Epee

Gold Medalist and National Champion: Kristin Foellmer (DC Fencers Club)

Silver: Kira Hansen (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM))

Bronze: Haejung Hofman (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM))

Bronze: Nicole Polanichka (Lancaster Fencing Academy / Williamsport Fencing Club)

5th: Kundry Haberkern (Salle Auriol Seattle)

6th: Sue Mohebi (Ace Fencing Academy)

7th (tie): Heidi Chang (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM))

7th (tie): Valerie Hutchinson (Denver Fencing Center)

 

Vet-50 Women’s Epee

Gold Medalist and National Champion: Monica Exum (Salle Auriol Seattle)

Silver: Karen Byron (Arena Fencing Academy LLC)

Bronze: Yuliya Ganser (Medeo Fencing Club)

Bronze: Carola Schmid (Salle Auriol Seattle)

5th: Ann Totemeier (Northern Colorado Fencers / Denver Fencing Center)

6th: Sandra Marchant (Rogue Fencing Academy / The Phoenix Center)

7th: Jeannine Prokop (Nova Fencing Club)

8th: May Rowland (Princeton-Hillsborough YMCA / TigerZ Fencing Academy)

 

Vet-60 Women’s Epee

Gold Medalist and National Champion: Valerie Asher (DC Fencers Club)

Silver: Amy Montoya (Battle Born Fencing Club)

Bronze: Georgina Love (Space Coast Olympic Fencing)

Bronze: Suzanne Bloomer (Academy Of Fencing Masters (AFM) / University Alaska Fairbanks Fencing Club)

5th: Lyn Christian (Denver Fencing Center / Schoolhouse Fencing)

6th: Caroline Rich (High Desert Fencing Alliance)

7th: Cristina Gordet (South Florida Fencing Club)

8th: Louise Leighton (Escrime Du Lac)

 

Vet-70 Women’s Epee

Gold Medalist and National Champion: Elizabeth (Liz) Kocab (Plymouth/Ann Arbor Fencing Academy)

Silver: Bonnie Aher (Salle Auriol Seattle)

Bronze: Charlotta Bowie (Modern Duelists Fencing Academy)

Bronze: Anna Telles (Salle Auriol Seattle)

5th: June Hurme (Olympian Fencing Club)

6th: Cynthia Runyon (High Desert Fencing Alliance)

7th: Henri Gales (Charlotte Fencing Academy / North Carolina Fencing Development Program)

8th: Debra Swain

 

Vet-80 Women’s Epee

Gold Medalist and National Champion: Patricia Bedrosian (Salle Couturier)

Silver: Mary Turzillo (On Target Fencing Team / Cyranos Place)

Bronze: Bettie Graham (Chevy Chase Fencing Club)

 

See the complete results on Fencing Time.

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