USA Fencing

When competition began in the table of 64 on Saturday, Chin was one of 18 Americans to have made the cut after Friday’s pool rounds and he began the day with a 15-13 win over Istvan Dobo (HUN).

Chin defeated Viktor Habony (HUN), 15-9, in the table of 32 and advanced to the quarter-finals after a 15-12 victory over Bogdan Platonov (UKR), a fifth-place finisher at the 2012 Cadet World Championships.

Competing at his first international cadet event, Samuel Kwong (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) was seeded 24^th at the conclusion of the pools.

Kwong won his table of 64 bout against Viktor Tarykyn (UKR), 15-12, and defeated teammate Alex Walker (Atlanta, Ga.), 15-10, in the next round.

After a 15-9 win over Kirill Efimov (RUS) in the table of 16, Kwong advanced to the quarter-finals where he defeated Mate Bancsics (HUN), 15-9. The win set up a semifinal match-up between Kwong and Chin who edged Artsiom Novikau (BLR), 15-14.

Chin won the all-American bout, 15-12, and Kwong ended the day with a bronze medal.

In the final bout, Chin lost to Hungarian Balint Kossuth (HUN), 15-10, but his silver medal was Chin’s first in international competition.

Team USA’s silver and bronze medal finishes made the United States the only nation to win two medals in the men’s event.

The women’s individual competition also was held on Saturday and 14-year-old Sarah Merza (Wayne, N.J.) earned Team USA’s top finish with a fourth-place result.

In just her second appearance at a European fencing tournament, Merza dropped just two of her 12 pool bouts on Friday to enter the table of 64 as a ninth seed.

Merza defeated Russian Daria Kochetova (RUS), 15-12, in her opening round on Saturday to advance to the table of 32 where she met the first of two American opponents.

In the table of 32, Merza defeated Regina O’Brien (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), 15-10, and advanced to the quarter-finals after a 15-11 win over Mary Barnett (Lake Oswego, Ore.)

Merza nearly upset 2012 Cadet World Champion Anastasia Gogoleva (RUS) in the quarter-finals, but lost the bout, 15-14, and finished the day in sixth place.

Competition continued on Sunday with the team events where the U.S. Men’s Team finished fourth and the women’s squad placed eighth.

In the men’s event, Benjamin Lin (Beaverton, Ore.), Johannes Pascual (South San Francisco, Calif.) and Peter Yang (Portland, Ore.) won their table of 16 match over Poland II, 45-39, and upset third seeded Sosnowiec-Poznan, 45-22, in the quarters.

Team USA lost to Russia III, 45-28, in the semis and narrowly missed capturing bronze when Team USA fell to Russia I, 45-43, in the final match.

In the women’s team event, Mary Barnett (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Tara Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.) and Justine Pascual (South San Francisco, Calif.) defeated Poland II, 45-31, in the table of 16, but lost to Russia I, 45-41, in the quarter-finals and placed eighth overall.

Links to complete results are as follows:

Men’s Individual Results

Women’s Individual Results

Men’s Team Results

Women’s Team Results

Top eight and U.S results for the Konin events are as follows:

Men’s Konin Cadet European Cup Individual Results
1. Balint Kossuth (HUN)
2. Edward Chin (Livingston, N.J.)
3. Samuel Kwong (Los Altos Hills, Calif.)
3. Vladislav Shpunov (RUS)
5. Nikita Yakovenko (RUS)
6. Artsiom Novikau (BLR)
7. Mate Bancsics (HUN)
8. Kostyantyn Voronov (UKR)

9. Jonathan Fitzgerald (East Brunswick, N.J.)
10. Jonah Shainberg (Rye, N.Y.)
13. Benjamin Lin (Beaverton, Ore.)
15. Siegfried Gokea (New York City, N.Y.)
17. Jason Meng (Newton, Mass.)
24. Blake Murphy (Atlanta, Ga.)
32. Alex Walker (Atlanta, Ga.)
33. Calvin Liang (Phoenix, Ariz.)
37. Jeffrey Dalli (San Carlos, Calif.)
38. Julian Merchant (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
40. Joseph Davis (St. Louis, Mo.)
45. Benjamin Natanzon (Manalapan, N.J.)
50. Ameen Borojerdi (Plantation, Fla.)
54. Jackson Edwards (Irvington, N.J.)
56. Peter Yang (Portland, Ore.)
63. Andrew Gleeson (Montara, Calif.)
68. Khalil Thompson (Teaneck, N.J.)
90. Johannes Pascual (South San Francisco, Calif.)

Women’s Konin Cadet European Cup Individual Results
1. Mira Kelecsenyi (HUN)
2. Polina Stadnichuk (RUS)
3. Anastasia Gogoleva (RUS)
3. Svetlana Sheveleva (RUS)
5. Martyna Trzmielewska (POL)
6. Sarah Merza (Wayne, N.J.)
7. Anna Bashta (RUS)
7. Karolina Cieslar (POL)

11. Mary Barnett (Lake Oswego, Ore.)
17. Sage Palmedo (Portland, Ore.)
24. Lena Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.)
26. Anastasia Pineschi (Los Angeles, Calif.)
28. Regina O’Brien (Wellesley Hills, Mass.)
31. Jessica Rockford (Livingston, N.J.)
32. Tara Hassett (Beaverton, Ore.)
35. Haley Fisher (Kennesaw, Ga.)
36. Regina Chen (Cupertino, Calif.)
41. Gabrielle Tartakovsky (Livingston, N.J.)
50. Yelizaveta Sapozhnikov (Sudbury, Mass.)
52. Ilana Kamber (Short Hills, N.J.)
63. Anastasia Ivanoff (Los Angeles, Calif.)
69. Alexandra Viqueira (Maplewood, N.J.)
94. Justine Pascual (South San Francisco, Calif.)

Men’s Konin Cadet European Cup Team Results
1. Russia II
2. Russia III
3. Russia I
4. USA
5. Ukraine
6. Poland
7. Ukraine
8. Sosnowiec-Poznan

Women’s Konin Cadet European Cup Team Results
1. Poland I
2. Russia III
3. Russia I
4. Russia IV
5. Russia II
6. Belarus
7. TMS Sosnowiec
8. USA