(Philadelphia, Pa.) – The six top-ranked U.S. fencers in each of the men’s and women’s weapons will fence against some of the best fencers in the world at 7 p.m. on Sunday in a special USA vs. The World team exhibition bout at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
A first-time event, the special team bout will kick off the gala at the conclusion of the Federation Internationale d’Escrime Congress that began on Friday.
The bout will pit Team USA against a World Team that includes five of the six 2010-2011 Senior World Cup points winners – each of whom will be honored later in the evening.
The athlete lineups are as follows (* indicates 2010-2011 World Cup points winner):
Men’s Epee
Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.), 2004 Olympic Games seventh-place finisher
*Paolo Pizzo (ITA), 2011 Senior World Champion
Women’s Epee
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), 2011 Pan Am Games silver medalist
*Yujie Sun (CHN), 2011 Senior World silver medalist
Women’s Saber
Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.), 2011 Senior World team bronze medalist
*Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.), two-time Olympic and two-time Senior World individual Champion
Men’s Saber
Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.), 2008 Olympic team silver medalist
Bon-Gil Gu (KOR), 2011 Senior World bronze medalist
Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.), 2011 Senior World bronze medalist
*Elisa DiFrancisca (ITA), 2011 Senior World silver medalist and three-time Senior World team gold medalist
Men’s Foil
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.), two-time Cadet World Champion
*Andrea Cassara (ITA), 2011 Senior World Champion and two-time Olympic medalist
The event is open by invitation only. The match will be followed by a formal dinner during which the 2010-2011 Junior and Senior World Cup points winners will receive awards.
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