(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Team USA concluded the Pan American Games with team titles in women’s epee and men’s saber on Saturday to sweep the gold medals in all six team events and five of six individual events in Guadalajara.
Both teams earned victories over Canadian squads for the second time during the past three months after the teams won gold in July at the Pan American Championships.
For the U.S. Women’s Epee Team, the trip to the gold medal final marked the third medal win for the squad after sisters Kelley and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) won gold and silver, respectively, in the individual event on Wednesday. The two were joined in the team event by Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who was making her Pan Am Games debut.
The trio opened the day with a quarter-final win over Cuba, 45-35, and a 45-19 victory over Argentina to advance to the finals against Canada.
After a blanked first bout between 2008 Olympian Kelley Hurley and two-time World medalist Sherraine Schalm, Courtney Hurley earned a 10-5 lead for the U.S. team in the second bout.
Up 40-32 going into the final bout, Courtney held Schalm to four touches to end the match, 45-36.
“We had a really tough match against Cuba earlier today,” Kelley Hurley said. “But coming into tonight against Canada, especially after such a tough fight against Cuba, we felt really confident.”
Beijing Olympic silver medalists Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.) and James Williams (New York City, N.Y.) joined with two-time Pan Am Games team member Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.) won the first two bouts of the day by scores of 45-36 against Cuba and Mexico.
Williams anchored the team against Philippe Beaudry who had defeated Williams in the table of 16 and Morehouse in the gold medal bout of the individual event.
Bolstered by a 40-31 lead going into the bout, Williams defeated Beaudry, 5-4, to win the gold, 45-35.
Williams said the win helped build the team’s confidence as the athletes prepare for the remainder of the Olympic qualifying season which continues in February.
“We really want to qualify as a team for the Olympics,” said Williams. “And, even though this doesn’t directly count toward that qualification, it’s a big win and momentum builder for us psychologically.”
Saturday marked the second time Morehouse stood on the podium this week after winning silver in the individual competition.
“We’re all very happy with tonight’s result, especially against a tough Canadian team,” Morehouse said. “And, I’ll definitely take a team gold over individual any day.”
Team USA earned 14 medals at the Pan Am Games this week, including 11 gold and three silver.
The following are complete results for Team USA:
Women’s Individual Foil, Oct. 24
1. Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
2. Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Men’s Individual Epee, Oct. 24
1. Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
7. Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)
Women’s Individual Saber, Oct. 25
1. Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.)
5. Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.)
Men’s Individual Foil, Oct. 25
1. Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
9. Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.
Women’s Individual Epee, Oct. 26
1. Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
2. Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Men’s Individual Saber, Oct. 26
2. Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.)
11. James Williams (New York City, N.Y.)
Women’s Team Foil, Oct. 27
1. Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.)
Men’s Team Epee, Oct. 27
1. Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)
Women’s Team Saber, Oct. 28
1. Ibtihaj Muhammad (Mapelwood, N.J.)
Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.)
Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.)
Men’s Team Foil, Oct. 28
1. Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.)
Women’s Team Epee, Oct. 29
1. Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Men’s Team Saber, Oct. 29
1. Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.)
James Williams (New York City, N.Y.)
Complete results for competition on Saturday are as follows:
Men’s Saber
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Brazil
4. Venezuela
5. Argentina
6. Cuba
7. Mexico
8. Chile
Women’s Epee
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Argentina
5. Cuba
6. Chile
7. Brazil
8. Venezuela
