USA Fencing

(Catania, Italy) – The Senior World Championships concluded on Saturday with top-12 finishes for both the U.S. Men’s Foil and Women’s Epee Teams.

On the heels of a 45-22 win over Colombia in the table 32, the men’s foil team of Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.), Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.), Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) and Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.) met Poland in the table of 16. After the third bout, the Americans were down, 15-11, and were unable to make up ground. In the eighth bout, however, Massialas outscored Marcin Zawada, 10-5, which gave Chamley-Watson five points to make up going into the final bout as Poland held onto a 40-35 lead.

Chamley-Watson scored five touches against Pawel Kawiecki (POL), but Team USA lost the bout, 45-40.

Massialas, Chamley-Watson and Imboden regrouped in the 9^th – 16^th place table to win the first bout against Hungary, 45-38.

In the next bout, the team of Massialas, Chamley-Watson and Imboden held a narrow lead of 40-38 going into the eighth bout against Ukraine, but Klod Yunes outtouched Watson, 7-2, to win the bout for the Ukraine, 45-42.

Fencing for 11^th place, Team USA gave up just one of nine bouts to Egypt to win the match, 45-25, including victories for Imboden and Massialas against Alaaeldin Mohamed El Sayed Abouelkassem who finished fifth in the individual competition and had defeated Massialas in the table of 32. Meinhardt closed out the bout as anchor and ended the match with a 5-3 win over El Sayed Abouelkassem.

The U.S. Women’s Epee Team of Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.) and Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) opened with a 45-27 win over Venezuela.

In the table of 16, however, Kelley Hurley, Lawrence and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) lost to a French squad led by 2004 Olympic silver medalist Laura Flessel-Colovic, 44-25.

Team USA dropped to the 9^th – 16^th place bracket where Kelley Hurley built on a six-touch lead she created with teammates Campbell and Lawrence by scoring 12 touches on Nozomi Nakano to set the score at 29-16. Courtney Hurley anchored the bout against Ayaka Shimookawa to earn the win, 42-28.

With two more wins needed for ninth place, the Americans lost the next two bouts and finished 12^th as they lost to Hungary, 45-32, and the Ukraine, 45-39.

Top eight and U.S. results are as follows:

Women’s Team Epee
1. Romania
2. China
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. Estonia
6. Poland
7. Korea
8. France

12. USA

Men’s Team Foil
1. China
2. France
3. Germany
4. Poland
5. Japan
6. Russia
7. Italy
8. Korea

11. USA