USA Fencing

(Catania, Italy.) – Team USA will compete against athletes from nearly 100 nations beginning on Sunday at the Senior World Championships – the largest qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) will be vying for her third straight individual World Championship title – a feat which would make her the first saber fencer ever to do so and the first woman across any weapon since 1950. After winning team golds in 2000 and 2005, Zagunis has won four World titles overall and will be competing in both the individual competition and the team event with Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.), Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) and Daria Schneider (New York City, N.Y.) – all of whom are ranked in the top 16 in the world and each of whom are possible contenders for an individual medal as well.

After competing at the Beijing Olympic Games as an 18-year-old, foil fencer Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) won his first World medal in 2010 and will be competing at his fourth Senior World Championships.  Just a month after winning the bronze, Meinhardt tore his meniscus in December and returned to competition in April. By July, Meinhardt had returned to the podium with his bronze medal win at the Pan American Championships – one of three medals one by U.S. foil fencers as his teammates Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) won gold and silver, respectively. Both Meinhardt and Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.), the fifth-place finisher at the 2010 Worlds, are ranked in the top 16 in the world going into the event and will be exempt from competing in the preliminary competition.

In 2010, the U.S. Men’s Epee Team earned a silver medal at the Senior World Championships and made history as the first U.S. men’s team ever to earn a medal at the event. Now, three of the members of the team – Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.) – are returning for another chance at a medal. Joined by Soren Thompson who finished in the top eight at the 2004 Olympic Games where he competed alongside Kelsey and Mattern, the team has earned medals on the World Cup circuit this season and have the potential to win gold. With the men’s team epee event not being contested on the London program, this will be the team’s final chance at a second medal until 2013. Kelsey, a two-time Olympian, is ranked #14 in the world following his seventh-place individual finish in 2010.

One of the youngest teams at the World Championships, the U.S. Women’s Foil Team includes two junior athletes who won gold and silver at this year’s Junior Worlds for athletes ages 20 and under – Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)  With 23-year-old Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) and 22-year-old Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.), the squad earned gold at the Pan Ams in July and is looking to improve on its eighth-place finish in the team event in 2010. As the two-time reigning Pan American Champion, 17-year-old Kiefer enters the event as the #14-ranked athlete in the world and Prescod comes in at #14.

Three years ago, the U.S. Men’s Saber Team won the silver medal at the Olympic Games as one of the surprise finishes for Team USA in Beijing. Now, Olympians Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.) and James Williams (New York City, N.Y.) are on a mission to return their team to the podium. Daryl Homer (New York City, N.Y.), the #13-ranked fencer in the world, finished 12^th at his second Senior World Championships and has set his goal for an individual medal. Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.) will be competing as the fourth member of the team for the third straight year.

With its gold medal win at the Pan American Championships, the team of Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.) is one of the most experienced squads Team USA has fielded to this event. Kelley Hurley will be competing on her eighth straight Senior World Team while Courtney is fencing on her sixth. Lawrence and Campbell have each competed on three past teams as well. In 2008, Kelley Hurley edged younger sister Courtney to qualify for the Olympic Team and now the two are ranked #17 and #18 in the world.

Preliminary competition begins on Sunday. Athletes who are seeded in the top 16 of the event will be exempt from the preliminary rounds and will advance directly to the table of 64 next week.

The FIE will be Webcasting the event live on www.fie.org.

Competition schedule is as follows:

Sunday, Oct. 9 – Individual Preliminary Rounds
Men’s Saber
Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.)
James Williams (New York City, N.Y.)

Women’s Foil
Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.)
Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.)

Men’s Epee
Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.)
Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)

Monday, Oct. 10 – Individual Preliminary Rounds
Women’s Saber
All U.S. Team members exempt

Women’s Epee
Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y )
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.)

Men’s Foil
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Tuesday, Oct. 11 – Individual Table of 64
Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Additional athletes TBD based on Oct. 9 results

Men’s Saber
Daryl Homer (New York City, N.Y.)
Additional athletes TBD based on Oct. 9 results

Wednesday, Oct. 12 – Individual Table of 64
Men’s Epee
Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Additional athletes TBD based on Oct. 9 results

Women’s Saber
Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.)
Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.)
Daria Schneider (New York City, N.Y.)
Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.)

Thursday, Oct. 13 – Individual Table of 64
Women’s Epee
Athletes TBD based on Oct. 10 results

Men’s Foil
Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.)
Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Additional athletes TBD based on Oct. 10 results

Friday, Oct. 14 – Team Competition
Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.)
Doris Willette (Lafayette, Calif.)

Men’s Saber
Daryl Homer (New York City, N.Y.)
Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.)
James Williams (New York City, N.Y.)

Saturday, Oct. 15 – Team Competition
Men’s Epee
Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.)
Seth Kelsey (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Cody Mattern (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.)

Women’s Saber
Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.)
Daria Schneider (New York City, N.Y.)
Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.)
Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.)

Sunday, Oct. 16 - Team Competition
Women’s Epee
Lindsay Campbell (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.)

Men's Foil
Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa)
Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.)