USA Fencing

 

At the 2010 World Fencing Championships in Paris today, the US Women’s Foil team of Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.), Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Nicole Ross (New York, N.Y.) and Doris Willette started the day off with a resounding defeat of the team from Canada (45-18) to reach the quarterfinal round of the competition.

 

But in the top eight, the US women were outmatched by Korea, who took the match 45-23.

 

Korea’s experienced Hyun Hee Nam overpowered the young US team, outscoring all three and making the difference between two teams that otherwise seemed closely  matched.

 

In the placement bouts in the top eight, the US team lost also to Russia 40-28 and the Ukraine 45-39. In the match against Russia, the US team got off to a very early lead in the first encounter but were unable to hold it past the third encounter and fell behind gradually. Against the Ukraine, the US women slipped behind significantly by the middle of the match (13-25) and despite some late gains, were unable to recover. The US women finished the day therefore in eighth place.

 

The team from Italy carried the day, defeating Poland 45-37 for the gold. For complete live results, see http://www.escrime-2010.com/.

 

In the Wheelchair Men’s Foil Team event, the US men did not break well out of the gate, losing their first match to Italy, 45-29. In placement rounds, they lost to Thailand, 45-42. The US Women did not field a team in the women’s event. Wheelchair Team finals will also be held.

 

The 2010 World Fencing Championships is being held in concurrence with the World Wheelchair Fencing Championships in Paris, France, Nov. 4-13.

 

Tomorrow, the US men’s foilists have their shot at a medal in the team event, led by individual bronze medallist Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) and by Miles Chamley-Watson (Phildelphia, Pa.), who placed 5^th in the individual event.

 

About USA Fencing: The United States Fencing Association is the recognized National Governing Body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA is affiliated with the Féderation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international federation for fencing. USA Fencing is based at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. For more visit www.usfencing.org, www.facebook.com/usfencing or www.twitter.com/usfencing.

 

About the FIE: The Federation Internationale d’Escrime, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the international governing body for the Olympic sport of fencing. The FIE is composed of 135 national federations, each of which is recognized by its country's Olympic Committee as the sole representative of Olympic-style fencing in that country.

 

(MEDAL ROUNDS NOT YET COMPLETE)

5. FRANCE

6. RUSSIA

8. USA:

- Lee Kiefer (16, Lexington, Ky./Bluegrass FC)

- Nzihgha Prescod (18, Brooklyn, N.Y./Westbrook Found.)

- Nicole Ross (21, New York, N.Y./Fencers Club/Columbia)

- Doris Willette (22, Lafayette, Calif./Massialas/PSU)

 

WHEELCHAIR MEN’S FOIL TEAM

11 teams

1. CHINA

2. RUSSIA

3. FRANCE

4. POLAND

5. UKRAINE

6. HUNGARY

7. ITALY

8. HONG KONG

11. USA:

ESTEP Ryan (Florence, Miss./Methodist Rehab Center)

CALHOUN Mark (Bremen, Ga./Shepherd Swords F.C.)

RODRIGUEZ Mario (Ventura, Calif./Salle D’Asaro/Santa Barbara F.A.)

ASPY Dennis (Woodstock, Ga./Shepherd Swords F.C.):

 

WHEELCHAIR WOMEN’S FOIL TEAM

Event not yet concluded