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Russia Rules Saber at Worlds

11/09/2010, 9:37am CST
By Cindy Bent-Findlay

For Immediate Release

9 November 2010  

On the first day of team competition at the 2010 World Fencing Championships in Paris, US saber women just missed a bronze medal despite losing their anchor, individual gold-medallist Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore).

The team of Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.), Daria Schneider (Brookline, Mass.) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) and Zagunis, seeded fourth in the tableaux, had a bye in the round of 32. They defeated Germany handily in the round of 16 (45-25) with Zagunis as anchor. The team next downed the very talented Chinese team, 45-42. The US got off to a handy lead in that match which was whittled down through the first five encounters, but then the US women edged ahead and stayed ahead to the end.

Next up: Russia. The US women got off to a good start, but then quickly lost ground and were outscored in the second through fourth encounters. After that, the US team could never quite get traction and were defeated 45-32.

All that was left was the attempt for a bronze. The US faced France, minus Zagunis, who was injured in the previous match. The French women steadily outscored the US team through the first half of the match.

At 20-11, Schneider and then Muhammad mounted a small rally, bringing the score back to 35-32 through the next three encounters, but the French proved too powerful and Wozniak and Muhammad were overcome in the last two encounters. The French won 45-35.

In the Men’s Saber Team event, the US team of Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.), Ben Igoe (Staten Island, N.Y.), Tim Morehouse (Bronx, N.Y.) and James Williams (Sacramento, Calif.) defeated their first-round opponent, Iraq, with little difficulty (45-19).

But they were beaten in the round of 16 by the team from the Ukraine 45-35. The Ukrainians outscored or tied the US men in almost every encounter but the last, when Morehouse mounted an 8-point comeback, but it was too little, too late.

 
In placement rounds, the US men then lost to Poland 45-32 but finished the day on a high note with a defeat of Canada 45-41 and then Japan 45-25 to finish 13th.
 
In Wheelchair Men’s Saber Team, the US team of Joey Brinson (Okolona, Miss.), Mark Calhoun (Bremen, Ga.) and Mario Rodgriguez (Ventura, Calif.) were outmatched in their first match of the day by France, 45-17. They did go on to defeat Germany ( 45-38) in placement rounds before falling to Poland, 45-32.
 
In the end, the day belonged to Russia, whose men and women both took saber gold. The hometown team of France earned the gold in the Wheelchair Team Men’s Saber event. Tomorrow will be another day of hope for the US team as the Women’s Foil Team event launches. The Championships is being held in Paris, France, Nov. 4-12.
 
About USA Fencing: The United States Fencing Association is the recognized NGB 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.
 
2010 WORLD FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nov. 4-13, 2010, Paris, France
Nov. 9 results
 
TEAM WOMEN’S SABER
22 teams
1 RUSSIA
2 FRANCE
3 UKRAINE
4 USA:
- Mariel Zagunis (25, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon FA)
- Dagmara Wozniak (22, Avenel, N.J./Manhattan FC)
- Ibtihaj Muhammad (25, Maplewood, N.J./Westbrook Found.)
- Daria Schneider (23, Brookline, Mass./NYAC)
5. CHINA
6. POLAND
7. ITALY
8. HUNGARY
 
TEAM MEN’S SABER
26 teams
1. RUSSIA
2. ITALY
3. ROMANIA
4. BELARUS
5. GERMANY
6. CHINA
7. UKRAINE
8. KOREA
13. USA:
Tim Morehouse (32, Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan FC)
Daryl Homer (20, Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan FC)
Benjamin Igoe (25, Staten Island, N.Y./NYAC)
James Williams (25, Sacramento, Calif./Manhattan FC)
 
WHEELCHAIR MEN’S SABER
7 teams
1. FRANCE
2. HONG KONG
3. GREECE
4. RUSSIA
5. POLAND
6. USA:
Joseph Brinson (Okolona, Miss./Methodist Rehab Center)
Mark Calhoun (Bremen, Ga./Shepherd Swords F.C.)
Mario Rodriguez (Ventura, Calif./Salle D’Asaro/Santa Barbara F.A.)
7. GERMANY
 
For More Information Please Contact:
Cindy Bent Findlay * 614.746.6733 * PR@USFencing.org
www.USFencing.org
 


 

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