The U.S. junior men’s foil fencing team, all from California, claimed a pair of medals and a fifth-place finish to conclude the individual portion of the 2010 Cadet and Junior World Championships at the Haydar Aliyev Sport and Concert Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday. Leading the charge was 2008 U.S. Olympian Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco) and David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.) with silver and bronze medal performances, respectively, while 2010 Cadet World champion Alexander Massialas (San Francisco) finished fifth.
Meinhardt, who is also the 2009 Junior World bronze medalist, started the tournament strong with a commanding victory over Poland’s Maciej Wlosek, 15-3. He was then challenged in his next two bouts and moved into the quarterfinals by defeating Germany’s Moritz Kroplin, 15-9, and Roman Kuts of Russia, 15-13. Meinhardt’s next opponent was Edoardo Luperi Italy. He dropped Luperi, 15-12, and went on to claim the silver medal.
Competing in his first Junior World Championships, Willette displayed true skill and craft. En route to the bronze, Willette dominated the field out touching his first four opponents 60-29. He started the tournament with an opening round decision over James Davis of Great Britain, 15-9, then handed Belarus’ Serguei Byk a 15-8 loss. Willette was strong in the third round with a 15-5 decision over Jakub Joniak of Slovakia. In the quarterfinals, Willette continued his domination with a 15-7 victory over France’s Enzo Lefort. The semifinal contest was a heartbreaking close decision that went to Egypt’s Alaa El Din El Sayed, 15-14, who went onto to win the World title.
Massialas, who won the Cadet World Championships three days earlier, opened the Junior men’s foil event with a 15-4 decision over Spain’s Orlando Salazar. Massialas, who is coached by his father Greg, was challenged in the next two rounds. Vincent Simon of France pushed Massialas the entire match, and Massialas advanced with a 15-12 score. The third round was a battle between North American countries as Massialas escaped with a 15-14 win over Canada’s Anthony Prymack. Massialas lost to eventual silver medalist Tommaso Lari of Italy 15-6 in the quarterfinals, ending Massialas run for a second individual medal.
The U.S. junior women’s sabre participants were handed a pair of opening-round losses. Two-time U.S. Junior Worlds team member Lian Osier (Battle Ground, Wash.) finished 19th overall after losing to Amira Ben Chaabane of Tunisia, 15-10. Samantha Roberts (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) was eliminated by Mihaela Bulica of Romania, 15-11, which placed her 21st. Nicole Glon (College Station, Pa.), the 2009 Cadet World bronze medalist, finished 58th in her first Junior World Championships.
The team competition of the 2010 Junior World Championships will commence on Thursday and conclude Saturday. The 2010 Junior and Cadet World Championships are organized by the Azerbaijan Fencing Federation and the Azerbaijan Olympic Committee.
For more information on the 2010 Junior and Cadet World Championships visit http://www.bakufencing2010.com/.
Tag(s): News Gerek Meinhardt
