For Immediate Release
April 6, 2010
U.S. Fencing’s Junior Women’s Foil Team Places Three in Top 15 at 2010 Junior World Championships
Two-time Cadet World medalist Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.), the newly crowned 2010 Cadet World champion in women’s foil, fell short of claiming a second medal at the 2010 Cadet and Junior World Championships at the Haydar Aliyev Sport and Concert Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan. Kiefer was Tuesday’s highest placing American finishing fifth in junior women’s foil, and was joined by a pair of strong performances from teammates Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in 12th and Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.) in 15th.
The Junior Worlds for Kiefer started in dominating fashion with three commanding victories, outscoring her opponents 45-19. Her first round was a 15-7 win over Slovakia’s Michala Cellerova. In the second round, she dominated Korea’s Hi Hyun Park, 15-5, and quickly followed up with a 15-8 decision over Clarisse Luminet of France.
In the quarterfinals, Kiefer was outclassed by the new 2010 Junior World Champion Inna Deriglazova of Russia, 15-4.
Prescod, a two-time Cadet World medalist and the 2009 Junior World eighth-place finisher, advanced into the third round where she dropped a close decision to Anita Blaze of France, 15-11. Blaze went on to claim the silver medal. Prescod was victorious over Cheryl Ye Han Wong of Singapore, 15-3, and Olivia Wohlgemuth of Austria, 15-8.
Lu started strong with a 15-3 victory over Fruzsina Golya from Hungary and narrowly defeated Maria Udrea of Romania, 15-11. In the third round, Lu was defeated by eventual bronze medalist Hanna Lyczbinska of Poland, 15-8.
Also competing, were the junior men’s epee division that was highlighted by Michael Raynis’ (Chatsworth, Calif.) 12th-place finish. Raynis fell short of the quarterfinal round with a heartbreaking 15-12 loss to eventual champion Nikita Glazkov of Russia. Raynis opened the competition with two victories over Max Rod of Portugal, 15-10, and Koshiro Uehara of Japan, 15-9.
Jonathan Yergler (Princeton, N.J.) and Alen Hadzic (Montclair, N.J.) finished 55th and 114th, respectively. Both U.S. athletes were competing in their first Junior World Championships.
On Wednesday, the 2010 Junior World Championships will feature women’s sabre and men’s foil, which will conclude the individual portion of the event. The Junior Worlds team competition 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/.
For complete results for the 2010 Junior and Cadet World Championships click here.
Tag(s): News
