(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The U.S. Women’s Saber Team finished ninth in the first team competition of the season at the London Saber World Cup on Sunday.
Anchored by two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) Team USA included two-time Senior World Team medalists Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) as well as 2012 Cadet World medalist Skyla Powers (Decatur, Ga.)
Although Zagunis built a 5-3 lead during her opening bout against Sandra Marcos (ESP) in the table of 16, the Spanish team took a 10-9 lead after the second bout and didn’t look back on the way to earning a 45-40 victory over the four Americans.
In 9th – 16th place table, Zagunis, Wozniak and Powers led from start to finish to earn a 45-40 victory over France.
Muhammad rejoined the lineup with Zagunis and Powers in the next match where Team USA won six of nine bouts and defeated Great Britain, 45-33.
All four fencers competed in the match for ninth place – a rematch of their 2011 Senior World Championships bronze medal match against Azerbaijan. Again, the Americans won six of the nine bouts and earned a ninth-place finish with a score of 45-33.
Top eight results are as follows:
London Saber Team World Cup
1. Ukraine
2. Russia
3. Poland
4. Germany
5. Spain
6. Hungary
7. Italy
8. China
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