USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Team USA had one of its most successful international events of the season on Saturday when 16-year-olds Thomas Dudey (Bellaire, Texas) and Axel Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) won gold and bronze and led the U.S. team to four top-eight finishes at the Pisa Cadet Foil European Cup.

Dudey and Kiefer were two of eight Americans who went undefeated in the pools and all earned byes into the table of 64.

Dudey won his first bout in the direct elimination table over Corentin Michel (FRA), 15-11, and defeated Takuma Ito (JPN), 15-7, in the table of 32.

Kiefer defeated Italian Leonardo Funaro (ITA), 15-6, in the table of 64 and won his table of 32 bout over teammate Jan Maceczek (Marlboro, N.J.), 15-12.

The two were part of a group of eight U.S. athletes who all fenced in the table of 16.

Dudey defeated teammate Andre Cornman (Tiburon, Calif.), 15-7, and Kiefer earned a 15-11 win over Robin Veran (FRA).

Fourteen-year-old Sam Moelis (Hewlett, N.Y.) and 15-year-old Brian Howard (Petaluma, Calif.) both advanced to the quarter-finals as well after Moelis defeated Damien Travesset (FRA), 15-7, and Howard edged teammate Matthew Branman (Villanova, Pa.), 15-14.

Fencing in the quarter-finals of an international event for the first time, Moelis and Howard placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Howard lost his quarter-final bout to Dudey, 15-4.

Moelis faced Maximilien Chastanet (FRA), the #2-ranked fencer in the cadet European rankings, in the quarters, but lost the bout, 15-1.

Kiefer defeated Ryohei Noguchi (JPN), 15-7, in his quarter-final bout.

Although Kiefer lost his semifinal bout to Chastanet, 15-11, his bronze medal win allowed him to move up to the #3 position in the Cadet Foil National Team Rankings as Kiefer attempts to qualify for his second Cadet World Team.

Dudey won his semifinal over Rikuto Takeda (JPN), 15-9, and defeated Chastanet, 15-10, to win his first ever gold medal at a Cadet European Cup.

The win is the second Cadet European Cup medal of the season for Dudey who is now #2 in the Cadet Foil National Team Rankings.

Both Kiefer and Dudey will compete at the Junior Olympic Fencing Championships in Baltimore this weekend where they will fence in both cadet (U17) and junior (U20 events0 against more than 200 competitors to determine which athletes will finish the domestic season with top three rankings and earn trips to the 2013 Junior and Cadet World Championships.

Click here to view complete results.

Top eight and U.S. results are as follows:

Pisa Cadet Men’s Foil European Cup
1. Thomas Dudey (Bellaire, Texas)
2. Maximilien Chastanet (FRA)
3. Axel Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
3. Rikuto Takeda (JPN)
5. Samuel Moelis (Hewlett, N.Y.)
6. Ismail Bora Biren (TUR)
6. Brian Howard (Petaluma, Calif.)
8. Ryohei Noguchi (JPN)

9. Andre Cornman (Tiburon, Calif.)
10. Raymond Chen (Dallas, Texas)
12. Matthew Branman (Villanova, Pa.)
16. Paul Won (Belle Mead, N.J.)
18. Gregory Mitberg (Beaverton, Ore.)
19. Nolen Scruggs (Ozone Park, N.Y.)
24. Daniel Holley (Pleasant Grove, Utah)
25. Jarred Gou (Saratoga, Calif.)
26. Jan Maceczek (Marlboro, N.J.)
31. Darren Mei (Foster City, Calif.)
33. George Haglund (Califon, N.J.)
47. Umar Massood (Pittsford, N.Y.)
48. Tyler Endee (Jackson, N.J.)
54. Philip Shin (New York City, N.Y.)
57. Julian Knodt (Palo Alto, Calif.)
60. Owen Sconzo (Merrick, N.Y.)