USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Competition began on Friday at the March North American Cup in Reno with four former Veteran World Team successfully defending their December NAC titles and earning enough national ranking points to qualify for the team that will represent the United States at the Veteran World Championships in Bulgaria.

Two-time Veteran World medalist Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.) won her second straight women’s epee title in the +70 event. Bedrosian edged 2011 Veteran World medalist Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.), 10-9, in the semifinals and won her final bout over Catherine Radle (Suwanee, Ga.) to retain her #1 position in the Veteran +70 women’s epee rankings. As the Veteran World Team is selected based on the best-two-of-three results at the December NAC, March NAC and Summer Nationals in July, Bedrosian’s win has solidified her position on her 15^th straight Veteran World Championship Team.

In a rematch of the December NAC +70 men’s saber final, eight-time Veteran World medalist Ray Sexton (Round Rock, Texas) defeated six-time Veteran World medalist Jim Adams (Rockville, Md.), 10-5, to win gold. Like Bedrosian, Sexton’s second straight gold medal in the event also earned him a position on the 2013 Veteran World Championship Team.

Josh Runyan (San Diego, Calif.), a 2011 Veteran World silver medalist, fell short of qualifying for the 2012 Veteran World team, but guaranteed himself a chance at another Veteran World podium finish when he won gold in the veteran men’s 50-59 saber event. Runyan defeated 2012 Veteran World Champion Will Milne (Redwood City, Calif.), 10-4, in the semifinals and won his final bout over 2010 Veteran World silver medalist Don Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio) by a score of 10-7.

Elizabeth Kocab (Farmington Hills, Mich.) has been undefeated in the veteran women’s 60-69 epee competition for the past two seasons – a streak she continued on Friday when she won her fifth straight gold medal in the event. The 2011 Veteran World Champion during her final year in the 50-59 competition, Kocab won bronze at the 2012 Veteran Worlds and a 10-3 win over her 2012 teammate Bonnie Aher (Brookfield, Conn.) ensured that Kocab will qualify for her third straight Veteran World Team this fall.

In a rematch of their 2012 Veteran World semifinal bout, two-time Veteran World medalist Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio) fenced Wang Yung (Bellevue, Wash.) in the veteran men’s 60-69 saber gold medal final. Streb, who defeated Yang in Austria last year, nearly shut out the 2011 Veteran World Champion as he won the bout, 10-1.

Fencing for a chance at qualifying for her first Veteran World Team, 50-year-old Cristina Ford (Bend, Ore.) followed her silver medal at the December NAC with a gold on Friday in the veteran women’s 50-59 epee competition. Ford defeated 2012 Veteran World bronze medalist Valerie Asher (Bethesda, Md.)

Four veteran events were held that are not qualifying tournaments for the Veteran World Championships.

In the veteran open men’s epee competition, Erich Cranor (Portland, Ore.) won the gold medal bout over Daniel Rees (Denver, Colo.), 10-9.

Three-time Olympian Ann Marsh-Senic (Royal Oak, Mich.) defeated two Veteran World medalists en route to winning the veteran open women’s foil title – her fourth straight national level gold medal in a veteran event since aging into veteran competition in 2011. Marsh-Senic defeated five-time Veteran World medalist Anne-Marie Walters (Parkland, Fla.), 10-3, in the semifinals and two-time Veteran World medalist Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.), 10-4, in the gold medal final.

Marsh-Senic’s teammate at the Atlanta Games, Leslie Marx (Durham, N.C.), won the veteran women’s 40-49 epee competition. Marx defeated Carola Schmid (Seattle, Wash.), 10-6, in the gold medal final to take her fourth straight veteran epee title.

Bill Becker (Gilbert, Ariz.) won his second straight NAC title in the veteran men’s 40-49 saber event when he defeated Sergey Makogon (Sandy, Utah), 10-5, in the gold medal final.

In the wheelchair men’s epee event, former Wheelchair World Champion Tariq Alqallaf (KUW) won gold with a 15-6 victory over 2000 Paralympian Curtis Lovejoy (College Park, Md.) in the final bout.

In the Division II men’s foil competition, a trio of Koreans won gold, silver and bronze. Jong Woo Kang defeated Seong Hyun Kim,15-8, in the semifinals and earned his final bout win, 15-11, over Dae Yeop Lee.

Fifteen-year-old Carly Weber-Levine (Old Field, N.Y.) won the Division II women’s saber competition. Weber-Levine defeated Rose Adams (Sacramento, Calif.), a top-eight finisher in the Y14 event at the January NAC, in the gold medal final, 15-14. Weber-Levine will fence for another opportunity to win gold on Saturday when she competes in the Division III event.

Competition continues on Saturday with the schedule as follows:

Saturday, March 16
8:30 a.m.
Veteran Men’s 60-69 Epee
Veteran Men’s +70 Epee
Veteran 60-69 Women’s Foil
Veteran +70 Women’s Foil
Veteran Open Men’s Saber
Veteran Open Women’s Epee
Division III Men’s Foil

 

9:30 a.m.
Wheelchair Men’s Foil

 

1:30 p.m.
Veteran 40-49 Men’s Epee
Division III Women’s Saber

 

2 p.m.
Veteran Men’s 50-59 Epee
Veteran 50-59 Women’s Foil

 

2:30 p.m.
Veteran 40-49 Women’s Foil

 

Click here to view complete results.

Top eight results are as follows:

Veteran 40-49 Women’s Epee
1. Leslie Marx (Durham, N.C.)
2. Carola Schmid (Seattle, Wash.)
3. Natalia Stavisky (Brookline, Mass.)
3. Maria Copelan (Portland, Ore.)
5. Jennifer Devore (Seattle, Wash.)
6. Dawn Lorentson (New Haven, Conn.)
7. Carrie Warlaumont (Portland, Ore.)
8. Rebecca Wat (Hillsborough, Calif.)

Veteran 50-59 Women’s Epee
1. Cristina Ford (Bend, Ore.)
2. Valerie Asher (Bethesda, Md.)
3. Marcia Pierce (Richmond, Ky.)
3. Amy Fortune (Monrovia, Calif.)
5. Louise Leighton (Mishawaka, Ind.)
6. Cristina Gordet (Somerville, Mass.)
7. Dianna McMenamin (South Hadley, Mass.)
8. Rosanna Lacarra (Carlsbad, Calif.)

Veteran 60-69 Women’s Epee
1. Elizabeth Kocab (Farmington Hills, N.J.)
2. Bonnie Aher (Brookfield, Conn.)
3. Jann Ream (Iowa City, Iowa)
3. Anna Estrada (San Francisco, Calif.)
5. Diane Kallus (Round Rock, Texas)
6. Anna Telles (Seattle, Wash.)
7. Deborah Theriault (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
8. Cynthia Runyon (Flagstaff, Ariz.)

Veteran +70 Women’s Epee
1. Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.)
2. Catherine Radle (Suwanee, Ga.)
3. Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.)
3. Ellen O’Leary (Decatur, Ga.)
5. Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.)

Veteran 40-49 Men’s Saber
1. Bill Becker (Gilbert, Ariz.)
2. Sergey Makogon (Sandy, Utah)
3. Jae Sang (San Marino, Calif.)
3. Misha Mironovas (Columbus, Ohio)
5. Tamas Vidovszky (Folsom, Calif.)
6. Andre Xagoraris (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
7. Louis Montorio (New York City, N.Y.)
8. Stephen Andrews (Bloomington, Ind.)

Veteran 50-59 Men’s Saber
1. Joshua Runyan (San Diego, Calif.)
2. Don Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio)
3. Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.)
3. Will Milne (Redwood City, Calif.)
5. Steven Heck (Laurel, Md.)
6. Dmitri Kopylov (Roseland, N.J.)
7. Mike Krasnich (CAN)
8. Dan Corrigan (Phoenix, Ariz.)

Veteran Men’s 60-69 Saber
1. Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio)
2. Wang Yung (Bellevue, Wash.)
3. David Seuss (Charlestown, Mass.)
3. Ted Smith (Diamond Springs, Calif.)
5. Frank Nagorney (Pepper Pike, Ohio)
6. Keith Baker (McLean, Va.)
7. Phil Sbarbaro (Vienna, Va.)
8. Ric Kulik (Reno, Nev.)

Veteran +70 Men’s Saber
1. Ray Sexton (Round Rock, Texas)
2. Jim Adams (Rockville, Md.)
3. Vic Bianchini (San Diego, Calif.)
3. Peter Calderon (Plainsboro, N.J.)
5. Costa Nichols (Palm Springs, Calif.)
6. Lucas Dobrzanski (Bakersfield, Calif.)
7. Tung-Shan Chang (Lexington, Mass.)

Veteran Open Women’s Foil
1. Ann Marsh-Senic (Royal Oak, Mich.)
2. Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.)
3. Anne-Marie Walters (Parkland, Fla.)
3. Vittoria Tomich (San Diego, Calif.)
5. Michelle Verhave (Purdys, N.Y.)
6. Margaret Fagan (New York City, N.Y.)
7. Sharone Huey (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
8. Monica Morrison (Seattle, Wash.)

Veteran Open Men’s Epee
1. Erich Cranor (Portland, Ore.)
2. Daniel Rees (Denver, Colo.)
3. Bela Suveg (CAN)
3. Derrick Schroff (Atlanta, Ga.)
5. John Varney (Issaquah, Wash.)
6. Bryan Baer (Greenwood Village, Colo.)
7. Michael Heggen (Salem, Ore.)
8. Carl Loeffler (Santa Monica, Calif.)

Wheelchair Men’s Epee
1. Tariq Alqallaf (KUW)
2. Curtis Lovejoy (College Park, Md.)
3. Josh Russell (Mendenhall, Miss.)
3. Rory Pannkuk (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
5. Randy Lavender (Tupelo, Miss.)
6. Samuel Ramirez (Independence, Ore.)
7. Rick Zengler (Norcross, Ga.)

Division II Men’s Foil
1. Jong Woo Kang (KOR)
2. Dae Yeop Lee (KOR)
3. Sidarth Kumbla (San Jose, Calif.)
3. Seong Hyun Kim (KOR)
5. Daniel Hernandez Wilson (CAN)
6. Jonathan Lin (Johns Creek, Ga.)
7. Aidan Chu (San Francisco, Calif.)
8. Peter Knoppel (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Division II Women’s Saber
1. Carly Weber-Levine (Old Field, N.Y.)
2. Rose Adams (Sacramento, Calif.)
3. Kaleigh Mentzer (Boston, Mass.)
3. Valerie Garcia (Plano, Texas)
5. Madalyn Macarr (Glendale, Calif.)
6. Lindsay Squires (Dix Hills, N.Y.)
7. Meredith Steyer (Danvers, Mass.)
8. Sarah Hanvy (Olathe, Kans.)