USA Fencing

(Budapest, Hungary) – Following Team USA’s opening day in which all 12 athletes advanced to the table of 64 at the Senior World Championships, five U.S. athletes will compete in the men’s foil and epee events on Tuesday.

Fencing in the pool rounds of a Senior Worlds for the first time since 2007, two-time Olympian Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.) is the second seed in the men’s epee pools. Thompson will fence six athletes who he has never competed against previously, including 2007 Senior Worlds top-16 finisher Mohammad Rezaei Tadi (IRI), two-time Senior World Team members Ahmed Elsaghir (EGY) and Satya Gunput (MRI), 2013 Junior World Team member Zacharie Herve Roger (MAR) and Batsuuri Battumur (MGL),

Although all three of Thompson’s epee teammates are first-time Senior World Team members, they are each veterans of the World Cup circuit and fenced on the squad that won silver at the Pan American Championships in June.

With men’s epee running 29 pools simultaneously, Alex Tsinis (Little Neck, N.Y.) will have the unique experience of fencing his first pool bouts on the gold medal final strip. Tsinis’s opponents include three-time Senior World Team member Normunds Kalnins (LAT), two-time Senior World Team members Gustavo Coqueco (COL) and Peter Szenyi (HUN), 2008 Junior Worlds sixth-place finisher Fahed Hasan (KUW) and Robrecht Van Cleemput (BEL).

Adam Watson (Richford, Vt.) will face several familiar opponents in his pool. Watson defeated the pool’s second highest seed, four-time Junior World Team member Richard Pokorny (CZE), at the Tallinn World Cup in Estonia this spring by a 15-11 margin. Watson will also fence four-time Senior World Team member Vincent Pelletier (CAN) who defeated Watson in both of their international pool bouts. Watson also will fence four-time Junior World Team member Danushman Djumabay Uluu (KGZ)
two-time Junior World Team member Thomas Ertzeid (NOR), Joaquin Quintas (URU) and Klaus Albert Caning (DEN).

Two-time Pan Am Team member Jason Pryor (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will fence one of Hungary’s hometown favorite athletes – Geza Imre – in his pool. The three-time Olympian finished sixth at the last Senior Worlds in Catania. Of Pryor’s six opponents, he has fenced just one on the international circuit –Alexander Chernykh (KGZ) whom he defeated in the pools at the Tallinn World Cup in March. Pryor will also fence two-time Senior World Team member Kasper Roslander (FIN), 2006 Junior World Team member Daniel Qui Yang Foo (SIN), 2013 Junior World Team member Hasan Alfudari (KUW) and Yadong Chen (CHN).

While his London Olympic teammates – Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.), Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) and Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.) – are all exempt from pools, Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) ended the World Cup season ranked 17^th in the world – one spot short of exemption. While athletes are separated from their teammates by nation in the pools, Chamley-Watson will face one of his Penn State teammates, David Gomez (MEX) on Tuesday. His field also includes six-time Senior World Team member Rene Pranz (AUT), three-time Senior World Team member Zhenggang Zhang (SIN), four-time Junior World Team member Marcus Mepstead (GBR), 2008 Junior World Team member Naser Al Walid (KUW) and Bin Sun (CHN).

Pools and preliminary rounds also will be held in women’s saber, but all four U.S. fencers – Mariel Zagnis (Beaverton, Ore.), Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.), Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.) – are exempt.

Follow the results live at http://www.engarde-service.com/files/wch2013/wch2013/.

Competition schedule on Tuesday is as follows:

Tuesday, Aug. 6
9 a.m.
Women’s Individual Saber Pools

10:30 a.m.
Women’s Individual Saber Preliminary Round of 64

11:30 a.m.
Men’s Individual Epee Pools

2 p.m.
Men’s Individual Epee Preliminary Round of 256

2:40 p.m.
Men’s Individual Epee Preliminary Round of 128

4 p.m.
Men’s Individual Epee Preliminary Round of 64

5 p.m.
Men’s Individual Foil Pools

7:30 p.m.
Men’s Individual Foil Preliminary Round of 128

8:10 p.m.
Men’s Individual Foil Preliminary Round of 64