USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Team USA followed the women’s double-medal result on Saturday with a bronze medal in the men’s team competition on Sunday at the Klagenfurt Epee Cadet European Cup in Austria.

After winning bronze in the individual event on Saturday, Clinton Rodell (Annandale, Va.) collected his second podium result of the weekend with USA 1 teammates Michael Popovici (Katy, Texas), Jason Xu (Prospect, Ky.) and Esteban Sanchez (League City, Texas).

Seeded third in the tournament, the Americans earned a bye into the table of 16 where they defeated Poland 2, 45-25.

After a 45-38 win over Belarus in the quarter-finals, USA 1 lost to Hungary 1, 45-37, in the semis.

In the bronze medal match, Rodell anchored USA 1 to a 45-36 win over Hungary 2.

Anchored by Wesley Johnson (Pleasant View, Utah), USA 2 defeated Hungary 3, 45-39,  victory over Hungary 3 in the table of 16.

In the quarter-finals, however, Johnson and teammates Darius Zacharakis (Houston, Texas), Robin Cheong (San Antonio, Texas) and Jonathan Xu (Prospect, Ky.) were defeated by Hungary 1, 34-31, and finished the event in eighth place.

Seeded fourth at the start of the event, USA 3 placed sixth overall.

Nicholas Campbell-Kruger (Boulder, Colo.) anchored a squad that included Nicolas Wilson (Houston, Texas), Leonard Behrens (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Sean Wilson (Houston, Texas) to a 45-39 win in their table of 16 bout against the Czech Republic, but lost to Romania 1, 45-31.

In the women’s individual competition, four U.S. fencers each advanced to the quarter-finals – the most top-eight finishes of any nation in the event.

Charlene Liu (Bridgewater, N.J.), a bronze medalist in the team competition on Saturday, went undefeated in both rounds of pools to enter the direct elimination tables as the No. 2 seed.  

After a bye into the table of 64, Liu defeated her teammate, Taly Yukelson (Cupertino, Calif.), by a score of 15-12, and defeated Paula Jukic (CRO), 15-10, in the table of 32.

Liu won her table of 16 bout against Ana Sel (SRB), 15-12, to advance to her first international quarter-final where Liu dropped her bout against four-time Cadet European Cup medalist Lizaveta Khlystunova (BLR), 15-11.

The fifth seed in the direct elimination tables, Madeline Antekeier (Houston, Texas) won 10 of her 11 pool bouts and defeated Jenny Pego Magalhaes (SUI), 15-7, in the table of 64.

Fencing in her third season on the cadet international circuit, Antekeier earned her first trip to the quarters after a 15-12 win over Lea Mayer (GER) in the 32 and a 15-11 victory in her table of 16 bout against Tia Simms-Lymn (JAM).

Antekeier lost her final bout to Alessandra Bozza (ITA), 15-7, and finished sixth.

Kasia Nixon (Los Angeles, Calif.), a 2013 Cadet World Team member, moved up to No. 12 in the Cadet European Rankings after her seventh place result in Klagenfurt and is now the top U.S. women’s epee fencer in the standings.

Nixon came out of the pools as the ninth seed and won her table of 64 bout, 11-4, over Merve Ersoy (TUR).

In the table of 32, Nixon edged Natalya Stepanyan (UKR), 14-13, before going on to win her next bout over Anna Mroszczak (POL), 15-5.

Nixon lost her quarter-final bout to Alexandra Predescu (ROU), 15-9, and finished seventh overall.

Michelle Nam (New York City, N.Y.) made an impressive debut at her first international event with an eighth-place finish in Klagenfurt.

Nam won all three of her direct elimination bouts by a single touch with victories over Paulina Wilaszek (POL), 15-4; Kinga Nagy (HUN), 12-11; and 2013 Cadet European Championships bronze medalist Vanessa Riedmueller (GER), 10-9.

In the quarters, Nam’s run came to an end when she lost her bout against eventual gold medalist Inna Brovko (UKR), 15-12.

Nam, who was the 25^th ranked cadet women’s epee fencer in the nation at the start of the tournament, shot up to No. 12 with her result on Sunday.

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

Klagenfurt Women’s Individual Epee Cadet European Cup
1. Inna Brovko (UKR)
2. Alexandra Predescu (ROU)
3. Alessandra Bozza (ITA)
3. Lizaveta Khlystunova (BLR)
5. Charlene Liu (Bridgewater, N.J.)
6. Madeline Antekeier (Houston, Texas)
7. Kasia Nixon (Los Angeles, Calif.)
8. Michelle Nam (New York City, N.Y.)

13. Farrah Lee-Elabd (San Antonio, Texas)
16. Brooke Sirico (Bowie, Md.)
19. Amanda Han (Las Vegas, Nev.)
25. Camille Esnault (Cupertino, Calif.)
33. Barbara Van Benthuysen (The Woodlands, Texas)
40. Giana Vierheller (Houston, Texas)
55. Belinda Mo (Irvine, Calif.)
56. Taly Yukelson (Cupertino, Calif.)
70. Dariya Yefremenko (Manalapan, N.J.)
75. Lily Young (New York City, N.Y.)
78. Alexandra Micek (Houston, Texas)
82. Saanchi Kukadia (Manhasset, N.Y.)
88. Hanna Lee (Las Vegas, Nev.)
102. Elise Gout (Encinitas, Calif.)
118. Kriti Narayanan (Plano, Texas)
150. Samantha Doro (Arlington Heights, Ill.)

Klagenfurt Men’s Team Epee Cadet European Cup
1. Hungary 1
2. Romania 1
3. USA 1
4. Hungary 2
5. Switzerland
6. USA 3
7. Belarus
8. USA 2