USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Fencing for the first time in competition since the Senior World Championships, London Olympians Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.) and Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) each won gold at the November North American Cup in Cleveland, Ohio.

Although Homer hasn’t fenced a domestic event since this tournament last year, he picked up where he left off and began the tournament as the top-ranked Division I men’s saber fencer in the nation.

Homer gave up just eight touches in six pool bouts to enter the direct elimination tables as the top seed and earn a bye into the table of 128.

Homer cruised through his first three bouts with wins over Connor Mills (Medford, N.J.), 15-7; Ameen Borojerdi (Plantation, Fla.), 15-4; and Michael Brand (Needham, Mass.), 15-5.

In the table of 16, Homer defeated Andrew Fischl (Huntington, N.Y.), 15-9, and won his quarter-final over Michael Costin (Culver City, Calif.), a 2012 Junior World Team member and Columbia freshman, by a score of 15-12.

Homer was nearly upset in the semifinals by 2011 Junior World Team member Evan Prochniak (Hudson, N.H.), but held on for a 15-13 win.

In the other semifinal, Homer’s 2013 Senior World teammate, Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.), defeated 2012 Olympian Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.), 15-11, to set up a rematch of the gold medal final from the 2012 November NAC.

Homer won the final bout, 15-9, over Dershwitz to claim gold.

The reigning National Champion and a bronze medalist in the team event at the London Games, Hurley was seeded first out of the Division I women’s epee pools where she gave up just six touches to her six opponents.

Hurley won her next two bouts by 15-5 margins over Ashley Hahn (Bernardsville, N.J.) and Eleanor Leighton (Mishakawa, Ind.)

In the table of 32, Hurley defeated Rebecca Chimahusky (Wheaton, Md.), 15-11, and went on to fence her younger sister, Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas), in the next round. .

Kelley won the bout, 15-12, and advanced to the quarters after a 15-13 victory over 2009 Junior World silver medalist Ewa Nelip (POL).

After a 15-9 win in her bout against two-time Senior World Team member Lauren Willock (Astoria, N.Y.), Kelley fenced Courtney for the second time after the younger Hurley advanced through the repechage.

Kelley won their semifinal, 15-13, and took out 2010 NCAA Champion Margherita Guzzi Vicenti (ITA), 15-9, to win her third straight national tournament title after taking gold at the Nationals in April and the November NAC last year.

Junior men’s foil fencer Jerry Chang (Mountain View, Calif.) continued his bid to compete at the Junior Worlds for a second time with his gold medal win on Saturday.

Chang, a Harvard sophomore who won gold in the team event at the 2012 Junior Worlds, won his table of 128 bout against Drew Gallagher (Cranberry Township, Pa.), 15-5, and defeated Eamonn Gomez-Perales (CAN), 15-8, in the table of 64.

Chang defeated Albert Zhang (Annandale, N.J.), 15-11, in the table of 32 and edged James Sands (New York City, N.Y.), 15-13, in the 16.

Fencing in the quarter-finals, Chang defeated Drew Johnston (Whitehouse Station, N.J.), 15-10, and advanced to the gold medal final after a 15-11 win over Joseph Lam (San Francisco, Calif.)

In the gold medal final, Chang faced off against one of his 2013 Junior World Teammate – Penn State sophomore Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.) Although Bravo won their last bout in the semifinals of the July NAC, Chang took gold by a touch and a score of 15-14.

The senior women’s team saber competition came down to two teams from California – the California Girls and Hristov-Csikany Fencers.

The California Girls held off a late run by Mission in the semifinals to win the match, 45-44.

In the gold medal final, Danya Hu (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) anchored teammates Maia Chamberlain (Menlo Park, Calif.) and Leanne Singleton-Comfort (Marysville, Calif.) to a 45-40 victory over the Hristov-Csikany team of Dylan Devine-Casebolt (Orangevale, Calif.), Gabrielle Zegers (Granite Bay, Calif.), Rose Adams (Sacramento, Calif.) and Victoria Zhang (Carmichael, Calif.)

Fencing for bronze, Mission defeated the Canadian Beaches Sabre Club, 45-42. The Mission team included Kacy Charpin (East Setauket, N.Y.), Ilana Solomon (Setauket, N.Y.) and Carly Weber-Levine (Old Field, N.Y.)

In the senior men’s team epee competition, the Canadian team from Ottawa Fencing defeated EBFG, 45-44, in the gold medal final and the EBFG team of Thibault Philippine (Oakland, Calif.), Matthias Philippine (Oakland, Calif.), Kyle Yamasaki (San Luis Obispo) and Keith Lichten (Oakland, Calif.) took the silver medal.

Although The Cats in the Hats were seeded seventh at the start of the event, Daniel Hurwitz (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Maciek Zmyslowski (Des Plaines, Ill.) and Alistair Murray (Evanston, Ill.) won bronze after a 45-42 victory over Northern Colorado Fencers.

Click here to view complete results.

Top eight results are as follows:

Division I Women’s Individual Epee
1. Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
2. Margherita Guzzi Vicenti (ITA)
3. Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
3. Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.)
5. Cassandra Bates (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
6. Shawn Wallace (Greenwich, Conn.)
7. Ashley Severson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.)
8. Lauren Willock (Astoria, N.Y.)

Division I Men’s Individual Saber
1. Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.)
2. Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.)
3. Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.)
3. Evan Prochniak (Hudson, N.H.)
5. Shaul Gordon (CAN)
6. Will Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.)
7. Adam Lewicki (Oakland, N.J.)
8. Michael Costin (Culver City, Calif.)

Senior Men’s Team Epee
1. Ottawa Fencing
2. EBFG
3. The Cats in the Hats
4. Northern Colorado Fencers
5. Masque de Fer
6. DC Fencers Club
7. Fencers Without Borders
8. Royal Fencing International

Senior Women’s Team Saber
1. California Girls
2. Hristov-Csikany Fencers
3. Mission
4. Beaches Sabre Club
6. Les Triplettes

Junior Men’s Individual Foil
1. Jerry Chang (Mountain View, Calif.)
2. Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.)
3. Adam Mathieu (Union City, N.J.)
3. Joseph Lam (San Francisco, Calif.)
5. Drew Johnston (Whitehouse Station, N.J.)
6. Raymond Chen (Dallas, Texas)
7. Howie Ho Yin Chan (HKG)
8. George Haglund (Califon, N.J.)