USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – With three of the top 10 men’s foil fencers in the world competing at the November North American Cup in Cleveland on Monday, London Olympian Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) faced a field that was the most difficult of any lineup this weekend.

Massialas, who is ninth in the world rankings and recently began his sophomore year at Stanford, was seeded third in the direct elimination tables of the Division I men’s foil event where he earned a bye into the table of 128.

Massialas defeated Canadian Francois Provencher, 15-9, and then won his next two bouts by 15-7 margins over Tyler Endee (Jackson, N.J.) and Notre Dame senior Nick Kubik (South Bend, Ind.)

In the table of 16, Massialas outtouched his London teammate, Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.), by a score of 15-14.

Two-time Junior World Team medalist Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.) kept their quarter-final close, but Massialas won the bout over the Harvard junior, 15-13.

Massialas’s next opponent, 16-year-old Aaron Ahn (Los Angeles, Calif.), had never advanced past the table of 64 at a Division I event, but earned a career best result when he qualified for the semifinals.

Massialas took the win over Ahn quickly with a 15-4 victory.

In the gold medal final, Massialas faced off against world No. 2 Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.) A Notre Dame senior and two-time Olympian, Meinhardt was Massialas and Imboden’s teammate on the squad that won silver at the Senior Worlds in August.

Massialas won the bout, 15-6, over Meinhardt to take gold.

The win put three fencers from the Massialas Foundation at Halberstadt in the top four as M Team fencers Massialas and Meinhardt were joined on the podium by former Junior World Team Champion David Willette (Lafayette, Calif.)

A 2013 Cadet World Team member, Amanda Sirico (Bowie, Md.) won her fourth individual national medal of the year with a gold in the junior women’s epee event.

Sirico, who the Junior Olympic Championships in February and took bronze at the Division I Nationals April, earned a bye into the table of 64 and began the direct elimination rounds with a 15-7 victory over Ally Micek (Houston, Texas) and a 15-4 win in the 32 over Sharon Ra (New York City, N.Y.)

In the table of 16, Sirico defeated Canadian Andree-Anne Paquet, 15-8, to advance to the quarters where she won her bout against Charlene Liu (Bridgewater, N.J.), 15-9.

Sirico’s winning ways continued with a 15-10 semifinal victory over Penn State sophomore Jessica O’Neill-Lyublinsky (North Salem, N.Y.)

In the gold medal final, Sirico won her bout against Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas), a Princeton sophomore and 2012 Junior World team bronze medalist, by a score of 15-12.

In his final year of junior eligibility, Columbia sophomore Geoffrey Loss (Laguna Beach, Calif.) took gold in the junior men’s saber event as he continues his bid to qualify for a second straight Junior Worlds appearance.

Seeded second out of the pools, Loss earned a bye into the table of 64 where he defeated Andrew Choi (Mount Laurel, N.J.), 15-13.

Following the close bout, Loss earned a 15-10 victory over Cameron Mackay (CAN) in the 32 and a 15-5 win over Bartosz Pukal (Natick, Mass.) in the 16.

In the quarters, Loss defeated Peter Pak (Roslyn, N.Y.), his teammate at the 2011 Cadet Worlds, by a score of 15-8.

Loss took a 15-9 win in the semifinals against Jose Gonzalez Dalmasy (PUR) and won his first NAC title in a year after he defeated 2012 Junior World Team member John Hallsten (Sacramento, Calif.) in the finals.

In the senior women’s team foil competition, the New Jersey Ninjas team of Clarissa Allen (New town, Pa.), Nicole Vaiani (Belmar, N.J.) and Kelleigh Ryan (CAN) entered the tournament as the top seeded team and went on to win gold.

The Ninjas defeated the team from Brooklyn Fencing Center, 45-39, in the semis.

In the final match, the Ninjas won the gold medal after a 39-32 victory over the SFFC team of San Francisco natives Danielle Ferdon, Stefani Kahookele, Michelle Lee and Evelyn Barnes.

The bronze medal final pitted the Fencing Academy of Westchester against Brooklyn Fencing Center.

Fencing Academy of Westchester’s Sylvie Binder (Armonk, N.Y.) scored 26 of the team’s 45 touches and anchored Emily Jiang (Ardsley, N.Y.) and Finnula Mageras (Darien, Conn.) to a 45-42 win over Brooklyn Fencing Center.

Click here to view complete results.

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

Division I Men’s Individual Foil
1. Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)
2. Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.)
3. Aaron Ahn (Los Angeles, Calif.)
3. David WIllette (Lafayette, Calif.)
5. Jeremy Goldstein (Westport, Conn.)
6. Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.)
7. Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.)
8. Adam Elkassas (Du Bois, Pa.)

Senior Women’s Team Foil
1. New Jersey Ninjas
2. SFFC
3. Fencing Academy of Westchester
4. Brooklyn Fencing Center
5. Olympia Longueuil

Junior Women’s Individual Epee
1. Amanda Sirico (Bowie, Md.)
2. Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas)
3. Jessica O’Neill-Lyublinsky (North Salem, N.Y.)
3. Amy Zhao (Cambridge, Mass.)
5. Belinda Mo (Irvine, Calif.)
6. Charlene Liu (Bridgewater, N.J.)
7. Saanchi Kukadia (Manhasset, N.Y.)
8. Leonora Mackinnon (CAN)

Junior Men’s Individual Saber
1. Geoffrey Loss (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
2. John Hallsten (Sacramento, Calif.)
3. Jose Gonzalez Dalmasy (PUR)
3. Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.)
5. Jason Meng (Newton, Mass.)
6. Benjamin Natanzon (Manalapan, N.J.)
7. Kaito Streets (Redwood City, Calif.)
8. Peter Pak (Roslyn, N.Y.)