USA Fencing

(Minneapolis, Minn.) – Less than six months after getting her green card, Italian native Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (State College, Pa.) won her nationals debut on Sunday at the USA Fencing Division I National Championships in Minneapolis.

A four-time All-American, Vincenti won the NCAA Championships as a freshman at Penn State in 2010 and won gold and silver on the North American Cup circuit earlier this season.

Although the stakes are different at Division I Nationals, Vincenti faced many of the same opponents from her college days.

Seeded second out of the pools, Vincenti earned a bye into the table of 32 where she defeated Northwestern senior Dina Bazarbayeva (Houston, Texas), 15-3.

Vincenti won her next bout, 15-8, over 2011 World University Games silver medalist Holly Buechel (New York City, N.Y.) and advanced to the semifinals after a 15-10 victory against former Columbia fencer Lydia Kopecky (Chicago, Ill.)

In the semifinals, Vincenti took a quick start with an 8-2 lead over Kat Holmes (Washington, D.C.), a Princeton junior and two-time Junior World medalist, in the first period. Although Vincenti’s lead grew to 11-4 in the second period, Holmes took four single touches to cut Vincenti’s lead to 11-8. The two athletes doubled to 12-10 and 13-11, but Vincenti stole two singles for a 15-11 victory.

Vincenti’s win allowed her to move into the finals against 2012 Olympic team bronze medalist Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)

Vincenti and Hurley were frequent opponents during college with Hurley winning their final NCAA matchup, 15-14, in the semifinals of the 2013 Championships before closing out her career with a second title for Notre Dame.

While Vincenti’s semifinal was quick-paced, she and Hurley took two passivity calls to send the bout directly into the third period where Vincenti built a 9-6 lead after the first two minutes.

Up 14-11 with 24 seconds on the clock, Vincenti gave up a single to Hurley, but finished the bout with a single of her own and a score of 15-12.

“We have a long history together. We really know each other very well and my technique was to wait for her and put pressure on her and see what happened,” Vincenti said. “I felt really good all day and I just wanted to push a little bit and let her attack and that worked very well. In the third period, we started to speed it up and it worked in my favor, so I’m very happy.”

In addition to having friends and teammates in her cheering section, Vincenti also was able to win a national title in front of her mother who came to the United States to see her daughter compete for the first time.

“It feels really good that I finally I get to fence in the U.S. Nationals, but it’s also good because my mom came here because it’s such a big event and it’s my first time doing it. So it feels double great, winning for her, my family, my friends and it feels great. It’s just a quick trip for her, but she’s going to go home very happy, I’m sure,” Vincenti said.  

Paralympian Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss.) won his sixth wheelchair national title on Sunday where he took victories over two of his London teammates in the final rounds. Estep, who fenced epee in London, took gold in the saber competition where he defeated his Gerard Moreno (Los Angeles, Calif.), 15-10, in the semifinal and went on to win the finals, 15-9, against Joey Brinson (Florence, Miss.)

In the senior men’s team saber competition, NYAC Red won gold when the Peter Westbrook Foundation 1 withdrew from the final match.  

Competition also was held in Minneapolis in non-championship events at the April North American Cup.

Featuring both age group and open veteran events, the April NAC is the second of three qualifying events for the 2014 Veteran World Championship Team.

A bronze medalist at her first Veteran Worlds, Lydia Mazorol (Simi Valley, Calif.) followed her silver medal result at the December NAC with a gold in the veteran 50-59 women’s saber event on Sunday. Mazorol defeated Rachelle Arama (Phoenix, Ariz.), 10-2, in the gold medal final, to lock up a position on her third Veteran World Team.

The 60-69 women’s saber event came down to a battle of Veteran World Champions between Jane Eyre (Swedesboro, N.J.) and Delia Turner (Philadelphia, Pa.) – both of whom have won three individual world titles each. Although Eyre came into the event with a five-tournament undefeated streak, Turner took the final win on Sunday, 10-8. Tied in points with a NAC gold and silver each, Eyre and Turner both solidified their positions on this year’s Veteran World Team.

Fencing at a NAC for the first time in two years, Atlanta Olympian Jim Carpenter (Red Bank, N.J.) defeated Dale Karolak (Brighton, Mich.), 10-8, in the veteran 50-59 epee gold medal final.

Jere Bothelio (San Jose, Calif.), a 2011 Veteran World medalist, won the veteran 60-69 epee event with a 10-8 final win over William Walker (Redwood City, Calif.)

Marcel Miernik (Farmington, N.Y.) followed his top-eight finish in the veteran +70 foil competition with a gold medal in the +70 epee event. Miernik, a 2010 Veteran world medalist, defeated Dick Dunlop (Palatine, Ill.), 10-7, in the finals.

The 2012 Veteran World Champion in +70 women’s saber, Ellen O’Leary (Decatur, Ga.) extended her national tournament win streak in the event to six with her 10-3 final victory over Catherine Radle (Atlanta, Ga.)

Four veteran competitions were held in events which aren’t on the Veteran World program.

In the veteran open women’s foil competition, Margaret Fagan (New York, N.Y.) edged Diane Ferguson (Rockville, Md.), 10-9, in the gold medal final.

On Saturday, Oleg Stetsiv (Staten Island, N.Y.) coached his student, Celina Merza (Wayne, N.J.) to her first Division I National Championship. By Sunday, it was Stetsiv’s turn to take the strip and he brought another gold medal back to Bergen Fencing Club when he defeated Sergey Makogon (Sandy, Utah) just two days after Makogon won the veteran 40-49 title.

A bronze medalist in the veteran open women’s saber competition on Friday, Nona Lim (Oakland, Calif.) defeated Dawn Wilson (Louisville, Ky.), 10-6, to win gold in the veteran 40-49 saber event on Sunday.

The veteran 40-49 men’s epee champion also was a bronze medalist in his open competition earlier in the weekend. Mehmet Tepedelenlioglu (La Honda, Calif.) defeated Joseph Way (East Hartford, Conn.), 10-8, to win gold.

In the veteran men’s foil team competition, the Lamichago Fencers dominated the field where they defeated all of their opponents by nearly 20 touches and ultimately won gold over Denver Fencing Center #2, 45-24.

Fencing in the day’s only Division II competition, Keith Kan (Millbrae, Calif.) won his gold medal final against Andrew Grass (Burke, Va.), 15-8.

Click here to view complete results.

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

Division I Women’s Epee National Championships
1. Margherita Guzzi Vincenti (State College, Pa.)
2. Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
3. Kat Holmes (San Francisco, Calif.)
3. Amanda Sirico (Washington, D.C.)
5. Anna Van Brummen (Houston, Texas)
6. Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas)
7. Lydia Kopecky (Chicago, Ill.)
8. Jasmine McGlade (Boulder, Colo.)

Wheelchair Men’s Saber National Championships
1. Ryan Estep (Florence, Mass.)
2. Joey Brinson (Florence, Miss.)
3. David Xu (Staten Island, N.Y.)
3. Gerard Moreno (Los Angeles, Calif.)
5. Leo Curtis (Portland, Ore.)
6. Alexander Xue (Plainsboro, N.J.)
7. Dejuan Surrell (Jackson, Miss.)

Senior Men’s Team Saber National Championships
1. NYAC Red
2. Peter Westbrook Foundation 1
3. Hollywood Sabre

Veteran 40-49 Women’s Epee
1. Mehmet Tepedelenlioglu (La Honda, Calif.)
2. Joseph Way (East Hartford, Conn.)
3. Max Chernyshov (Yardley, pa.)
3. Manuel Corrales (Lemont, Ill.)
5. Kevin Mar (Issaquah, Wash.)
6. Michael LoParco (Houston, Texas)
7. Joseph Deucher (Las Vegas, Nev.)
8. John Kissingford (Ouray, Colo.)

Veteran 50-59 Men’s Epee
1. Jim Carpenter (Red Bank, N.J.)
2. Dale Karolak (Brighton, Mich.)
3. Jeffrey Hudson (Glendale, Ohio)
3. Rick Watrall (Mahwah, N.J.)
5. Walter Dragonetti (Elyria, Ohio)
6. Timothy Glass (Deerfield, Ill.)
7. Andrew O’Dowd (Philadelphia, Pa.)
8. George Scott (Milton, Mass.)

Veteran 60-69 Men’s Epee
1. Jere Bothelio (San Jose, Calif.)
2. William Walker (Redwood City, Calif.)
3. Edward Mullarkey (Middleton, Mass.)
3. Chuck Alexander (Escondido, Calif.)
5. Bob Cochrane (Lake Worth, Fla.)
6. Drew Ridge (Warminster, Pa.)
7. Joel Spielberg (Northfield, N.J.)
8. Bob Lipp (Los Gatos, Calif.)

Veteran +70 Men’s Epee
1. Marcel Miernik (Irvington, N.Y.)
2. Dick Dunlop (Palatine, Ill.)
3. John McGrew (San Ramon, Calif.)
3. Peter Calderon (Plainsboro, N.Y.)
5. Jim Adams (Rockville, Md.)
6. Jonathan Jefferies (Alameda, Calif.)
7. Mark Henry (Potomac, Md.)
8. Allen Barwick Jr. (Potomac, Md.)

Veteran 40-49 Women’s Saber
1. Nona Lim (Oakland, Calif.)
2. Dawn Wilson (Louisville, Ky.)
3. Margaret Arnecke (Sulphur Springs, Texas)
3. Mary Wilkerson (Denver, Colo.)
5. Natalia Oblonsky (New York City, N.Y.)
6. Eileen Foley (Arvada, Colo.)
7. Myriam Gluck (Dublin, Ohio)
8. Frauke Berman (New York, N.Y.)

Veteran 50-59 Women’s Saber
1. Lydia Mazorol (Simi Valley, Calif.)
2. Rachelle Arama (Phoenix, Ariz.)
3. Heidi Runyan (San Diego, Calif.)
3. Chaz Smith (Placerville, Calif.)
5. Alyce Athay-Croasdale (Wakefield, R.I.)
6. Donna Pepe (Oxford, Conn.)
7. Beth Vance (Clarkston, Mich.)
8. Cathleen Coyle Randall (Watertown, Mass.)

Veteran 60-69 Women’s Saber
1. Delia Turner (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2. Jane Eyre (Swedesboro, N.J.)
3. Annie Mannino (Lebanon, N.J.)
3. Jeannine Bender (Arlington, Va.)
5. Linda Dunn (Indianapolis, Ind.)
6. Jude Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.)
7. Debra Allen (Ashland, Ore.)
8. Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.)

Veteran +70 Women’s Saber
1. Ellen O’Leary (Decatur, Ga.)
2. Catherine Radle (Atlanta, Ga.)
3. Louisa Felty (Louisville, Ky.)

Veteran Open Women’s Foil
1. Margaret Fagan (New York, N.Y.)
2. Diane Ferguson (Rockville, Md.)
3. Doina Bogdan (Valley Village, Calif.)
3. Lynn Botelho (Indiana, Pa.)
5. Vittoria Tomich (San Diego, Calif.)
6. Uschi Szpak (Trophy Club, Texas)
7. Michelle Harris (Bridgeville, Pa.)
8. Ida Choy (Portsmouth, N.H.)

Veteran Open Men’s Saber
1. Oleg Stetsiv (Staten Island, N.Y.)
2. Sergey Makogon (Sandy, Utah)
3. Tamas Vidovszky (Folsom, Calif.)
3. Borislav Iordanov (Hollywood, Calif.)
5. Misha Mironovas (Columbus, Ohio)
6. Bill Becker (Chandler, Ariz.)
7. Wang Yung (Bellevue, Wash.)
8. Hue White Jr. (Saint Paul, Minn.)

Veteran Men’s Team Foil
1. Lamichago Fencers
2. Denver Fencing Center #2
3. Polar VETtex
4. Blades of San Diego
5. FC Vets
6. Bay Cup Bladesmen
7. Denver Fencing Center #1
8. RedStar Vet Team

Division II Men’s Foil
1. Keith Kan (Millbrae, Calif.)
2. Andrew Grass (Burke, Va.)
3. Thomas Racek (Clarks Summit, Pa.)
3. Dillon Cooke (El Cajon, Calif.)
5. Ian Quin (Ramsey, N.J.)
6. Daniel Budai (Ellicott City, Md.)
7. Nick Pollack (Marietta, Ga.)
8. Mario Antonio Montalvo (PUR)