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Vet Women’s Foil and Men’s Saber Teams Named at Summer Nationals

06/26/2014, 8:15am CDT
By Nicole Jomantas

Veteran 60-69 women's foil world team members Lynnette Whitt, Jennette Starks-Faulkner and Anne-Marie Walters. (Jude Offerle not pictured). Photo Credit: Nicole Jomantas

(Columbus, Ohio) – Rarely do fencing fans get a chance to see a shutout in the finals of a National Championships, but Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.) did just that on her way to winning gold in the veteran 60-69 women’s foil event on Tuesday.

A three-time Veteran World medalist, Starks-Faulkner was the top seed out of the pools and defeated both four-time Veteran World Team member Madelon Rosenfeld (New York City, N.Y.) and four-time Veteran World medalist Anne-Marie Walters (Parkland, Fla.) by 10-2 scores.

In the gold medal final, Starks-Faulkner defeated Lynnette Whitt (Owings, Md.), 10-0.

“I’ve been working on my mental state. I know I can fence. But I needed to work on my mental state and I did that well today,” Starks-Faulkner said. “In the final, I was thinking about distance and timing. I knew I could fence her. I just needed to focus on distance and timing and not getting complacent.”

At 59-years-old, Starks-Faulkner says she faces challenges that she didn’t when she was a fencer at Brooklyn College 40 years ago.

“A lot of the veterans, we don’t all get to train like the young kids. I don’t have a permanent coach except for Taro [Yamashita], but he’s an epee coach. He’s not really foil, but we work out what I’m going to work on. But I don’t get to take lessons every day. I don’t get to fence every day, but working on my mental state is something I can control,” said Starks-Faulkner who qualified for her eighth straight Veteran World Team and her first as a fencer in the 60-69-year-old age category. “I’m hoping to fence with the same mentality at Worlds that I did here today and, if I do that, I think I’ll be fine.”

In addition to Starks-Faulkner, Walters, Whitt and 2007 Veteran World medalist Jude Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.) also qualified for the veteran 60-69 women’s foil squad.

Lynn Botelho (Indiana, Pa.) qualified for her second Veteran World Team with a gold medal win in the veteran 50-59 women’s foil event.

Botelho entered the direct elimination rounds as the first seed out of the pools and earned a bye into the table of 16 where she defeated Sydney Fadner (Watertown, Mass.), 10-5. Botelho won both of her next round, 10-7, over Allison Treloar (Corrales, N.M.) and 2010 Veteran World medalist Michelle Verhave (Purdys, N.Y.)

In the gold medal final, Botelho defeated Kristin Vines (Hixson, Tenn.), 10-5.

Their gold and silver medal finishes allowed Botelho and Vines to remain top four in the Veteran World rankings and earn berths onto Team USA with two-time Vet World Team member Ursula Szpak (Trophy Club, Texas) and first-time team member Viveka Fox (Vergeness, Vt.)

A bronze medalist in the 60-69 women’s foil at the 2013 National Championships, Ruth Dodge (Loudon, N.H.) won gold in her first Nationals since moving up to +70.

After a bye into the semifinals, Dodge defeated three-time Veteran World medalist Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.), 10-7.

Dodge went on to win the gold medal final, 10-4, over five-time Veteran World Team member Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.)

The win qualified Dodge for her first Veteran World Team with Bedrosian, Reckling and 2011 Veteran World medalist Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.) Bedrosian and Reckling will also fence epee at the Veteran Worlds after qualifying for that squad on Sunday.

In the veteran 50-59 men’s saber event, 2013 Veteran World silver medalist Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.) successfully defended his 2013 National Championship title and qualified for his third Veteran World Team.

Kizik, who went undefeated in the pools, defeated 2007 Veteran World Team member Roderick Meagher (Green Island, N.Y.), 10-7, in the table of 16 and three-time Veteran World Team member Paul Hicha (Mesa, Ariz.), 10-5.

Kizik defeated two of his top rivals in the medal rounds where he took out 2012 Veteran World Champion Will Milne (Redwood City, Calif.), 10-3, in the semis and 2010 Veteran World silver medalist Donald Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio), 10-4, in the finals.

Kizik will fence on Team USA with Anthony, two-time Veteran World Team member Dmitri Kopylov (Roseland, N.J.) and first-time team member Chris Matt (Fairfax Station, Va.)

In the veteran 60-69 men’s saber event, Garik Gutman (Rockville, Md.) defeated Martin Gravis (Ogden, Utah) in the table of 16.

Gutman went on to upset 2013 Veteran World Champion David Seuss (Charlestown, Mass.), 10-6, in the quarter-finals.

After a 10-9 semifinal win over Ted Smith (Placerville, Calif.), Gutman won his final bout over 2012 Veteran World medalist Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio), 10-5.

Gutman qualified for his second Veteran World Team with Streb, Seuss and 2012 Veteran World Champion Wang Yung (Bellevue, Wash.)

Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas) won his second national title of the week when he followed his veteran +70 foil gold medal on Sunday with a +70 saber championship win on Tuesday.

The top seed out of the pools, Sexton defeated William Barwick Jr. (Potomac, Md.), 10-3, in the quarters.

In the semifinals, Sexton fenced Peter Calderon (Plainsboro, N.J.) – his teammate on the men’s foil squad at the Veteran Worlds in October.

Calderon, who lost their foil semifinal bout, 10-3, on Sunday, kept this bout closer; however, Sexton still finished the saber semifinal with a 10-5 victory.

Sexton went on to defeat 2011 Veteran World medalist John Terninko (Nottingham, N.H.), 10-6, in the finals.

Sexton, who also will fence foil at Veteran Worlds, qualified for the saber squad as well with teammates Terninko, Jim Adams (Rockville, Md.) and Victor Bianchini (San Diego, Calif.)  

The veterean 40-49 women’s foil and men’s saber events also were contested on Tuesday, although they are not on the Veteran World program.

Three-time Olympian Ann Marsh-Senic (Royal Oak, Mich.) won her third straight Veteran 40-49 National Championship after she held Bonnie Hennig (Simsbury, Conn.) to a single score for a 10-1 victory in the gold medal final.

In the veteran 40-49 men’s saber competition, Tony Jochaniewicz (Oak Park, Ill.) defeated Ron Thornton (Fredericksburg, Va.), 10-3, in the gold medal final.

A two-time Junior World Team member, Jasmine McGlade (Colorado Springs, Colo.) left the international circuit in 2003 when she enrolled in Harvard and stopped competing entirely after graduating in 2007.

McGlade returned to the competitive circuit in 2012 and, on Tuesday, won her first National Championship title since her comeback with a gold in Division IA women’s epee.

Seeded first out of pools, McGlade ran through her opponents to advance to the gold medal final after wins against Katie Van Riper (Marietta, Ga.), 15-4; Amy Tong (Basking Ridge, N.J.), 15-7; 2013 Pan American Cadet Champion Caira Moreira-Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 15-4; and her former Cadet World teammate Eleanor Leighton (Mishawaka, Ind.), 15-5.

In the final bout, McGlade defeated 2013 Junior Olympic medalist Madeline Antekeier (Houston, Texas), 15-11, to win gold.

After winning silver in the Division III men’s epee event on Sunday, 17-year-old Andrew Pidhorodeckyj (Akron, Ohio) returned to claim gold in the Division II epee event on Tuesday.

Pidhorodeckyj finished 32nd in pools, but won six straight direct elimination bouts to advance to the gold medal final where he defeated 20-year-old Austin Spickes (Fayetteville, Ark.), 15-8.

The Division III men’s foil final featured a pair of 15-year-olds as Maxwell Chung (New York City, N.Y.) defeated Thomas Murray (Staten Island, N.Y.), 15-13, to win gold.

Competition at the USA Fencing National Championships and July North American Cup continues through July 3 at the Columbus Convention Center.

Click here to view complete results.

The complete roster of athletes who qualified for the Veteran World Team on Tuesday is as follows:

Veteran 50-59 Women’s Foil World Team
Lynn Botelho (Indiana, Pa.)
Ursula Szpak (Trophy Club, Texas)
Kristin Vines (Hixson, Tenn.)
Viveka Fox (Vergennes, Vt.)

Veteran 60-69 Women’s Foil World Team
Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.)
Anne-Marie Walters (Parkland, Fla.)
Lynnette Whitt (Owings, Md.)
Jude Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.)

Veteran +70 Women’s Foil World Team
Ruth Dodge (Loudon, N.H.)
Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.)
Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.)
Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.)

Veteran 50-59 Men’s Saber World Team
Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Chris Matt (Fairfax Station, Va.)
Donald Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio)
Dmitri Kopylov (Roseland, N.J.)

Veteran 60-69 Men’s Saber World Team
Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio)
David Seuss (Charlestown, Mass.)
Garik Gutman (Rockville, Md.)
Wang Yung (Bellevue, Wash.)

Veteran +70 Men’s Saber World Team
Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas)
John Terninko (Nottingham, N.H.)
Jim Adams (Rockville, Md.)
Victor Bianchini (San Diego, Calif.)

Top eight results are as follows:

Veteran 40-49 Women’s Foil National Championships
1. Ann Marsh-Senic (Royal Oak, Mich.)
2. Bonnie Hennig (Simsbury, Conn.)
3. Cindy Bent-Findlay (Columbus, Ohio)
3. Suparna Vashisht (Los Gatos, Calif.)
5. Vittoria Tomich (San Diego, Calif.)
6. Erica King (Brownstown, Mich.)
7. Allison Thurman (Gaithersburg, Md.)
8. Lesley Chapman (Madison, N.Y.)

Veteran 50-59 Women’s Foil National Championships
1. Lynn Botelho (Indiana, Pa.)
2. Kristin Vines (Hixson, Tenn.)
3. Michelle Verhave (Purdys, N.Y.)
3. Elizabeth Merritt (Washington, D.C.)
5. Viveka Fox (Vergennes, Vt.)
6. Allison Treloar (Corrales, N.M.)
7. Sara Kass (Solon, Ohio)
8. Colleen Gallant (Charlotte, N.C.)

Veteran 60-69 Women’s Foil National Championships
1. Jennette Starks-Faulkner (Middletown, Conn.)
2. Lynnette Whitt (Owings, Md.)
3. Anne-Marie Walters (Parkland, Fla.)
3. Debra Allen (Ashland, Ore.)
5. Muriel Cawthorn (Rehoboth, Mass.)
6. Jude Offerle (Winnetka, Ill.)
7. Joanne Stevens (New York City, N.Y.)
8. Madelon Rosenfeld (New York City, N.Y.)

Veteran +70 Women’s Foil National Championships
1. Ruth Dodge (Loudon, N.H.)
2. Diane Reckling (White Plains, N.Y.)
3. Patricia Bedrosian (Malibu, Calif.)
3. Bettie Graham (Washington, D.C.)
5. Judith Evans (Greenwich, Conn.)
6. Mary Turzillo (Berea, Ohio)

Veteran 40-49 Men’s Saber National Championships
1. Tony Jochaniewicz (Oak Park, Ill.)
2. Ron Thornton (Fredericksburg, Va.)
3. Sergey Makogon (Sandy Utah)
3. Bill Becker (Chandler, Ariz.)
5. Misha Mironovas (Columbus, Ohio)
6. David Welch (Ridgewood, N.J.)
7. Jeff Rockas (Seattle, Wash.)
8. Stephen Andrews (Bloomington, Ind.)

Veteran 50-59 Men’s Saber National Championships
1. Val Kizik (Indianapolis, Ind.)
2. Donald Anthony Jr. (Columbus, Ohio)
3. Aleksey Dyakov (Auburndale, Mass.)
3. Will Milne (Redwood City, Calif.)
5. Dmitri Kopylov (Roseland, N.J.)
6. Joshua Runyan (San Diego, Calif.)
7. Stephen Dashnaw (Wayne, N.J.)
8. Paul Hicha (Mesa, Ariz.)

Veteran 60-69 Men’s Saber National Championships
1. Garik Gutman (Rockville, Md.)
2. Joseph Streb (Columbus, Ohio)
3. Ted Smith (Placerville, Calif.)
3. Keith Baker (McLean, Va.)
5. David Seuss (Charlestown, Mass.)
6. Charles Fox (Oceanside, Calif.)
7. Lloyd Wright (Cave Creek, Ariz.)
8. Philip Sbarbaro (Vienna, Va.)

Veteran +70 Men’s Saber National Championships
1. Ray Sexton III (Round Rock, Texas)
2. John Terninko (Nottingham, N.H.)
3. Peter Calderon (Plainsboro, N.J.)
3. Victor Bianchini (San Diego, Calif.)
5. Lucas Dobrzanksi (Bakersfield, Calif.)
6. Thomas Fischer (Kansas City, Kans.)
7. Dick Dunlop (Palatine, Ill.)
8. William Barwick Jr. (Potomac, Md.)

Division IA Women’s Epee National Championships
1. Jasmine McGlade (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
2. Madeline Antekeier (Houston, Texas)
3. Eleanor Leighton (Mishawaka, Ind.)
3. Giana Vierheller (Houston, Texas)
5. Kenyata Plenty (New York City, N.Y.)
6. Chantel Yang (East Northport, N.Y.)
7. Caira Moreira-Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y.
8. Huda Aldadah (Peoria, Ill.)

Division II Men’s Epee National Championships
1. Andrew Pidhorodeckyj (Akron, Ohio)
2. Austin Spickes (Fayetteville, Ark.)
3. Ryan Griffiths (Fairlawn, N.J.)
5. Hunter O’Brian (Reno, Nev.)
6. Isaac Gomez (Arcadia, Calif.)
7. Nicholas Clancey (Louisville, Ky.)
8. Philip Allen (Burlington, N.C.)

Division III Men’s Foil National Championships
1. Maxwell Chung (New York City, N.Y.)
2. Thomas Murray (Staten Island, N.Y.)
3. Christopher Saulys (Metuchen, N.J.)
3. Alexander Massa (Basking Ridge, N.J.)
5. Faran Savitz (Greenwich, Conn.)
6. Jared Sugarman (Scarsdale, N.Y.)
7. Matthew Kim (Saddle River, N.J.)
8. Dylan Healy (Great Neck, N.Y.)

Division III Women’s Saber National Championships
1. Alexandra Gorman (Wellesley, Mass.)
2. Victoria Suber (Lexington, Mass.)
3. Maya Szonn-Lillard Dublin, Ohio)
3. Corinne Drysdale (Coral Springs, Fla.)
5. Kelli Wozniak (Westerville, Ohio)
6. Dylan Devine-Casebolt (Orangevale, Calif.)
7. Anita Grigore (Valley Glen, Calif.)
8. Marney Krupat (Bedminster, N.J.)

Tag(s): News  Dmitri Kopylov  Joseph Streb  Victor Bianchini  Ursula Szpak  Viveka Fox  Judith Offerle  Diane Reckling