USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – London Olympian Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) reached the podium for the first time at a Senior World Cup with her silver medal finish in St. Maur, France on Saturday.  

Kiefer, a 2011 Senior World medalist, won her first two direct elimination bouts over Polish opponents.

In the table of 64, Kiefer defeated Natalia Golebiowska, 15-9.

Fencing against Magdalena Knop in the table of 32, a top-eight finisher at the 2014 Senior Worlds, Kiefer found herself tied at nine in a fast-paced first period. Kiefer scored six of the next eight touches to close the bout out at 15-11 before the break.

Kiefer won her table of 16 bout against three-time Senior World team medalist Yulia Biryukova (RUS), 15-12, in their first match-up since Kiefer’s first appearance on the World Cup circuit as a 15-year-old in 2009.

Kiefer advanced to her third straight international quarter-final after earning top eight finishes at the Senior Worlds in July and the Cancun World Cup last month. In a field stacked with six Senior World or Olympic medalists, Kiefer drew Elisa Di Francisca, the reigning Olympic Champion and one of five Italians in the quarters.

In the biggest upset of the tournament, Kiefer defeated Di Francisca, 15-6, to earn her first World Cup podium finish.

Kiefer’s next bout against 2013 Senior World medalist Inna Deriglazova (RUS) would be much closer as the Russian held a 13-10 lead after the second break. In the third period, Kiefer picked off a quick touch just two seconds in and went on to tie the bout at 13 and again at 14 before scoring the final touch for a 15-14 win.

Kiefer fenced two-time reigning Senior World Champion Arianna Errigo (ITA) in the gold medal final. While Kiefer tied Errigo at three early in the bout, the top-ranked fencer in the world never gave up her lead and won her fourth straight individual World Cup gold medal, 15-8.  

In the earlier rounds, London Olympian Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.) advanced to the table of 32.

Ross held off a late comeback by two-time Senior World team medalist Diana Yakovleva (RUS), 15-14, to win her table of 64 bout, but lost to Di Francisca, 13-8, in the 32.

Madison Zeiss (Culver City, Calif.) was up, 8-5, in her table of 64 bout against Mina Kim (KOR) when Kim called a medal timeout. After the break, a rejuvenated Kim scored five touches to take a 10-8 lead going into the third period. Zeiss regrouped and outscored Kim, 7-2, in the third to win the bout, 15-12.

Zeiss lost her next bout to Hiromi Kusano (JPN) in the table of 32, 15-6.

Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.) and Jackie Dubrovich (Riverdale, N.J.), teammates on the squad that won gold at the 2014 Junior Worlds with Kiefer, each advanced out of the pool rounds and into the top 64.

Lu lost to Malgorzata Wojtkowiak (POL), 15-14, in the table of 64 and Dubrovich fell to Serena Teo (FRA), 12-5.

In the team competition on Sunday, Kiefer, Ross, Lu and Zeiss opened with a 45-19 win over Hong Kong to advance to the quarter-finals.

Although Team USA defeated Korea in the quarters at the Cancun World Cup, the Americans missed the medal rounds after a 28-25 loss.

Fencing for a chance at fifth place, Team USA defeated Poland, 45-31, but finished sixth after a 39-32 loss to Germany.

Click here to view complete results.

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

St. Maur Individual Foil World Cup
1. Arianna Errigo (ITA)
2. Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.)
3. Inna Deriglazova (RUS)
3. Chiara Cini (ITA)
5. Elisa Di Francisca (ITA)
6. Valentina Vezzali (ITA)
7. Larisa Korobeynikova (RUS)
8. Alice Volpi (ITA)

23. Nicole Ross (New York City, N.Y.)
31. Madison Zeiss (Culver City, Calif.)
40. Margaret Lu (Greenwich, Conn.)
50. Jackie Dubrovich (Riverdale, N.J.)
88. Sabrina Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.)

St. Maur Team Foil World Cup
1. Russia
2. Italy
3. France
4. Korea
5. Germany
6. USA
7. Hungary
8. Poland