USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – A two-time Junior World team medalist, Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.) broke through the senior ranks on Friday to win his first Division I North American Cup title.

Kaneshige entered the January NAC at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City as the No. 10 Division I men’s foil fencer in the country and cruised through his pool bouts where he won six straight bouts over fencers from the United States, Korea and Mexico.

Kaneshige earned a No. 2 seed in the table of 128 and a bye into the table of 64 where he defeated Blake Broszus (Modesto, Calif.), 15-9.

After a 15-5 win against Lucas Orts (Burlingame, Calif.), Kaneshige would need wins against four former members of Team USA in order claim gold.

Kaneshige earned a 15-9 win against his Harvard teammate and 2014 Junior World medalist Michael Woo (Wayne, N.J.) in the table of 16 and went on to defeat 2012 Cadet World Team member Raymond Chen (Dallas, Texas), 15-10, in the quarters.

The semifinal would pit Kaneshige against another Harvard fencer – 2012 Junior World Team Champion Jerry Chang (Mountain View, Calif.) The bout would be the first time the teammates have fenced each other in a USA Fencing event since the 2012 Junior Olympic Championships and Kaneshige came away with a 15-9 victory.

In the gold medal final, Kaneshige fenced top seed Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.) and won the bout to earn his first ever Division I gold medal and first domestic title since 2010.

The top-ranked junior women’s epee fencer in the nation, 2014 Junior World team silver medalist Amanda Sirico (Bowie, Md.), won her third straight junior NAC title on Friday.

Sirico drew a bye into the table of 64 where she won her first direct elimination bout against Summer Phillips (Conroe, Texas), 15-3.

Sirico defeated Stephanie Wolf (Newton, Mass.), 15-11, in the table of 32 and Dominique Tannous (LIB), 15-12, in the 16.

Sirico won her quarter-final bout against 2012 Cadet World Team member Victoria Wines (Mahopac, N.Y.), 15-12.

In the medal rounds, Sirico faced a pair of up-and-coming cadet fencers – Farrah Lee-Elabd (San Antonio, Texas) and Dasha Yefremenko (Manalapan, Texas). Sirico controlled both bouts as she won her semi against Lee-Elabd, 15-7, and her final against Yefremenko, 15-9.

In his first full season as a junior fencer, 2014 Cadet World medalist Karol Metryka (Linden, N.J.) won his first junior NAC title.

Seeded third out of the pools, Metryka won his first bout after a bye into the table of 64 by a 15-3 score against Andrew Choi (Mount Laurel, N.J.)

Metryka defeated Alex Walker (Atlanta, Ga.), 15-11, in the 32 and qualified for the quarters after a 15-2 win against Inti Farfan-Bayeri (CAN).

Metryka won the quarter-finals by a 15-6 score against Grant Williams (Atlanta, Ga.) and defeated 2014 Senior World Team member Andrew Mackiewicz (Westwood, Mass.), 15-11, to qualify for his first final at a junior NAC.

In the gold medal bout, Metryka earned a 15-8 win against 2013 Pan American Team Champion Jonah Shainberg (Rye, N.Y.)

A former able-bodied fencer who qualified for the USA Fencing National Championships in the Y14 event in 2013, Lauryn DeLuca (Parma, Ohio) won her first NAC title in epee since switching to wheelchair fencing during the 2013-14 season.

DeLuca finished 7-1 after two pool rounds and earned a bye into the semifinals where she defeated four-time Paralympian Andrea De Mello (New York City, N.Y.), 15-3.

In the gold medal final, DeLuca won her bout against 2013 Wheelchair World Team member Ellen Geddes (Johnston, S.C.), 15-4.

In the men’s event, former World Champion Tareq Alqallaf (KUW) remains unbeaten in U.S. tournaments with his gold medal win the wheelchair epee events. Alqalaff entered the quarter-finals as the top seed and defeated Joshua Russell (Mendenhall, Miss.), 15-1, and went on to win his semifinal against Paralympian Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss.), 15-8. In the finals, Alqallaf defeated Aleksandr Igragimov (RUS), 15-6.

Click here for complete results.

Top eight results are as follows:

Division I Men’s Foil
1. Brian Kaneshige (Maplewood, N.J.)
2. Nobuo Bravo (San Francisco, Calif.)
3. Sam Moelis (Hewlett, N.Y.)
3. Jerry Chang (Mountain View, Calif.)
5. Matthew Branman (Villanova, Pa.)
6. Stuart Holmes (Centereach, N.Y.)
7. Raymond Chen (Dallas, Texas)
8. John Crumpler (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Wheelchair Men’s Epee
1. Tareq Alqallaf (KUW)
2. Aleksandr Ibragimov (RUS)
3. Leo Curtis (Rainier, Ore.)
3. Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss.)
5. Joey Brinson (Florence, Miss.)
6. Curt Oswalt (Von Ormy, Texas)
7. Andrew Quattrociocchi (Kennesaw, Ga.)
8. Josh Russell (Mendenhall, Miss.)

Wheelchair Women’s Epee
1. Lauryn DeLuca (Parma, Ohio)
2. Ellen Geddes (Johnston, S.C.)
3. Vikki Espinosa (Portland, Ore.)
3. Andrea De Mello (New York City, N.Y.)
5. Patricia Dykes (San Antonio, Texas)

Junior Women’s Epee
1. Amanda Sirico (Bowie, Md.)
2. Dasha Yefremenko (Manalapan, N.J.)
3. Farrah Lee-Elabd (San Antonio, Texas)
3. Marina Bochenkova (Bound Brook, N.J.)
5. Victoria Wines (Mahopac, N.Y.)
6. Pauline Hamilton (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
7. Mason Speta (Chicago, Ill.)
8. Safa Ibrahim (Bronx, N.Y.)

Junior Men’s Saber
1. Karol Metryka (Linden, N.J.)
2. Jonah Shainberg (Rye, N.Y.)
3. Andrew Sun (Alpharetta, Ga.)
3. Andrew Mackiewicz (Westwood, Mass.)
5. Philippe Guy (San Diego, Calif.)
6. Gavin Turner (Rehoboth, Mass.)
7. Erwin Cai (Marietta, Ga.)
8. Grant Williams (Atlanta, Ga.)