USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Two-time Senior World Team member Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.) earned Team USA’s best individual result in the first World Cup of the Olympic qualifying period at the Madrid Saber World Cup on Saturday.

Fresh off gold medal wins at both the Junior World and Senior Pan Am Championships in April, Dershwitz finished the pool rounds at 6-0 on Friday to advance directly to the table of 64 on Saturday.

Dershwitz won his opening direct elimination bout by a 15-8 score against Wei Sun (CHN), but lost to 2012 Olympic silver medalist Diego Occhiuzzi (ITA), 15-7, and finished in 23rd place.  

London Olympian Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.) was exempt from the pool and preliminary rounds, but faltered in his table of 64 bout against Ciprian Galatanu (ROU) and dropped the bout, 15-13.

Homer’s 2012 Olympic teammate, Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.), finished 5-1 in the pool rounds and defeated Adam Nicholas Lindbichler (MAS), 15-9, in the preliminary table of 128. Spear fenced 2013 Senior World top-eight finisher Csanad Gemesi (HUN) to advance to the table of 64 and won the bout, 15-10.

In the table of 64, Spear fenced 2013 Senior World team silver medalist Alin Badea (ROU), but lost by a touch at 15-14.

On Sunday, Dershwitz, Homer and Spear fenced in the team event with 2015 Pan Am Team member Peter Souders (Silver Spring, Md.)

After a bye through the table of 32, Team USA fenced China in the 16. Although the Americans held a one-touch lead at 15-14 after the third bout, Sun outscored Dershwitz, 6-4, to give China a 20-19 lead. China won the next three bouts and held a 35-28 lead after the seventh. Dershwitz outscored Xin Fang, 8-5, to put Team USA within four touches of China, but Homer couldn’t make up the gap and Team USA lost the match, 45-37.

In the first round of the 9th – 16th place table, Souders came in for Homer in the lineup and Team USA won or tied seven of the nine bouts against Egypt with Dershwitz anchoring the squad to a 45-36 win.

Team USA fenced Ukraine in the next round and built a 40-38 lead after winning or tying five of the first eight bouts. Homer returned to the anchor role and outscored Andriy Yagodka, 5-3, to give Team USA a 45-41 win.

Fencing for ninth place, Team USA met Iran in the final match. The Americans were up, 30-26, after the sixth bout and Spear split the seventh with Mohammad Rahbari at 5-5. Dershwitz shut out Ali Pakdaman in the eighth, 5-0, and Homer closed the match out at 45-39.

Click here to view complete individual results.

Click here to view complete team results.

Madrid Men’s Individual Saber World Cup
1. Bongil Gu (KOR)
2. Kamil Ibragimov (RUS)
3. Max Hartung (GER)
3. Tiberiu Dolniceanu (ROU)
5. Junghwan Kim (KOR)
6. Luigi Samele (ITA)
7. Alin Badea (ROU)
8. Eunseok Oh (KOR)

23. Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Mass.)
33. Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.)
48. Jeff Spear (Wynantskill, N.Y.)
69. Gabe Armijo (San Diego, Calif.)
72. Marty Williams Jr. (Danbury, Conn.)
122. Peter Souders (Silver Spring, Md.)
124. Andrew Fischl (Huntington, N.Y.)
127. Evan Prochniak (Hudson, N.H.)
128. Dawson Sieradzky (Wayne, N.J.)
151. Thomas Kolasa (Princeton, N.J.)
180. Michael Mills (Short Hills, N.J.)

Madrid Men’s Team Saber World Cup
1. Hungary
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. China
5. Russia
6. Korea
7. France
8. Romania

9. USA