USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Two-time Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) ended the World Cup season with a fifth-place result at the Moscow Saber Grand Prix on Sunday.

Zagunis’s top-eight result is her sixth of a season that also has included five individual medals for the No. 2-ranked fencer in the world.

Exempt from the pools and preliminary rounds on Saturday, Zagunis held an 8-5 lead over Julia Mikulik (HUN) after the first period of their table of 64 bout on Sunday and finished the round with a 15-8 win.

In the table of 32, Olena Kravatska (UKR) tied the bout at six in the first period and Zagunis scored twice to hold an 8-6 lead at the start of the second. Zagunis scored four straight touches en route win winning the bout, 15-10.

Zagunis got off to a strong start in the table of 16 where reeled off five unanswered touches to take an 8-3 lead against 2013 Senior World Team Champion Olena Voronina (UKR). Zagunis held a lead throughout the second period as well to take the win, 15-12.

In a rematch of her 2014 Senior World semifinal, Zagunis faced two-time Senior World medalist Yana Egorian (RUS) in the quarters. Although Zagunis held an 8-5 lead at the break, Egorian scored seven straight touches in front of her home crowd to gain a 12-8 lead. Zagunis fought back to put the bout within a touch at 13-12, but Egorian finished with a 15-13 victory and went on to take the silver medal.

Three-time Senior World team medalist Cecilia Berder (FRA) proved to be a stopping point on the road to a medal for three U.S. fencers on Sunday.

Like Zagunis, London Olympian Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.) was exempt from pools and jumped out to a 7-1 lead against Iya Lekveishvili (RUS) in the table of 64. Wozniak held the Russian to four touches in the second to win the bout, 15-7.

In the table of 32, Wozniak was up, 8-4, against Malgorzata Kozaczuk (POL) at the break and defeated Kozaczuk, 15-10.

Wozniak found herself trailing Berder, 13-6, in the second period of the table of 16, but fought back with six touches to come within a score of Berder at 13-12. Berder scored two of the next three touches for a 15-13 win.

Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.), a 2014 Senior World team gold medalist, also was exempt from the prelim rounds and won her opening direct elimination bout against Patrycja Palczynska (POL), 15-9.

Muhammad led her table of 32 bout against Berder, 8-4, at the break, but Berder tied the score first a nine and again at both 10 and 11. Berder outscored Muhammad, 4-2, to win the bout, 15-13.

Kamali Thompson (Teaneck, N.J.), a 2013 World University Games Team member, was Berder’s first opponent of the day and held the bout at a 10-10 tie before losing to the Frenchwoman, 15-12, in the 64.

A member of the team that won gold at the 2014 Senior Worlds, Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.) qualified for her third World Team with her top-32 finish in Moscow which served as the final qualifying event for this year’s Worlds which will be held in Moscow from July 13-19.

Stone held onto her No. 4 position in the National Team Point Standings and will join Zagunis, Wozniak and Muhammad on Team USA.

Stone went 5-1 in the pools to advance directly to the table of 64 where she defeated Magdalena Pasternak (POL).

In the table of 32, Stone lost to Anna Limbach (GER), 15-8.

Four-time Junior World medalist Sage Palmedo (Portland, Ore.) finished 6-0 in the pools to advance to the table of 64 where she was down, 8-3, against 2011 Junior World team medalist Anna Shatalova (RUS) after the first period before coming back to tie the bout at 11 in the second. Shatalova rebounded with four straight to win the bout, 15-11.

Fencing in her first Grand Prix event, Claudia Kulmacz (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) went 4-2 in the pools and defeated teammate Faizah Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.), 15-9, on Saturday to qualify for the table of 64 where she lost to three-time Senior World Team Champion Dina Galiakbarova (RUS), 15-7.

Click here to view complete results.

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

Moscow Women’s Saber Grand Prix
1. Olga Kharlan (UKR)
2. Yana Egorian (RUS)
3. Sofya Velikaya (RUS)
3. Ekaterina Dyachenko (RUS)
5. Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.)
6. Jiyeon Kim (KOR)
7. Vassiliki Vougiouka (GRE)
8. Cecilia Berder (FRA)

9. Dagmara Wozniak (Avenel, N.J.)
17. Ibtihaj Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.)
23. Eliza Stone (Chicago, Ill.)
36. Sage Palmedo (Portland, Ore.)
49. Kamali Thompson (Teaneck, N.J.)
50. Claudia Kulmacz (Upper Saddle River, N.J.)
82. Faizah Muhammad (Maplewood, N.J.)
106. Monica Aksamit (Matawan, N.J.)
129. Daria Schneider (New York City)
154. Celina Merza (Wayne, N.J.)
154. Aziza Hassan (Brooklyn, N.Y.)