USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The U.S. Women’s Epee Team won gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto on Friday in a repeat of its result at the Pan Am Championships in April and the 2011 Pan Am Games.

Although the squad featured a trio of first-time Pan Am Games Team members, anchor Katharine Holmes (Washington, D.C.) was a member of each of the last three Pan Am Championship squads that won gold in 2013, 2014 and 2015 while Anna van Brummen (Houston, Texas) won gold with Team USA at the 2014 Pan Ams.

Making her debut in the team event at a major championship for Team USA, former Polish National Team member Katarzyna Trzopek (Pacifica, Calif.) posted a key win in the fifth bout against the Dominican Republic in the quarter-finals where she outscored Violeta Ramirez Peguero, 10-4, to give the Americans a 25-18 lead. Holmes shut out Elsa Mateo, 5-0, in the next bout and went on to anchor Team USA to a 45-33 win.

Team USA fenced Brazil in the semifinals and Holmes posted a pair of shutouts in her first two bouts to help build a 23-19 going into her anchor bout against 2010 Senior World bronze medalist Nathalie Moellhausen. In a fast-paced final bout, Moellhausen scored 12 touches to tie the bout at 31 in the final seconds of the bout. In the overtime period, Holmes scored first to send Team USA into the final with a 32-31 victory.

In a rematch of their Pan Am Championship final, Team USA took on Venezuela for gold. The match would stay tied for the sixth, seventh and eighth bouts and Holmes entered the anchor bout against Maria Martinez with the score tied at 20. Holmes outscored the Venezuelan, 9-2, and Team USA took the gold, 29-22.

Featuring a trio of first-time Pan Am Games Team members, the U.S. Men’s Epee Team also advanced to the finals.

Ben Bratton (New York City, N.Y.), Jason Pryor (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Yeisser Ramirez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) defeated Mexico, 45-33, in the quarters.

In the semis, Colombia led Team USA, 30-29, after the first six bouts, but Pryor, who won bronze in the individual event, outscored Andes Felipe Campos Zarate, 6-2, to give Team USA a 35-32 lead. Bratton, a 2012 Senior World Team Champion, held the lead after splitting his bout against Gustavo Adolfo Coqueco Guerrero, 4-4, and Ramirez went 6-6 against Jhon Edison Rodriguez Quevedo to secure the win for Team USA at 45-42 in his first competition as anchor.

Team USA fenced Venezuela in the gold medal final which would serve as a rematch from the Pan American Championships where the U.S. squad upset the Venezuelan team which was led by 2012 Olympic Champion Ruben Limardo for gold.

Although Team USA tied both of the first two bouts, by the end of the fifth, Venezuela pulled away with a five-touch lead at 26-21. Although Pryor, Bratton and Ramirez each posted ties in the final bouts, Venezuela held its five-touch advantage to end the match, 45-40.

Pan American Games Men’s Team Epee
1. Venezuela
2. USA
3. Cuba
4. Colombia
5. Canada
6. Mexico
7. Brazil
8. Argentina

Pan American Games Women’s Team Epee
1. USA
2. Venezuela
3. Brazil
4. Cuba
5. Canada
6. Dominican Republic
7. Colombia
8. Argentina