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Jonah Shainberg Wins Div I Saber Gold in Richmond

10/11/2015, 10:15pm CDT
By Nicole Jomantas

Jonah Shainberg won his first Division I NAC title in Richmond. Photo Credit: Nicole Jomantas

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Jonah Shainberg (Rye, N.Y.), a 2015 Junior World Team member, won his first Division I men’s saber title on Friday at the October North American Cup in Richmond, Va.

The Notre Dame sophomore earned the No. 2 seed on the direct elimination tables after finishing 6-0 in the pools.

After a bye into the table of 64, Shainberg defeated Marcus Benjamin (Columbus, Ohio), 15-6, Ameen Borojerdi (Plantation, Fla.), 15-12, to qualify for the table of 16 where he bested Daniel Kwak (North Hollywood, Calif.) by a 15-11 score.

Shainberg defeated Michael Costin (Culver City, Calif.), a 2012 Junior World Team member and Columbia sophomore, by a 15-10 score in the quarters

In the semifinals, Shainberg faced 18-year-old Mikolaj Bak (Linden, N.J.) and held off Bak for a 15-13 win.

Shainberg took on two-time Canadian Senior World Team member Fares Arfa in the gold medal final and defeated the Ohio State junior, 15-13, to win the gold medal. In addition, Shainberg’s title will allow him to move into the top 10 in the U.S. Senior National Point Standings as well as the top three in the U.S. Junior National Standings.

Fencing just 20 minutes away from home, two-time Cadet World Team member Stefani Deschner (Mechanicsville, Va.) won the cadet women’s foil title in front of friends and family.

Sixteen-year-old Deschner dominated the field from the start, giving up just four touches to six opponents in the pool rounds to earn the top seed in the DEs.

Deschner won her first three DE bouts by margins of at least nine points to qualify for the quarter-finals against 16-year-old Sylvie Binder (Armonk, N.Y.) – the 2015 Cadet World bronze medalist who is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.

In a rematch of the final bout from this year’s July Challenge in San Jose, Deschner defeated her U.S. Cadet National teammate, 15-5.

Deschner fenced 14-year-old Delphine Devore (Westport, Conn.) in the semifinals. Devore, who won her first Cadet European Cup medal in September, put up six touches against Deschner, but lost the bout, 15-6.

Fencing for gold, Deschner took on Canadian Jane Caulfield and earned her final victory of the day, 15-5.

Sixteen-year-old Adrien Thein-Sandler (Topanga, Calif.) entered the cadet men’s epee table of 128 as a 38th seed following his 4-2 result in pools. Ranked No. 6 in the country at the start of the tournament, Thein-Sandler defeated No. 5 Nicolas Wilson (Houston, Texas), 15-12, in the table of 16 and won his next bout Theodore Lombardo (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), 15-6, to secure his first cadet NAC medal.

Thein-Sandler won his semifinal bout against Amit Sarma (Plainsboro, N.J.), 15-11, and took gold with a 15-12 win against Jared Petroll (Dallas, Texas).

In the wheelchair events, two foreign fencers took gold medals.

Former Wheelchair World Champion Tareq Alqallaf (KUW) continued his undefeated streak in NAC tournaments with another gold medal in the men’s epee competition where he defeated 2013 Wheelchair World Team member Leo Curtis (Rainier, Ore.), 15-9, in the finals.

Two-time Paralympian Sylvie Morell (CAN), one of the U.S. women’s top rivals for a berth on the 2016 Paralympic Team, won the women’s epee event where she defeated Patricia Dykes (Gulf Breeze, Fla.), 15-6, in the semis and two-time Wheelchair World Team member Ellen Geddes (Johnston, S.C.), 13-5, for gold.

Another Canadian, Alex Cai, came away with gold in the Division II men’s foil competition where he defeated Clayton Reid (Pacifica, Calif.), 15-10.

In the senior women’s team epee competition, DC Fencers Club – Blue came out on top with 2014 Junior World team medalist Amanda Sirico (Bowie, Md.) anchoring the squad to a 45-38 win against Marx Fencing Academy.

Seventeen-year-old Julia Barry (Boulder, Colo.) served as the anchor for NCF who defeated Pentapuff Girls, 45-39, to win bronze.

Click here to view complete results.

Top eight results are as follows:

Division I Men’s Saber
1. Jonah Shainberg (Rye, N.Y.)
2. Fares Arfa (CAN)
3. Andrew Doddo (South Orange, N.J.)
3. Mikolaj Bak (Linden, N.J.)
5. Matthew Lewicki (Oakland, N.J.)
6. Michael Costin (Culver City, Calif.)
7. Eduardo Lara (MEX)
8. Karol Metryka (Linden, N.J.)

Wheelchair Men’s Epee
1. Tareq Alqallaf (KUW)
2. Leo Curtis (Rainier, Ore.)
3. Joshua Russell (Mendenhall, Miss.)
3. Curt Oswalt (Von Ormy, Texas)
5. Randy Lavender (Tupelo, Miss.)
6. DeJuan Surrell (Jackson, Miss.)

Wheelchair Women’s Epee
1. Sylvie Morell (CAN)
2. Ellen Geddes (Johnston, S.C.)
3. Patricia Dykes (Gulf Breeze, Fla.)
3. Vikki Espinosa (Portland, Ore.)

Cadet Men’s Epee
1. Adrien Thein-Sandler (Topanga, Calif.)
2. Jared Petroll (Dallas, Texas)
3. Daniel Volkmann (Reno, Nev.)
3. Amit Sarma (Plainsboro, N.J.)
5. Aaron Kogan (New Haven, Conn.)
6. Theodore Lombardo (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
7. Anton Chmut (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
8. Kevin Chao (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)

Cadet Women’s Foil
1. Stefani Deschner (Mechanicsville, Va.)
2. Jane Caulfield (CAN)
3. Maia Weintraub (Philadelphia, Pa.)
3. Delphine Devore (Westport, Conn.)
5. Jerrica Liao (Saratoga, Calif.)
6. Isabelle Elizondo (Cypress, Texas)
7. Xiao-Qing Tsai (Salt Lake City, Utah)
8. Sylvie Binder (Armonk, N.Y.)

Division II Men’s Foil
1. Alex Cai (CAN)
2. Clayton Reid (Pacifica, Calif.)
3. William Taquet (Dallas, Texas)
3. Kerry Lu (San Francisco, Calif.)
5. Eashan Gupta (Cupertino, Calif.)
6. Patrick Liu (Brookline, Mass.)
7. Brycen Rushing (Carrolton, Texas)
8. Finn Hossfeld (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.)

Senior Team Women’s Epee
1. DC Fencers Club – Blue
2. Marx Fencing Academy
3. NCF
4. Pentapuff Girls
5. DC Fencers Club – Red
6. H3 Cafe Division
7. H3 Metro Division
8. University of Florida Women’s Epee

Tag(s): Stefani Deschner