USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Two of the youngest athletes in the field of 118 competitors came away with top-eight finishes at the Dourdan Saber Junior World Cup in France on Saturday.

Fifteen-year-olds Chloe Fox-Gitomer (Portland, Ore.) and Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Livingston, N.J.) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the international tournament that also serves as a qualifier for the Junior and Cadet World Championships which will be held in April in Bourges, France.

Both athletes finished the pool rounds with 4-2 results to advance to the table of 64 where Fox-Gitomer defeated Valentina Volkmann (GER), 15-9, and Tartakovsky defeated Helen Phillips (AUS), 15-10.

In the table of 32, Fox-Gitomer and Tartakovsky each faced former Junior World medalists. Fox-Gitomer won her bout against 2013 Junior World team silver medalist Oceane Chery Emmanuel (FRA), 15-8. Tartakovsky fenced a close round against Mirabella Kelecsenyi (HUN) before taking a 15-13 win.

Fox-Gitomer edged Sofia Pozdniakova (RUS), 15-14, in the table of 16 and Tartakovsky defeated 2015 Cadet World silver medalist Lucia Lucarini (ITA), 15-14.

By the quarter-finals, Fox-Gitomer and Tartakovsky were the youngest athletes in the field by at least three years.

Fox-Gitomer lost her bout to 2015 Junior World team bronze medalist Petra Zahonyi (HUN), 15-12. Tartakovsky was defeated by eventual gold medalist Michela Battiston (ITA), 15-11.

Fox-Gitomer’s seventh place finished allowed her to take the No. 4 position in the Cadet National Team Standings, closing the gap to less than 200 points between Fox-Gitomer and No. 3 Tartakovsky with the top three athletes in the rankings as of Feb. 22 earning positions on the Cadet World Team.

Tartakovsky also shot up the junior rankings as she is aiming to qualify not only for her first Cadet World Team, but her first Junior World Team as well. After her eighth-place result in Dourdan, Tartakovsky climbed from No. 7 to No. 3 in the Junior National Team Standings with the top four athletes in the standings after the Junior Pan Ams qualifying for Team USA.

On Sunday, Fox-Gitomer fenced in the team event with Martha Merriam (Tenafly, N.J.), Veronica Czyzewski (Caldwell, N.J.) and Oliwia Szumilo (Staten Island, N.Y.)

Team USA won or tied all nine of its bouts in the table of 16 match against Brazil for a 45-22 victory with Merriam anchoring the American squad.

In the quarter-finals, Mexico held a 40-23 lead after the first eight bouts when Fox-Gitomer took the strip as anchor against Tania Arrayales who represented Mexico at the 2015 Senior Worlds. Fox-Gitomer scored five touches against Arrayales, but couldn’t close Team USA’s deficit and Mexico took the win, 45-28.

In the 5th – 8th place match against Japan, Merriam led Team USA in scoring with a +9 indicator as she anchored the Americans to a 45-32 win.

Team USA fenced Hungary, the 2015 Junior World team bronze medalists, for fifth place. While Hungary held a 25-23 lead after the first five bouts, Merriam outscored Mirabella Kelecsenyi, 7-3, to give Team USA a 30-28 lead. Czyzewski defeated Dorottya Berczy, 5-1, in the seventh and Fox-Gitomer won the eighth bout against Kelecsenyi, 5-2. Miriam split the anchor bout against Petra Zahonyi, 5-5, to secure the win for Team USA, 45-36.

Click here to view complete individual results.

Click here to view complete team results.

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

Dourdan Women’s Saber Junior World Cup
1. Michela Battiston (ITA)
2. Margaux Rifkiss (FRA)
3. Rebecca Gargano (ITA)
3. Petra Zahonyi (HUN)
5. Margaux Gimalac (FRA)
6. Flaminia Prearo (ITA)
7. Chloe Fox-Gitomer (Portland, Ore.)
8. Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Livingston, N.J.)

16. Maia Chamberlain (Menlo Park, Calif.)
25. Kara Linder (Chandler, Ariz.)
26. Martha Merriam (Tenafly, N.J.)
41. Galen Cadley (New York City, N.Y.)
48. Edith Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.)
56. Veronica Czyzewski (Caldwell, N.J.)
69. Violet Michel (Cambridge, Mass.)
71. Marta Lasota (Silver Spring, Md.)
74. Sarah Merza (Wayne, N.J.)
81. Oliwia Szumilo (Staten Island, N.Y.)

Dourdan Women’s Team Saber Junior World Cup
1. Russia
2. France
3. Italy
4. Mexico
5. USA
6. Hungary
7. Germany
8. Japan