USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Anna van Brummen (Houston, Texas) not only caught the eye of the international fencing community when she won gold at the Suzhou World Cup in China last month, but her achievement was recognized by Olympic fans around the nation as she was named the recipient of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Best of November award.

A senior at Princeton University, van Brummen entered the event ranked 187th in the world and reeled off a list of upsets en route to becoming just the second U.S. women’s epee fencer ever to win a World Cup title.

Van Brummen defeated a list of the world’s best in Suzhou, including No. 3 Sara Besbes (TUN) and No. 10 Shin A-Lam (KOR) as she won seven straight direct elimination bouts in one day on her way to the top of the podium.

Van Brummen received the honor after an online vote that included Olympic sports media and fans. The other women in the field included Olympic Skiing Champion Mikaela Shifrin and Paralympic Track and Field Champion Tatyana McFadden.

Mike Minor won the men’s award after his double World Cup Paralympic snowboarding golds and the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team earned the team honors following its win over Canada in the finals of the Four Nations Cup.