Fencing Picks Up One Gold, Two Bronze and 17 Top 32 Finishes at December NAC
12/9/2014 11:03:00 AM | Fencing
Complete Results
DALLAS - Margaret Lu highlighted the 17 past and present Columbia fencers who competed at the December North American Cup over the weekend as the junior foilist captured gold. It was a successful weekend for all Lions who took the strip as Adam Mathieu and Elijah Granet grabbed bronze and each Columbia competitor earned points with top 32 finishes.
The second 2014-15 NAC of the year featured over 1,000 athletes from across the United States and Canada and acts as a key qualifier for both the 2015 Senior and Junior World Championships.
Lu overcame a field of 81 fencers to claim her first NAC Division I title of the season. She qualified for the ranking rounds by notching five victories and plus-17 indicator in her qualifying pool. As the eighth seed in the direct elimination tables, Lu downed Madleine Lia (15-4), Samantha Viqueira (15-2) and Danielle Ferdon (15-4) to advance to the quarterfinals where she met her Columbia teammate Jackie Dubrovich. Lu upset the tournament's top-seed and fellow Lion, 9-8, and continued her winning ways in the semis versus Ambika Singh (15-5) and finals against Madison Zeiss (11-10) to bring home gold. Dubrovich claimed fifth while current Columbian's Sara Taffel and Jessie Laffey placed seventh and 11th, respectively. Three alumni also took the strip in the Division I women's foil; Ann Marsh-Senic '94CC (8th), Nicole Ross '10CC (19th) and Kathleen Reckling '07CC (30th).
Katie Angen and Danya Hu rounded out the Lions' women's competitors. Angen took 18th in the women's epee Division I while Hu earned 20th in the Division I women's sabre.
On the men's side, Mathieu defeated 2010 World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson, 15-14, to earn the bronze in the Men's Division I Foil event. All of Columbia's men's foil fencers finished in the top 32 with Drew Johnston dropping his round of 32 bout versus Chamley-Watson by a slim, 15-14, margin to take 27th. John Avendano and James Sands took ninth and 13th, respectively.
A walk-on, transfer Granet found himself on the podium in the men's sabre division II with a bronze medal. The sophomore picked up four victories in the pools to rank 13th into the elimination rounds. Granet downed Korea's Youngjoon Ki, 15-7, and Canada's Jack Kyono, 15-10, to reach the table of 16. He upset Harrison Hue, the tournament's fourth seed, 15-14, and John Hare, the tournament's fifth seed, 15-9, to take the strip in the semifinals. The roles reversed in the semifinals, as the San Diego, California, local, fell to the sword of 16-seeded William Nikolai Iv, 15-10.
Will Spear paced the Lions men's performance in the Division I men's sabre with an 11th-place finish while Rienzi Gokea finished 21st.
In the Division I men's epee Dwight Smith '10CC placed 17th.
The Lions return to action after the New Year when it travels to the Penn State Invitational Jan. 17.
Results
Men's Epee Division I (193 Fencers)
Dwight Smith '10CC – 17th
Men's Foil Division I (125 Fencers)
Adam Mathieu – 3rd
John Avendano – 9th
James Sands – 13th
Drew Johnston – 27th
Men's Sabre Division I (83 Fencers)
Will Spear – 11th
Rienzi Gokea – 21st
Men's Sabre Division II (58 Fencers)
Elijah Granet – 3rd
Women's Epee Division I (121 Fencers)
Katie Angen – 18th
Women's Sabre Division I (62 Fencers)
Danya Hu – 20th
Women's Foil Division I (81 Fencers)
Margaret Lu – 1st
Jackie Dubrovich – 5th
Sara Taffel – 7th
Ann Marsh-Senic '94CC – 8th
Jessie Laffey – 11th
Nicole Ross '10CC – 19th
Kathleen Reclking '07CC – 30th
Players Mentioned
