FENCING ‘shy;’mdash; The UCSD fencing team spent the extra-long weekend taking part in the biggest competition of the year: the North American Cup, a four-day tournament in Louisville, Ky. The prestigious international spectacle featured the most talented group of fencers that the Tritons will face this season, including some of the best fencers from around the United States as well participants from Canada, Bulgaria, Ireland, Sweden, Israel and Ukraine.
Head coach Heidi Runyan said she believes the North American Cup was an important stepping stone in preparing the Tritons for the stretch run.
‘Our team really got acquainted with some higher caliber fencers over in Louisville, and it will help us in some future competitions, especially the one in Notre Dame,’ Runyan said. ‘Our team is much better prepared for the rest of the season, thanks to this experience.’
All told, the competition consisted of six events, a men’s and women’s tournament for the sabre, epee and foil. The men’s epee hosted a total of 245 competitors, making it the biggest event of the weekend. Jon Normile of Metro New York was the champion, and four of his teammates joining him in the top 10 overall. Junior Nick McGuinness was the top Triton finisher in the event, filling the 154th spot. Fellow junior Jed Bassein also took part, finishing 190th. Freshman Casey Gillcrist was the only Triton to take part in the women’s epee which featured a field of 112. She stumbled into a 107th-place finish, while Courtney Hurley of Texas took home the title.
Two UCSD fencers battled in the men’s sabre among 145 participants. Luther Clement of Metro New York took home another championship for his school as senior Bryan Kim led the way for the Tritons with a 77th-place finish. Triton junior Karl Chodakiewitz ended the competition in 134th place. Monica Aksamit from New Jersey won the women’s sabre, a competition in which no UCSD women took part.
The Tritons did their best work in the men’s foil, with freshman Michael Fong placing 44th in the event, the highest ranking of any UCSD fencer in any event. Runyan was impressed with Fong’s solid freshman campaign, calling him ‘a real talent’ who has ‘legs like springs.’ She added that Fong is ‘a big reason why foil has become our strongest event as a team.’ Gerek Meinhardt finished first overall, beating out his teammate David Willette in the finals. Triton freshman Armin Chan was also part of the 188-man field, and finished 79th. In the women’s foil, Doris Willette of Penn State University took home the title, beating out 103 other competitors, including two Triton fencers. Senior Zitin Kachru ended the tournament with a 76th-place finish, while freshman Pilar Alicea finished in 84th.
Its biggest hurdle completed, the fencing team can now look ahead to an upcoming team competition against UC Irvine and Cal Tech, which will take place at Main Gym on Jan. 31. That match will mark the final home date for UCSD, after which it will hit the road for two meets in February before the NCAA West Regional commences on March 7.
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