USFA June World Cup Report

[Craig]

June 19, 2002
June World Cup Report
Members of the U.S. National Fencing Team have spent many weekends in the last month in Europe competing at World Cup competitions. Results at these competitions will affect how they are seeded in the upcoming World Championships to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, August 17-23.

Men's épée fencer Soren Thompson (21, San Diego, Calif./TZCKA/Princeton '04) finished 7th at the Stockholm World Cup, June 7 - 8. Thompson's 7th place finish is his best Senior World Cup performance since graduating from the junior ranks last year. Much of his season has been spent focused on his studies. With school finished for the year, he is now concentrating on competing for a position on the '02 Senior Worlds team.

The U.S. Men's Épée Team of Thompson, Seth Kelsey (20, Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S.A.F. Academy '03), and Jan Viviani (21, Haworth, N.J./Univ. of Notre Dame '03) finished 4th in the Poitiers World Cup Team Competition, June 1 and 2. This is the best finish by a U.S. men's épée team since 1985 World Championships. The result places the U.S. Men's Épée team in 12th in World Cup Team standings, a significant improvement allowing for a better draw at the World Championships in August.

And women's sabre fencer Christine Becker (38, Portland, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance) reached the final of eight at a Senior "A" Women's Sabre cup in Tauberbischoffsheim, Germany. Sada Jacobson, finishing 18th in the competition, now stands at 4th in the senior women's sabre World Cup standings.

Next stop for the U.S. fencers abroad: six-weapon World Cup competition in Havana, Cuba, June 24-25. This is the final world cup of the season to count toward the selection of athletes for the U.S. team to the World Championships.

Challenge Bernadotte, Senior "A" Men's Épée, Stockholm, Sweden, June 8-9, 2002
1. KULCSAR Krisztian HUN
2. MALMGREN Magnus SWE
3. FEKETE Attila HUN
3. LUECKE Oliver GER
5. KNEIP Christoph GER
6. IMRE Geza HUN
7. THOMPSON Soren (21, San Diego, Calif./TZCKA/Princeton '04)
8. REICH Wolfgang GER
37. LICHTEN Keith (28, Alameda, Calif./Golden Gate Fencing Ctr.)
38. KELSEY Weston Seth (20, Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S.A.F. Academy '03)
41. SNIDER H. Jeffrey (30, Falls Church, Va./D.C. Fencers Club)
43. VIVIANI Jansson (21, Haworth, N.J./Univ. of Notre Dame '03)
57. FELDSCHUH Michael (32, New York, N.Y./N.Y.A.C.)

Men's Épée, Team World Cup competition, Poitiers, France, June 1-2, 2002
1. FRANCE
2. SPAIN
3. BELGIUM
4. USA
- KELSEY Seth (20, Colorado Springs, Colo. U.S.A.F. Academy '03)
- THOMPSON Soren (21, San Diego, Calif./TZCKA/Princeton '04)
- VIVIANI Jan (21, Haworth, N.J./Univ. of Notre Dame '03)
5. POLAND
6. CHINA
7. HOLLAND
8. BRASIL

Challenge Jean Coibion, Senior "A" Women's Épée, Welkenraedt, Belgium, June 1-2, 2002
1. MARKOVIC Marijana GER
2. HOLZ Katrin GER
3. DUPLITZER Imke GER
3. HEIDEMANN Britta GER
5. HABLUTZEL-BURKI Gia SUI
6. NASS Katja GER
7. LI Na CHN
8. KIM Hee-Jeong KOR
31. LESZKO Julia (32, Portland, Ore./NorthWest Fencing Center)
37. WALTON Kerry (20, Londonderry, N.H./Seacoast Fencing/Notre Dame '04)
48. SPILMAN Elisabeth (33, Los Angeles, Calif.)
58. OBENCHAIN Janel (32, San Francisco, Calif./Golden Gate Fencing Center)
58. ORLANDO Amy (17, Beaverton, Ore./North West Fencing Center)
63. JAMES Kamara (17, Jamaica, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation)

World Cup, Senior "A" Women's Sabre, Tauberbischoffsheim, Germany, June 8-9, 2002
1. JEMAYEVA Elena AZE
2. CSABA Edina HUN
3. NETCHAEVA Elena RUS
3. SOCHA Aleksandra POL
5. TOUYA Anne-Lise FRA
6. BAZHENOVA Irina RUS
7. SZNOPEK Gabriella HUN
8. BECKER Christine (38, Portland, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance)
18. JACOBSON Sada (19, Dunwoody, Ga./Nellya Fencers/Yale '04)
33. JACOBSON Emily (16, Dunwoody, Ga./Nellya Fencers)
35. ZAGUNIS Mariel (17, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance)
46. IMAIZUMI Vivian (23, Arlington, Va./D.C. Fencers Club)
47. GAILLARD Amelia (18, Fayetteville, Ga./Nellya Fencers)
50. CRANE Christina (19, Riverdale, Ga./Nellya Fencers/St. John's '05)

For more information, please contact Cindy Bent, USFA Media Contact, email: usfencingmedia@earthlink.net.