| 2007 Junior/Cadet World Championships |
| Written by Cindy Bent Findlay | |
| Monday, 02 April 2007 | |
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The United States Fencing Association (USFA) announces the roster of young athletes who will represent the United States at the 2007 Junior and Cadet World Championships in Belek, Turkey, April 10-18, 2007. The Championships are held every year by the Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international governing body of the sport of fencing. Three athletes have been selected by the USFA in each weapon (men's epee, foil, and saber; women's epee, foil and saber) for the two age categories, Cadet (Under-17) and Junior (Under-20). The Championships includes individual competitions in each age group and weapon, plus Junior Team competitions in each weapon. Four fencers -- three fencers plus one substitute -- compete on each team. In 2006, the U.S. contingent earned a record 11 medals -- ten individual and one team -- and finished third in the Nations Cup count. This year's challenge is to surpass that count. The goal is well within reach. Many members of this year's team are veterans of one or more Championships teams, including several who reached the medal podium. Rebecca Ward (17, Portland, Ore.), last year's triple World Champion (Cadet, Junior and Senior World Champion), returns to the competition this year ranked #1 in the world Junior standings. She will anchor the Junior women's saber team which will attempt to defend its 2006 title. Other returning medalists include Caroline Vloka (silver, 2006 Cadet saber event and bronze in the Junior individual and gold in the team event); Graham Wicas, the 2006 Cadet men's epee champion (17, Philadelphia, Pa.); Raskyrie Davidson (18, Newark, N.J.), Cadet men's saber bronze medalist; and Courtney Hurley (16, San Antonio), the 2006 Cadet women's epee world champion and now ranked #15 in the world senior women's epee standings. The U.S. is rapidly gaining international recognition by the international medal performances of its young fencers; in 1992, Felicia Zimmermann won the first World Championship medal since 1975. U.S. fencers have earned multiple medals every single year since 1994. History of the Championships The World Under-20 Championships was first hosted in 1950 by the Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and included men's foil. Men's saber was added in 1952, followed by men's epee in 1955, women's foil in 1956, women's epee in 1989 and women's saber in 1999. The World Under-17 Championships began in 1987. The two championships have been held together since 1993. Last year's championships were held in Taebek, South Korea. More than 100 countries are members of the FIE, including the U.S. The USFA is the national governing body for the sport in the United States. Roster: Cadet Men's Foil Enzo Castellani (16, Keller, Texas/Fenc., Inst. Of Texas) Ariel DeSmet (16, Portland, Ore./NorthWest Fencing Center) Gerek Meinhardt (16, San Francisco, Calif./Massialas Found.) Junior Men's Foil Nicholas Chinman (17, Boulder, Colo./Northern Colo. Fencers) Ariel DeSmet (16, Portland, Ore./NorthWest Fencing Center) Gerek Meinhardt (16, San Francisco, Calif./Massialas Found.) Team Event: Ben Parkins (17, The Woodlands, Texas/Salle Mauro) Cadet Women's Foil Kylei McGill (14, Jamaica, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation) Nzingha Prescod (14, New York, N.Y./Westbrook Found.) Hayley Reese (16, Louisville, Ky./Louisville F.C.) Junior Women's Foil Samantha Nemecek (19, Alto, Mich./West Mich. F.A/Northwestern '09) Nzingha Prescod (14, New York, N.Y./Westbrook Found.) Doris Willette (18, Rodeo, Calif./Golden Gate/Penn State '10) Team Event: Kylei McGill (14, Jamaica, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation) Cadet Women's Epee Neely Brandfield-Harvey (16, Houston, Texas/Salle Mauro) Courtney Hurley (16, San Antonio, Texas/Team Hurley) Susannah Scanlan (16, St. Paul, Minn./Twin Cities F.C.) Junior Women's Epee Courtney Hurley (16, San Antonio, Texas/Team Hurley) Kelley Hurley (18, San Antonio, Texas/Team Hurley/Notre Dame '09) Susannah Scanlan (16, St. Paul, Minn./Twin Cities F.C.) Cadet Men's Epee Joshua Dolezal (16, South Bend, Ind./Escrime du Luc) James Kaull (16, Washington, D.C./Chevy Chase F.C.) Adam Watson (16, Richford, Vt., Vermont Fencing Alliance) Junior Men's Epee Dwight Smith (19, Elmont, N.Y./Westbrook Foundation/Columbia '09) Stanley Vaksman (18, North Woodmere, N.Y./NYAC/St. John's '09) Graham Wicas (17, Philadelphia, Pa./Fencing Acad. Of Phila.) Team Event:Ben Weider (19, Westfield, N.J./Medeo Fencing/UPenn '09) Cadet Men's Saber Daryl Homer (16, New York, N.Y./Fencers Club) Harrison Mahaffey (16, Los Angeles, Calif./Los Angeles Int'l .F.C.) Aleksander Ochocki (16, Clark, N.J./Fencers Club) Junior Men's Saber Raskyrie Davidson (18, Newark, N.J./Westbrook Found.) Harrison Mahaffey (16, Los Angeles, Calif./Los Angeles Int'l .F.C.) Jeff Spear (18, Wynantskill, N.Y./Fencers Club/Columbia '10) Team Event: Aleksander Ochocki (16, Clark, N.J./Fencers Club) Cadet Women's Saber Monica Aksamit (17, Matawan, N.J./Fencers Club) Caroline Vloka (16, Upper Saddle River, N.J./Fencers Club) Rebecca Ward (17, Portland, Ore./Oregon Fenc. Alliance/home school) Junior Women's Saber Rebecca Ward (17, Portland, Ore./Oregon Fenc. Alliance/home school) Caroline Vloka (16, Upper Saddle River, N.J./Fencers Club) Dagmara Wozniak (18, Colonia, N.J./Fencers Club/St. John's '10) Team: Eileen Hassett (17, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fenc. Alliance) COACHING ROSTER Boris Vaksman, North Woodmere, N.Y. Michael Itkin, New York, N.Y. Yuri Gelman, Brooklyn, N.Y. Ro Sobalvarro, St. Paul, Minn. This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it "\> This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.USFencing.org\" target\u003d_blank\>www.USFencing.org\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>\u003c/div\>",0] ); //-->Michael Pederson, San Francisco, Calif. Edward Korfanty, Portland, Ore. CADRE Chief Of Mission Sam Cheris, Denver, Colo. Captain Jim Carpenter, Celina, Texas Team Leader Andrea Lagan, Boulder, Colo. Staff Liaison Corinne Greenman, Colorado Springs, Colo. Lead Armorer Scott Harkey, Shreveport, La. Armorer Gary Spruill, Flowermound, Texas Lead Trainers Nick Tobianski, Sterling Heights, Mich. Trainer Marli Carollo, San Antonio, Texas Referee from the U.S., appointed by the F.I.E.: Ariana Klinkov, Billerica, Mass. Junior and Cadet World Championships Belek, Turkey Schedule of Events: 10 April 2007 Cadet Women's Saber, Cadet Men's Foil 11 April 2007 Cadet Men's Saber, Cadet Women's Epee 12 April 2007 Cadet Women's Foil, Cadet Men's Epee 13 April 2007 Junior Women's Saber, Junior Men's Foil 14 April 2007 Junior Men's Saber, Junior Women's Epee 15 April 2007 Junior Women's Foil, Junior Men's Epee 16 April 2007 Junior Team Women's Saber, Junior Team Men's Foil 17 April 2007 Junior Team Men's Saber, Junior Team Women's Epee 18 April 2007 Junior Team Women's Foil, Junior Team Men's Epee |