Fencing team goes 11-6 at West Coast Invitational

Nov. 24, 2008

USAF Academy, Colo. - The Academy's fencing team had a successful weekend at the West Coast Invitational on Nov. 22. Together, the men's and women's teams finished 11-6 against NCAA West Regional opponents, Caltech, Stanford and UC San Diego. Overall, the men's team finished 6-3. The men's epee squad earned three straight victories versus host school Caltech. The Air Force women's team finished 5-3, picking up two wins each over both Caltech and Stanford and one versus UC San Diego.

Individually, the Falcons' top finishers were juniors Daniel Trapani, Houston, Texas, in epee, 8-1, and Peter French, Austin Texas, in epee, 8-1. Freshman Ben Rinaldi, Pittsburgh, Pa., finished 6-3 in epee. In men's foil, freshman Phil Choy, Basking Ridge, N.J., finished 7-2, while sophomore Nick Stockdale, Landsdowne, Pa., went 6-3. In the women's competition, freshman Simone Barrette, Louisville, Ky., finished 8-1 in epee. Freshman Amanda Terry, Fort Worth, Texas, finished in sabre, 7-2, while senior Angelica Plazas, Bogota, Colombia, finished 6-3 in sabre.

Team finishes: The Air Force men's team won the epee, foil and sabre events versus Caltech, 9-0, 9-0, 9-0, respectively. In epee, AFA's fencers finished 8-1, and 3-6 in foil and 5-4 in sabre versus UC San Diego. Stanford won, 2-1, by finishing 7-2 in foil and 8-1 in sabre. The Falcons won the epee event, 5-4.

In the women's events, Air Force went 2-1 against Stanford. They finished 5-4 in both foil and sabre; the loss, 3-6, came in epee. Against Caltech, the Falcons won the epee and sabre events 6-3, 7-2, respectively. The cadets were 1-2 against UC San Diego, winning the epee competition, 6-3. UCSD won foil, 8-1, and sabre, 5-4.

"The women's sabre team did a good job at defeating Stanford, 5-4.," said head coach Abdel Salem. "The team's future looks bright with the freshmen and walk-ons that are doing a good job this season. It looks as if our women's sabre team is in good hands as with Amanda Terry, who went 7-2, and Angelica Plazas who finished 6-3 this weekend. The men's sabre team also had a strong weekend, going 5-4 against UCSD and 6-0 against Caltech."

The fencing team will compete in the North American Cup "C" Division I Tournament, Dec. 12-14, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In January, Trapani will travel to Budapest, Hungary, to compete in the 2009 Junior A World Cup Tournament, Jan. 5.

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