Air Force Fencing Team Dominated at the Amarillo Open
10/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Oct. 4, 2010
The Academy's fencing team dominated the 11th Annual Amarillo Open this past weekend, winning seven of the eight competitions and netting 21 top-10 results. The Air Force fencers competed in the men's and women's Division 1A Epee, Foil and Saber, and Under-20 Mixed Epee and Foil events on Oct. 2-3 in Amarillo, Texas. The event fielded over 290 fencers in all categories.
Advancing into the final round, senior Daniel Trapani won the Div. 1A Senior Men's Epee championship, defeating his opponent, Leo Kust from Wichita, Kan. Trapani won the final bout in overtime, 12-11. Trapani was 10-0 on the day, going undefeated in pools and in the direct elimination rounds. Trapani was honored as the Academy's Athlete of the Week (Oct. 4). Assistant Coach Timothy French also competed in the tournament, finishing tied for third place. In Div. 1A Senior Women's Epee, junior Simone Barrette won the championship bout, 15-11, against Natalie Vie from Phoenix, Arizona.
"Our team was rewarded this weekend with the results of their hard work and commitment," said French. "They were all well-prepared and made the Air Force Academy very proud."
Sophomore Heather Nelson, as the No. 2 seed going into the finals, won the Div. 1A Senior Women's Saber championship, defeating Cathy Stockdale, 15-12. Stockdale is the wife of Jason Stockdale, a former Air Force Academy fencer and two-time All-American. Also competing in the Div. 1A Women's Saber tournament were juniors Saskia Hicks and Christina Cassabaum, who took third and eighth place, respectively. The men's saber team took five of the top eight spots in the Div. 1A Senior Men's Saber tournament. Sophomore Scott Pippin won the championship bout, 15-14, against AFA freshman Emerson Woerner. Junior Geoffrey Pamerleau tied for third place, and freshman Michael Gallagher took fifth place, while sophomore Edward Wood finished in seventh place.
The team's freshmen class also had a winning weekend, as Daniel Cohen was the Div. 1A Senior Men's Foil winner, defeating AFA freshman Travis Dyson, 15-9, and Yevgeniy Shmurak tied for third place. Shmurak also won the final bout, 15-3, in Open Junior Mixed Foil versus John Bucuvalas from Denver Fencing Club. In the Open Junior Mixed Epee championships, freshman Chase Houser was the overall winner, defeating James Snell from El Paso, Texas, 8-7.
Several freshmen also finished in the top 10 of their respective events, including Dyson in the U-20 Foil tournament, who finished fifth; freshman Olivia Prosseda, who finished seventh in Div. 1A Women's Epee and freshman Diana Hock, who finished sixth in Div. 1A Women's Foil. Sophomore Yannie Horth also competed in Div. 1A Women's Foil, taking fifth place.
The Air Force fencers will begin the North American Cup (NAC) tournament season, starting Oct. 14-18, at the Div. 1 NAC in Cincinnati, Ohio. On Nov. 6-7, the Academy will host the annual Falcon Open.
Air Force Results page: http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/sports/c-fenc/spec-rel/100410aaa.html
