Seven RDF fencers competed at Summer Nationals & July Challenge events in Milwaukee, WI recently!
TL;DR Summary:
CDT WE – Kalina – 59th
D2 ME – Jack – 249th (tie)
SR Team WE – Pink Pokey Club (Kalina, Ava, Sarah) – 31st
Y14 WE – Kalina – 46th, Ella – 194th
Y14 ME – James – 241st
D2 WE – Ava – 9th & D25!, Kalina – 21st, Sarah – 78th
D3 ME – Jack – 118th
Y12 WE – Ella – 118th (tie)
Y12 ME – Tristan – 81st, James – 84th
First up on Monday, Kalina fenced Cadet Women’s Epee. She was very patient in pools, upset a higher seed to make it into the round of 64 in the direct elimination round, and finished 59th!
On Wednesday, Jack fenced in Division 2 Men’s Epee. Unfortunately, 1 victory in pools was not enough to make the cut into the direct elimination round, and he ended tied for 249th place. Also on Wednesday, Kalina, Ava, and Sarah fenced Senior Team Women’s Epee as “Pink Pokey Club”, winning their first 45-point match against a team from Minnesota before facing the #2 seed and going down 33-45.
The next day, Kalina and Ella fenced Y14 Women’s Epee. Kalina won five bouts and lost 1, and Ella went 2-4 in pools, so they both made the cut into the direct elimination round. Kalina won 2 15-point matches and ended 46th. Ella had a tough match-up for her first 15-point bout, but did her job of making the bout last as long as possible – they ran out of time before her opponent could make 15 points. Ella tied for 194th place.
James started us out on Independence Day in Y14 Men’s Epee, going 2-4 in pools. He made the cut into DE’s, but lost to 13th seed to end tied for 241st place. Then Ava, Kalina, and Sarah fenced in Division 2 Women’s Epee. Ava won all of her pool bouts, Kalina was 4-1, and Sarah 4-2. (Pools typically have 6 or 7 people, and Kalina happened to be in a smaller pool this time.) In the DE round, Ava won 3 bouts and nearly made the medals, finishing 9th and earning her D25 rating! Kalina won 2 bouts and ended 21st. Sarah lost her first bout and ended 78th.
On Saturday, Jack and Ella were back to fence Division 3 Men’s Epee and Y12 Women’s Epee, respectively. Jack went 2-4 in the pools round, making the cut into DE’s. He went down to 11th seed and finished 118th. Ella was also 2-4 in pools, won her first 15-point match in the DE round, and tied for 118th.
Last but not least, on Monday, Tristan and James fenced Y12 Men’s Epee. It was Tristan’s first national-level event ever! They both went 4-2 in pools, although we could tell James wasn’t feeling well because he was still and quiet between matches. They both won their first 15-point DE match to make the round of 128. Tristan finished 81st and James was 84th.
red door fencing 