2009 ALLIANCE WINTER CAMPS

HOUSTON:

Juniors/Adults

Youth

WOODLANDS:

Youth

HISTORICAL FENCING

THE HOUSTON CUP

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North American Cup

Juniors, Division I

Columbus, OH

January 12-15, 2007

Eleven fencers, plus two college fencers, represented Alliance Fencing Academy at the fourth NAC of this season in four different events. This time it was the turn of Daniel Trapani (17) to bring home a bronze medal in Junior Men’s Epee and earning his A-07 rating! Bravo Daniel! Congratulation to his coaches Andrey Geva and Bill Trapani. Three other fencers earned good national points in these very tough competitions. Andrey spent four days attending, counseling and helping everyone and visiting with coaches from colleges around the country and the people who run the national program.

Congratulation to our medallist!!!

Trapani, Daniel - Bronze Medal, Junior Men's Epee

Junior Men’s Epee

153 fencers, A4 event
 

Friday morning January 12th dawned overcast, cold and rainy but things in the fencing venue were warming up. The Means Junior Epee event was scheduled to blast off at shortly after 8 am. Our Alliance fencers met up with old friends, Jonathan Bibb (19) and Shawn Wright (19) now fencing for Cleveland State University who introduced some of their teammates to our boys. Both teams then warmed up together in good spirits. The first round of pools moved along smoothly with Zoltan Krudy (17), Daniel Trapani (17), and Nathan Sorensen (16) winning 4 bouts each while Dillon Smith (17) and Max Ferguson (15) taking 3 victories in their pools. Ben Freiman (15) drew a very tough pool with the number 3 seed Ben Weider from the Medeo Fencing Club, J. Hutchinson who finished in 15th place, Edward Kelley who finished in 19th place and K. Hartstein who placed 31st out of 153 competitors. Ben fenced well and lost two very close bouts 5-4. Look up Ben, those bouts were like putting money in the bank that you will withdraw in your next cadet and y-14 event. Bank on it kid! Team Alliance then moved into the direct elimination rounds with confident expectation of what the day could bring. The first round of D.E.s brought with it a lightening bolt of disappointment when we discovered that Zoly had missed the last call to his strip and was black carded out of the competition. Although this was a major upset Zoly still finished in 73rd place not having fenced any direct elimination bouts. Zoly’s strong showing in the first round after being away from the club for such a long time signals trouble ahead for alliance opponents. Watch out for the incoming ZAK attack! It’s coming to a venue near you! Moving on to our next lighting bolt, Max drew Daniel Hadley who would finish the day in 30th place for his first D.E. bout. Max fought with the courage and boldness of a warrior poet scoring several beautiful touches but could not stave off the older more experienced Hadley who finally pulled away and won 15-7. If Max maintains this type of fencing intensity there are going to be many a whimpering fourteen-year-olds held by their mothers at the next NAC Y-14 and Cadet events! Look out! The Vikings are back and they’re smiling! Speaking of Vikings here now comes our lefty Norseman, Nathan “Swifty” Sorenson. This reporter has heard it been said that Nathan can whirl onto a strip faster than the Tasmanian Devil, break two of his epees, fence his 15 touch bout faster than a five touch saber bout and still peel an apple without breaking stride. Nathan came out of the pools seeded 39th and paired up with a game ready Canadian, Aaron Dixon who would finish the day in 22nd place. The bout moved along with both fencers exchanging touches with Dixon finally winning the bout 15-14. Although Nathan finished out of the top 32 he did fence well in attaining 51st place.
Gentlemen! Start your engines! Is that a Lexus I hear or what? No, no its just Dillon’s stomach rumbling. This reporter believes it may have had something to do with the breakfast sausages. Whatever the sound was Dillon came out of the pools driving for victory as he first met up with Hoerle of Ohio State, defeating him 15-11 and moving quickly into 2nd gear pairing up with the number #2 seed, Adam Watson of the Vermont Fencing Alliance. Dillon fought his way through to victory in this bout 15-13 and on into the third D.E. round where he met up with Daniel for this fifth time since these guys have been together. This NAC jinx has followed them throughout the country and their careers and so here we went again. Daniel prevailed this time out and Dillon would continue his pursuit in the repercharge round. Igor Gantsevich of Canada drew Dillon in the next bout. During the bout both fencers exchanged touches and the score remained very close until during one exchange Dillon’s left leg tightened up with a pulled muscle. After a medical break, Dillon regained his feet and continued the fight, however, the injury hampered him through the remainder of the bout placing him at a disadvantage. Although he fought on with true esprit de corps, he could not deny the Canadian his victory, losing to Gantsevich 15-9. The Canadian would eventually finish 8th on the day. Dillon again finished with a consistent top 32 performance taking 21st for the event. Is it Big Bird? Is it the Skinny Guinea with the Meatball Eyes? No, it looks more like Harry Potter - or is it ……oh yeah, its just Daniel. The kid from Kingwood had a rocky start in the first round of pools losing two very close bouts 5-4 and struggling at times in his victories, but in true Harry Potteresk fashion he quickly mixed up a new batch of voodoo brew for the D.E. rounds. Harry made quick work of William Bedor 15-8 and moved on to the second round where he drew Jacob Wischnia from the Philadelphia Fencers Club who had taken bronze in the 2006 Summer Nationals Junior Men’s Epee Championship. The bout opened with both fencers rallying up on each other two to three touches at a time until Daniel found himself in the lead 14-12. Wischnia battled back to tie things up 14-14. Daniel found the distance and made his attack which landed and ended the bout. Daniel was now paired up with Igor Gantsevich of Canada who had most recently fought with Dillon. Now it has been said that Sicilians never get angry - they just get even. If revenge is sweet then Daniel looked like the kid who ate two pounds of his Grandma’s gnocchi with a half dozen meatballs thrown in for good measure. The Canadian went down 15-8. Harry Potter then went into the next bout with Kevin Mo who would finish out the day in 9th place. True to the Rip Van Winkle story, Mo and Daniel went to sleep for 15 minutes! When they both woke up, Daniel was the winner 2-1. Daniel had then elevated himself into the top 8 of junior men’s epee for the first time. After a short break Daniel found himself fencing James Hawrot (6th place) in the first round of eight. Daniel prevailed 15-11 and drew Dwight Smith for the semi-final round. The first round of the bout ended 3-2 Smith in the lead. With the beginning of the second round Smith added to his lead 9-6. The bout ended with Smith as the victor 15-9 and he would go on to beat Stanley Vaksman for the gold medal in the finals. In all, Daniel had his strongest performance of the season in taking the bronze medal. Well done, kid!

Final results:

1 Smith Dwight A METRO NYC
2 Vaksman Stanley LONG ISLND
3T Silver Josh D OREGON
3T Trapani Daniel K GULFCST TX
5 Kelly Brent L METRO NYC
6 Hawrot James E NEWENGLAND
7 French Peter R.N. SO. TEXAS
8 Gantsevich Igor * CANADA
21 Smith Dillon S GULFCST TX
48T Bibb Jonathan J NORTH OHIO
59 Wright Shawn T NORTH OHIO
EXC Krudy Zoltan A GULFCST TX
74 Sorensen Nathan G GULFCST TX
87 Ferguson Magnus K GULFCST TX
147 Freiman Benjamin D GULFCST TX
 

These are the results of our friends from other clubs and divisions who attended our winter camp: Bishara Korkor from Wisconsin finished 23rd, Jonatahn Yergler, from Central Florida finished 52nd, Michael Zook from Illinois finished 109th, Nicholas Negron, Gulf Coast Division, 125th.

 
Division I Women's Epee

146 fencers, A4 event

After the boy’s first day of hard fencing and personal successes the Alliance girls were ready to climb the mountain and drink from the golden cup of victory. Clad in Alliance blue & gray the girls began their days activities with a quite jog around the venue the pace quickening with each lap around the gathering storm anticipating the clash of steel and the high pitch shriek after a well placed touch has been scored. Warmed by vigorous bouting our girls made their way to the strips for the first round of pools. At the end of the pools Dina Bazarbayeva (15) was 5-1, Francesca Bassa (16)/ 5-1, Neely Brandfield-Harvey (17)/ 4-2, and Stephanie Wheeler (17)/0-5. The direct eliminations began and raged on with a cacophony of primeval screams. When the dust cleared Dina had lost a tough bout (15-14) for the top 32, Francesca, also finished out of the top 32 had lost (15-14) in another vigorous bout with a tough Brazilian girl. Neely ended the day in 44th place and Stephanie in 141st. With the result of the Div-I Women’s Epee in the books our girl turned to the coming of the Juniors Women’s Epee contest with a renewed self confidence that always comes with the new day and a fresh start.

This is how fencers from other clubs and divisions who participated in our winter camp placed in this event: Kelley Hurley from South TX and Notre Dame, 6th place, Rebecca Rea, Gulf Coast TX, 48th place, Lydia Kopecky, Illinois, 49th place.

Division I Men's Epee

265 fencers, A4 event

The boys arrived for the 7 to 8 am check in as is usual for all NAC men’s epee events quietly gathered themselves and determined that this day’s efforts would not go unnoticed by the fencing gods. Having girded their armour they mounted and moved to their strips to face the best of the best. Also numbered in the host were numerous competitors from Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Germany, Italy, and of course our neighbors to the North Canada. The first round ended with a very good showing by all the boys. Both Dillon and Daniel capturing 5 wins , Nathan with 4 wins and Zoly taking 3 for himself. The guys now moved into the direct elimination (DE) rounds . Both Dillon and Daniel received byes and were seeded 41st and 36th. Zoly drew Ben Weider (a rough customer) of the Medeo Fencing Club in New Jersey. Zoly fought well but fell short, 15-13. Nathan also dropped his 1st DE bout 15-9 and went out. Dillon had his bye and then fenced Brent Kelly of Columbia University. Kelly then said, good-bye to Dillon who would finish on the day 71st. Daniel’s first bout went well and he breezed to victory 15-7. In the second bout Daniel met Jan Viviani of the New York Athletic Club and previous member of the US National Team. The bout opened with Daniel scoring the first two touches but Viviani quickly rallying back to tie it up. The bout scoring continued back and forth until the score stood at 6-5, Viviani. The second round began with Viviani exhibiting his control of the distance while Daniel released several attacks out of distance and falling victim to the counter attack. Daniel rallied late in the third round but fell short losing 15-9. Daniel ended his day’s effort in 41st place. There was one other bright spot during the competition one of Alliance’s alumni, Jonathan Bibb now fencing for Cleveland State University finished the day in 55th place but not before fencing a terrific bout with Cody Mattern, #5 in the seniors and a member of the national team. Jonathan was leading in this bout 13-10 with approximately 45 seconds left. Mattern skillfully closed the score and tied it up as time ran out. The referee flipped the coin and priority went to Jonathan. I could paint a picture of two warriors locked in mortal combat, a real Beowulf saga but I’m tired so I’ll tell you how Andrey put it, “Then the score became 13-13 with Jonathan’s priority, and then he lost.”

These are the results of our friends from other clubs and divisions who attended our winter camp and competed in this event: Tommi Hurme of San Antonio and Princeton finished 21st, Jonatahn Yergler, from Central Florida finished 97thT, Michael Zook from Illinois finished 150thT, Bishara Korkor from Wisconsin finished 205th, Nicholas Negron, Gulf Coast Division, 214thT.

Junior Women's Epee

120 fencers, A4 event

Pull up a folding chair, grab yourself a latte, and tighten your French grips, folks - it ain’t over till the fat lady sings, but I can hear her tuning up her pipes just off stage. From the close of the Division I women’s epee event and the endless day afterwards only served to intensify our girls’ will and resolve for the anticipated main event, Junior Women’s Epee. The Alliance girls, who are no strangers to the top 32, came to Columbus in order that they may prove their mettle once more. Francesca seeded 5th, Erin16th, Stephanie 33rd , Dina 46th, and Neely 61st after the first round of competition. One of our girls, Erin Pytel (17), who has never been in top 32 juniors, arrived at the venue eager to carve out a new territory for herself. In the first round of pools, Erin wasted no time in striking while the iron was hot. Her results were nothing short of fantastic. Erin finished first in her pool with a 5-1 record, earning a bye in the direct elimination round while soundly beating Christa French 5-3. Christa - who would later capture the silver medal this day. Way to go Erin! Her first DE bout was against Tasha Hall, who would eventually take 12th place on the day. Erin fought well but succumbed to the more experienced fencer and fell, 15-6. For her great efforts on the day Erin found herself just outside the top 32 in 34th place. There’s a new kid on the block, so everyone needs to watch out in Denver at the Junior Olympics. This could be another case of an Alliance fencer coming from nowhere! The pool of talent in women’s junior epee is wide and deep and a point scored either way can determine who will end up in the top 16 and finally the top 8 and such was the case this day as our veteran competitors discovered. Neely quickly won her first DE bout and went on to face the eventual winner for the day, Susanna Scanlan in a tough bout losing 15-13. Dina won her first bout 15-10 and move to the next round where she faced off with Jasjit Bhinder who would go on to take the bronze medal. Dina fenced well but lost an extremely close bout 15-14. Stephanie had been building steam throughout the day and the Wheeler express was in full locomotion as she rolled over four of her opponents culminating in her victories over number one seed Danielle Henderson 15-10 and Natalie Gegan 15-12. After these two great victories, Stephanie must have thought she was fighting all up hill because she now had to face the Cadet World Champion, Courtney Hurley, for top 12. The bout was hard fought but the World Champion would not be denied this day and defeated Stephanie 15-11. Stephanie has found that magic that will propel her into the hunt for the top 8 in Denver next month. On this day, she captured 15th place. Now comes Francesca. She came out of the pools seeded 5th and went right to work breezing through her first two bouts until she met with Keri Byerts of Penn State and a Junior World Championship medallist. This bout shaped up to be a real bell ringer as Francesca held out and finished strong against her challenger 15-11. Our girl now moved into the top 16 where she was paired up with a very tough Susanna Scanlan. Where have we read that name before in this report? This bout shaped up to be a touch for touch melee with Francesca in the lead 14-13 and very little time left in the bout. Scanlan, who would later take gold, would not be denied this time out and rallied back from behind and won the bout 15-14. Francesca had one more opportunity to bring it back in the repercharge round where she met with another familiar opponent, Courtney Hurley. The bout ended with Hurley taking the victory 15-10 into the final 8. Francesca finished out the day in 9th place. Although the four days of competition were not everything we all hoped for, there were many bright moments that promised future success. These are the foundation stones that athletes rest upon. An ancient Chinese General is quoted as saying, ”Spectacular accomplishments are never preceded by less than spectacular preparations”. Or when a young musician asked a taxi cab driver how to get to Carnegie Hall? The reply was,” practice kid , practice”.

Till Denver. Bill Trapani signing off.
 

These are the results of the fencers from other clubs and divisions who participated in our winter camp: Courtney Hurley, South TX, 8th place, Rebecca Rea, Gulf Coast TX, 27th place, Lydia Kopecky, Illinois, 39th place, Jaqueline Swietochowski, Illinois, #79thT, .

Coach's note

Our fencers performed well in the junior events with one bronze medal and three more fencers earning national junior points. In Div I we could not get any of our fencers in the top 32, but we had several close calls and misses at 14-15. A bit more luck, a bit more concentration and continuous work on these “glitches” should improve our results at the Junior Olympics in Denver.

By Bill Trapani, Giorgio Bassa, and Andrey Geva

Junior Men's Epee final

Daniel (right) in semi final bout against D. Smith

Nice touch to the arm by Daniel

(photo credit - George Krudy)

Team dinner

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