CFFA update for August 12

Our women (and a couple of guys) had a good showing at the Big Blue to get this season started.  We had Amelia Alexander and Eilis O’Brien in the women’s foil to get the day going.  Eilis, in her first event not at our club, was not on.  But she battled through and gave a good accounting of herself while losing her first DE.  She finished 12.  Amelia started slowly and then got it together, winning her last two bouts in the pool.  One of those was beating the current woman’s high school state champion (Amelia’s in 7th grade).  She then won her first DE although giving away five points on red cards for covering target.  That means our foil referees need to be more strict during practice.  She then lost her second DE to the number one seed and finished 8th.

The men’s epee (A1 with 3 As and 4 Bs) had Eoin O’Brien and Miller Dumas.  It was only Miller’s second tournament.  He got a touch on everyone he fenced and went 3-5 with a B and a C.  Eoin was 2-4 with a 0 indicator.  He beat a B, and had 3 one touch losses; one of which was against eventual winner Lars Hansen, who re-earned his A.  Eoin’s other loss was to an A 3-5.  As sometimes happens at these events, the only two CFFA fencers drew each other in their first DE.  Eoin won, but lost his next DE to the B who tied for 3rd.  Eoin ended up 13th and Miller was 19th.

We had seven of the sixteen women in the epee, which had the potential to be a C event.  Erin Alexander was in her first event and got the hardest pool.  She didn’t win any, but things improved as the day went on.  Erin had lost her pool bout to Meredith Powers (who won every event at the Iron Maiden a couple of years ago) 0-5, but when she drew top seed Meredith in the DEs the score was 7-15.  She finished 16th.  Daughter Amelia (in her first adult epee event) looked a bit tired after the foil, but got points against everyone in her pool, and unfortunately drew Lauren Dunseath as her DE opponent, finishing 15th.  Alice Bromberg, in her first tournament, got at least 3 points against everyone in her pool except Lauren.  She got 9 points against the number 3 seed in her DE and finished 14th.  Lydia Huggins was in her first event not at our club.  She won one match and got at least 2 points in every other match.  In the see above category, she drew Nicole Milewski for her first DE and finished 13th.  Erica Julien had an excellent first pool, going 3-1.  She lost her first DE and finished 9th.  Kenyatta Sanford started 3-2 in that very nasty pool.  She won her first DE, then avenged her pool loss to number one seed Meredith Powers in her second DE, before a 12-15 loss to Nicole in the her third DE.  She won a bronze medal.  Nicole went 3-1 in her opening pool.  She then defeated Lydia for her first DE, avenged her pool loss in her second DE, eked by Kenyatta in the third one, and lost a tight 13-15 very back and forth bout to Lauren in the finals.  She earned the silver medal.  A good day for everyone and I think most, if not, all have the bug for more fencing.

A standard week of fencing this week.  I will be in for Saturday practice.  Next week our first class of the fall starts on Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm.  We will also be starting a new class on board Camp Lejeune on Friday at 7 pm.

The Division schedule is not yet finalized, but I will let everyone know once it is settled.  For those who feel they must have a competitive fix, the closest big thing is a currently 32 person mixed epee in Jacksonville, Florida, next Saturday.  It also has a D and under mixed epee the same day.

pax vobiscum,