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Female fencing stars shine in Las Vegas
By Cindy Bent Findlay // US Fencing // June 20, 2006
Female fencing stars shone on the strip last night at the 2006 Las Vegas Women's Foil World Cup and Women's Saber Grand Prix at the Stardust Casino & Resort.
2004 Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis (21, Beaverton, Ore.) earned another gold notch on her belt, winning the Women's Saber Grand Prix, defeating Ilaria Bianco of Italy in a thrilling 15-14 bout.
Zagunis faced a tough path to the top, facing team- and club-mate Caitlin Thompson (19, Portland, Ore.) in the round of 32.
Zagunis won that bout 15-10, then defeated Eileen Hassett of the U.S. 15-7, Leonore Perrus of France 15-10, and France's Anne-Lise Touya (15-14) in the semifinals to reach the gold medal bout.
This is Zagunis's first World Cup win of the season, though she already holds two silver and two bronze from competitions.
Oregon Fencing Alliance clubmate and 2005 Junior World Champion Rebecca Ward (16, Portland, Ore.) also reached the final of 8, falling in the quarterfinals 15-14 to Touya.
In the Women's Foil competition, 4th-ranked Hyun-Hee Nam defeated Giovanna Trillini of Italy in another stellar bout.
Trillini staged a comeback in the middle of the bout, coming back from 0-5 to tie the score several times.
But Nam's quick attacks were too much for the veteran Trillini, holder of 7 Olympic medals. In a thrilling sudden-death minute, Nam ended the match with a 12-11 victory over the Italian.
Emily Cross (19, New York, N.Y.), the 2005 women's foil Junior World Champion, achieved an exciting 15-14 upset of Trillini's teammate and 2000 & 2004 Olympic gold medalist Valentina Vezzali in the round of 16.
Cross was defeated by the eventual bronze medalist Ilaria Salvatori, also of Italy, 15-6 in the quarterfinals.
Women's Saber Team competition concludes today in Las Vegas. Results are below from the top 64 of the individual competitions.
Women's Saber Grand Prix World Cup Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 17 June 2006 111 fencers 1. ZAGUNIS Mariel (21, Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance/Notre Dame '09) 2. BIANCO Ilaria ITA 3T. FEDORKINA Ecaterina RUS 3T. TOUYA Anne-Lise FRA 5. VELIKAIA Sophia RUS 6. PERRUS Leonore FRA 7. WARD Rebecca (16, Portland, Ore./Oregon Fencing Alliance) 8. KHARLAN Olga UKR 16 HASSETT Eileen USA 19 VLOKA Caroline USA 23 THOMPSON Caitlin USA 30 BORRMANN Sarah USA 33 JACOBSON Sada USA 37 JEMAL Alexis USA 41 WOZNIAK Dagmara USA 45 JELLISON Eva USA 49 BARATTA Emma USA 55 SCHNEIDER Daria USA 58 GRENCH Eilleen USA
Women's Senior "A" Foil World Cup Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 17 June 2006 61 competitors 1. NAM Yun Hee KOR 2. TRILLINI Giovanna ITA 3T. MUELLER Anja GER 3T. SALVATORI Ilaria ITA 5. DI FRANCISCA Elisa ITA 6. SUGAWARA Chieko JPN 7 DURANDO Benedeta ITA 8 CROSS Emily (19, New York, N.Y./Harvard '09) 14 WILLETTE Doris USA 16 THOMPSON Hanna USA 21 ZIMMERMANN Iris USA 25 ROSS Nicole USA 29 KNAUER Lindsay USA 31 MALYNN Darsie USA 32 ALICEA Pilar USA 35 MCLEOD Shelby USA 37 EMERSON Abigail USA 38 REESE Hayley USA 40 WACKER Jessica USA 41 ZARGHAM Mina USA 42 ROTHENBERG Rocky USA 43 KILPATRICK Teagan USA 44 SACHS Elif USA 45 GLASSER Allison USA 46 CHEN-CONTINO May-Lynne USA 48 RECKLING Kathleen USA 51 HENVICK Allison USA 52 HARTMAN Grace USA
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