Two fencers from the Presidio Fencing Club attended the Division II/Division III North America Cup in Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend. Matthew Kuiken entered four separate events, one each day, with his best result being 10th out of 104 athletes in the Division III Mens Epee. Kuiken also competed in the Division II Mens Foil along with club-mate Christopher Noyes.
After a choppy round-robin to determine seeding, both Kuiken and Noyes ended up fencing each other in the first direct elimination bout. Noyes claimed victory and proceeded to the next round where he dispatched the number 19 seed with ease but then lost to the number 14 fencer in the round of 32. He finished 31 out of 97 fencers.
Locally, a number of Presidio fencers attended the annual San Luis Obispo Fall Open, one of the larger fencing tournaments held on the Central Coast. Keric Moore, a senior at San Marcos High, won the gold medal in the Mixed Foil event and earned a ‘B’ rating with the United States Fencing Association (USFA). He now advances to Division I status and will compete in the Division I North America Cup to be held in San Jose in January 2010.
Also competing in the Mixed Foil were Presidio’s Gage Delany, a freshman at SBCC, and Oliver Bublitz, an 8th grader at Goleta Valley. Delany won the bronze, earning his ‘C’ rating, and Bublitz finished twelfth, earning his ‘E’. The tournament was Bublitz’s first senior fencing event. He is the youngest Presidio fencer to have earned a rating with the USFA.
In the Mixed Epee event, Jake Wiener, a sophomore at Dos Pueblos High, finished eighth and earned his ‘C’ rating. Of note, Wiener defeated a much higher ranked ‘A’ fencer to earn his place in the quarter-finals.
Other Santa Barbara fencers competing in the SLO event are listed below, along with their club affiliation and final standing:
Mixed Foil: Cameron Westbury, Presidio (5); Rohun Heesen, Presidio
(10); Stephanie Murphy, UCSB (15); Sophie Russo, Presidio (16);
Timothy Stanton, Presidio (20); Jieh Meinhold, Presidio (21); Doug
Golupski, Presidio (22); and Kellie Windenburg, Presidio (23).
Mixed Epee: Mark Soler, Presidio (18); Jaehun Huh, UCSB (20); Sabrina
Sorich, Presidio (28); Randy Bublitz, Presidio (29); and Kellie
Windenburg, Presidio (30).
Mixed Saber: Brandon Christopher, UCSB (6); Anthony Granatelli, SBFA
(12); and Robby Granatelli, SBFA (17).
