CFC Holiday Tournament

Silver team fencers from Windy City had a good tournament at the Chicago Fencing Club Holiday tournament. Becky Hersbach took 1st in the Y12 epee, where Arpad Neale and Luke Clohisy were also second. August Malueg and Matthew Davis also had good a tournament. In the "D and under" mens, Thomas Donnell was 6th, with Nicolas Levy and Tom Hersback also turning in solid performances. Emma Malueg was 3d in the womens D and under.

NAC C

Lydia Kopecky traveled to compete in a USFA Division 1 tournament, at the USFA NAC "C" in Richmond, VA. Division 1 is the "Open" division, tops in the USFA.

Four Qualify for Junior Olympics

At the Illinois qualifying tournament, four Windy City Fencers qualified for the Junior Olympics in February: Albert Starshak and Nabil Salem qualified in Juniors and Cadet; Jacky Swietochowski qualified in Juniors, and Lydia Kopecky had previously qualified for Juniors and Cadet by being on the National Points list. Five other Windy City fencers competed at the qualifying tournament. Although he did not qualify for the JOs, Silver Team fencer Nicolas Levy was 7th in Juniors and earned his "E" rating.

Windy City (Lydia Kopecky) Goes International!

Lydia Kopecky was the first Windy City fencer to compete internationally, fencing at the Cadet World Cup in Heidenheim, Germany, this weekend. Lydia continues to have a great year, fencing domestically in Cadet, Juniors, and Division 1.

In order to compete at World Cups, U.S. fencers must be nationally ranked and be approved by the US Fencing Association. Congratulations, Lydia!

NAC B

Windy City sent a strong team to the USFA North American Cup "B" in Dallas. Gold Team members Michael Zook, Nabil Salem, Albert Starshak, Lydia Kopecky, and Jacky Swietochowski competed in the Cadet and Junior Divisions.

Silver Team fencers Mason Speta, Samantha Perry, Dante LaVia, and Nicolas Levy competed in Y14 (and Levy fenced Cadet as well).

Mason Speta was 13th in Y14, earning National Points and qualifying for Y14 Women's Epee at the 2008 Summer Nationals!

Windy City Success at Midwest RYC

The Peoria Fencing Academy, where we have lots of friends, hosted a Regional Youth Circuit Tournament this weekend. Thanks to Coach Emara and all of the Peoria fencers and parents for their hospitality!



Windy City had a great turnout: 11 fencers total competed. Arpad Neale, August Maleug, Elle LaVia, Dante LaVia, Harrison MacRae, Lane Lubell, Rebecca Rose, Samantha Perry, Mason Speta, Emma Maleug, Nicholas Levy, and Emma Lisec. In Y10, Arpad and August were first and second. Dante LaVia was first in both Y12 and Y14. Other top-three finishes included Harrison MacRae and Lane Lubell in Y12, and Mason Speta and Harrison MacRae in Y14.

Remenyik Open

Lydia Kopecky won 3d place in Women's Epee at the Remenyik Open at Northwestern University, one of the largest tournaments of the year, and earned her "B" rating! Lydia is shown here with the axe (yes axe) that she won. Also competing in Women's epee were Jacky Swietochowski (12), Mason Speta (31), and Emma Lisec.

On the men's side, Windy City was well-represented by Gold Team members Michael Zook, Kevin Shapiro, Nabil Salem, Albert Starshak, Jonathan Spalding, and Nicolas Levy, and by Coach Tsanko Hantov.

Windy City's Fall Epee Tournament

We had a great turnout for the Windy City fall epee tournament. Eighteen competed in Y10, including 13 Windy City fencers. The very close final bout between Arpad Neale and August Maleug was won by Neale. Congratulations to both, and to the other Windy City medalists (Matthew Raterman, Nathan Ruhrkraut, Julius Reiner, and Khan Delin). In Y14, Joe Guinan from Metro prevailed over Windy City fencer Max Lehman in the finals. Other medalists were Nicholas Levy, Dante LaVia, Mason Speta, Thomas Donnell, Harrison MacRae, and Samatha Perry.

Kevin Shapiro Medals at the First NAC of the Year!

Kevin Shapiro (on the left in the picture) won 8th place in Division III at the first USFA North American Cup of the Year! Congratulations to Kevin.

Also competing at the NAC were Windy City Fencers Nabil Salem, Lydia Kopecky, and Allison Shapiro. Nabil is 17th in Division II Men's Epee, and Lydia is 32d in Cadet Women's Epee - two great results!

Burton Open

Jacky Swietochowski put on an impressive showing at the Burton Open, placing 11th in the Women's Epee and 14th in the Mixed. Also competing were Mason Speta (Women's) and Jonathan Spalding (Mixed).

More Good Early Season Youth Results

At the College of Lake County Tournament in Gurnee, Mason Speta was first in Y12 Mixed Epee and 3d in Y14. Thomas Donnell was also third in Y14, and Nicolas Levy was 7th.

Mike Zook Second at the Purdue Open

Michael Zook took second at the Purdue Fall Open in a big field. Lydia Kopecky also competed (22d). Congratulations to both!

A Good Start for the Youth

At the first tournament of the year, Windy City swept the Y12 Mixed Epee: Dante LaVia (1), Samantha Perry (2), Mason Speta & Keara Duffy tied for third.