Winter Home Tournament - A Rating for Starshak!

We had a great turnout for the December Windy City Tournament. In Y10, Harrison Rogers took first, over Joe Taylor in a close finals. Tied for third were Elle LaVia and Matthew Raterman. In Y12, Harrison MacRae took the Gold, Rebecca Rose the Silver, and August Maleug and Luke Clohisy were third. Dante LaVia won Y14 over Mason Speta, with MacRae and Rose in the semis. In the Open, Albert Starshak took Gold, earning his A rating.

Julius Reiner 2d at Metro Tournament

Windy City Fencer Julius Reiner held the flag by himself for the club at Metro Chicago Fencing's November 16 tournament. Julius was 2d in the Y10 Mixed Epee event, and 3d in Y12. Here he is, second from the left, in the Y10 medal group. Congratulations Julius!

Michael Zook - Second at the Turkey Meet

The Turkey Meet in Waukesha drew a strong field of 40 epee fencers. No word on whether the birds were spared or skewered and roasted on weapons. Gold Team member Michael Zook had a great day and took 2d at the tournament. Congrats!

Samantha Perry - Gold at the Rochester Super Youth

Windy City Fencing put on a very strong showing at the first Super Youth Circuit tournament of the season. Samantha Perry (center) was 1st in Y12 Womens Epee and Third in Y14. Harrison MacRae was 2d in Y12 Mens Epee and 6th in Y14. Mason Speta was 2d in Y14 Womens.

Congratulations to Sam, picking up the first Windy City Gold Medal at a SYC this year!!

NAC B

Eleven Windy City fencers traveled to St. Louis to compete in the USFA NAC "B" - Y14, Cadet, and Juniors: Gold Team members Lydia Kopecky, Nicolas Levy, Nabil Salem, and Michael Zook; Silver Team members Emma Malueg, Mason Speta, Samantha Perry, Dante LaVia, Lane Lubell, Harrison MacRae, and Matthew Davis.

Mason Speta was 7th in Y14 and 31st in Juniors. Congratulations to all!

Remenyik Open - Kopecky Third!

Lydia Kopecky took third at the Remenyik Open in Womens Epee, one of the biggest tournaments of the year and the first in the new National Open Circuit. Lydia was third for the second year in a row. She now has two axes (Lydia in the center, right.) Windy City coach Tsanko Hantov was also third in the Mens Epee, renewing his A; assistant coach Ian Lindblom was 5th and also earned his A. Other Windy City fencers participating included Mason Speta (14th in Women's Epee), Michael Zook, Nabil Salem, Albert Starshak, Nicolas Levy, Dante LaVia, Harrison MacRae, and Emma Malueg.

NAC A - Dante Gets His "D"!!

October 10-13 saw 5 Windy City Fencers go to Columbus, Ohio, for the first USFA North American Cup tournament of the season. This was the Cadet/Div. II/Div. III NAC, and the Windy City Fencers were taking on Cadet for the first time (and all of them are still Y14 fencers).

The biggest news of the weekend is that Dante LaVia was 11th in Div. 2 and won his "D" rating. Dante has been fencing very well, and this rating is long overdue. Congratulations to Dante!

Other good results include Mason Speta, 11th in Div. 2 Womens.

The Burton Open

The Burton Open is always a great tournament sponsored by Northwestern University fencing, and a great early event for the competitive season. Five Windy City fencers joined this competitive field. Mason Speta was 7th in Womens' Epee, and Michael Zook was 18th in a very deep (69 fencers) Mens' Epee event.
Results here.

Windy City Fall Tournament

Windy City's Fall Tournament had a good turnout of fencers, although it was largely an intramural tournament in the youth divisions. Youth epeeists from other clubs, come join us at the next tournament. In the Open, Nabil Salem, who is fencing very well this season, won the tournament. Y14 was won by Dante LaVia, and Y12 was taken by Harrison MacRae.
Full results available here on askfred.net.

CFC Tournament

It was an all-Windy-City field in the Y12 Epee Event today at the CFC tournament. Samantha Perry and August Malueg fenced in the finals, with Sam taking the bout. Congratulations to all who competed in this first youth event of the year.

In the D-and-under epee event, Dante LaVia took 3d! (D-and-under events are for adults, which in fencing means 13 and older, who are "D" rated or below.) Congratulations, Dante.

A New Season Begins!

With practice for the teams just having started on Tuesday (9/2), five Windy City fencers nevertheless took to the strip at the Chicago Lakeshore Open this Sunday (9/7): Gold Team members Lydia Kopecky, Nabil Salem, and Mike Zook; Silver Team member Mason Speta; and new Windy City member (and former member of the Harvard University fencing team) Ian Lindblom. In a close bout, Lindblom defeated Salem in the finals -- a Windy City closeout!

We're all looking forward to a busy and productive season coming up.

End of Year National Rankings

At the end of the 2007-2008 competition season, eight Windy City fencers are ranked on the USFA National Points list (reflecting their national rankings). Here are their rankings and a summary of some of their best results.

• Lydia Kopecky is ranked 25th in Division 1, the top division for Womens epee, and 14th in Juniors. Lydia's best performances this year include 8th in Juniors at the Summer Nationals, 24th at the Division 1 National Championships, and 11th in Div. 1 at the Atlanta NAC.
• Mason Speta is ranked 1st in Y12 Womens epee, and 11th in Y14. Mason's Gold Medal in Y12 at the Summer Nationals was a repeat of her 2007 Gold Medal in the same event. Mason was also 6th in Y14 at both the Summer Nationals and the Portland Youth NAC. Mason was 1st in Y12 at 3 Super Youths, and 2d in Y14 at the San Jose Super Youth.
• Dante LaVia is 4th in Y12 Mens epee, and 25th in Y14. Dante was 6th in Y12 at the Portland Youth NAC and 15th in Y14. He was 1st in Y12 at the Kentucky Super Youth, 6th in Y14 in Kentucky, and 7th in Y12 at the New Hampshire Super Youth.
• August Malueg is ranked 9th in Y10 Mens. August was 2d at the Kentucky Super Youth.
• Harrison MacRae is 15th in Y12 Mens. Harrison was 7th in Y12 at the Summer Nationals and 2d at the New Hampshire Super Youth.
• Samantha Perry is 16th in Y12 Womens. Sam was 12th in Y12 at the Summer Nationals, 3d at the New Jersey Super Youth, 3d at the Kentucky SYC, 6th at the New Hampshire Super Youth, and 17th at the Portland Youth NAC.
• Donna ("Ellie") LaVia is 16th in Y10 Womens. Ellie was 14th in Y10 at the Summer Nationals.
• Thomas Donnell is 81st in Y14 Mens.

Summer Nationals - Recap

Summer Nationals in San Jose, California, was a great tournament. Although perhaps lacking some of the around-the-clock party atmosphere of last-year's Nationals in Miami Beach, the hotel and venue were very nice and the fencing was (of course!) fantastic.

As always, Windy City had one of the largest turnouts of any club in the country -- with 18 fencers competing in 36 different events: Matthew Davis, Thomas Donnell, Lydia Kopecky, Dante LaVia, Ellie LaVia, Lane Lubell, Harrison MacRae, August Malueg, Emma Malueg, Arpad Neale, Samantha Perry, Rebecca Rose, Nabil Salem, Allison Shapiro, Kevin Shapiro, Mason Speta, Albert Starshak, and Michael Zook.

Windy City fencers won 4 medals (see below). Also, check out our gallery of pictures from Nationals.

Summer Nationals -- 4 Medals!

At the Summer Nationals in San Jose, CA, three Windy City fencers won 4 medals.


Mason Speta won the Gold Medal in Y12 Womens Epee. This was a repeat for Mason, having also won the Gold Medal in Y12 at the 2007 Nationals. Mason also won the 6th place medal in the Y14 event.






Lydia Kopecky had a great tournament as well, medaling in the Juniors event (under 20). She was 8th in Juniors. Even more impressive, Lydia was 10th in the Div. 1A event, losing a very close bout to go onto the medal stand. Lydia earned her "A" rating, the top rating for USFA fencers.





Harrison MacRae was 7th in the Y12 Mens Epee event, a breakout performance for Harrison.

NAC F - Div 1 Champ. and Youth NAC

A big contingent of Windy City fencers -- 15 total -- traveled to Portland, Oregon, for the Division 1 National Championships and the Youth North American Cup. Because this is an Olympic Year, the Division 1 Championships is held now, instead of at the Summer Nationals. Lydia Kopecky again had a great tournament -- coming in 24th among all of the very best epee fencers in the country.

In the Youth events, Windy City had a strong showing. All of the fencers deserve recognition for competing at this highest level of National competition! Thomas Donnell, Tom Hersbach, Dante LaVia, Ellie LaVia, Nicolas Levy, Emma Lisec, Lane Lubell, Harrison MacRae, August Malueg, Emma Malueg, Samantha Perry, Rebecca Rose, Allison Shapiro, and Mason Speta.

Mason Speta and Dante LaVia both medaled. Mason was 1st in the Y12WE event and 6th in Y14. Dante was 6th in the Y12ME event, earning his first NAC medal!

Mason earned her C rating.

Congratulations all!

Midwest Sectionals

Mike Zook, Albert Starshak, and Nabil Salem qualified for Juniors (U19), and Salem and Zook qualified for Division 1A at the USFA Summer Nationals by finishing well at the Midwest Sectionals Tournament. Zook won the Juniors competition and renewed his "B" rating. Great fencing -- and on to Nationals!

Prise de Fer Super Youth

Mason Speta was Windy City's representative at the Prise de Fer Girls' Super Youth in Wellesley, MA. She won the Y12WE event and was 5th in Y14. Together with Elizabeth Gilbert from Houston and Mandeep Bhinder from New York, they formed Team Fierce and were 3d in the Y14WE team event.

Illinois Division - Nationals Qualifiers

A great turnout of Windy City fencers at the Illinois Division qualifying tournament for the USFA Summer Nationals in San Jose. Too many, in one sense, as too many Windy City fencers had to fence each other for the chance to go to the Nationals. Congratulations to everyone who participated, not only on an excellent display of fencing but also the utmost in good sportsmanship.

A number of Windy City fencers have already qualified for Nationals. In Y10 and Y12, fencers qualified by participating in Regional Youth Circuit or Super Youth Circuit tournaments. In the older divisions (Y14, Cadet, Juniors, and Seniors), fencers qualify if they have earned National Points or through the Division or Section qualifying tournaments. For more information (if you really want) on this, see our summary here.

At Divisionals, the following fencers qualified for Nationals. Congrats!

• Y14WE: Samantha Perry, Emma Malueg
• Cadet (U16) WE: Allison Shapiro
• Junior Men's Team: Mike Zook, Nabil Salem, and Albert Starshak
• Senior Men's Team: Mike Zook, Nabil Salem, and Albert Starshak
• Division III ME: Kevin Shapiro
  

San Jose Super Youth

Mason Speta traveled to San Jose, CA, for the Western Super Youth -- where the Summer Nationals will also be held later this year. Mason took 2d in the Y14 event in a very competitive field, her best Y14 result to date.

Houston Super Youth

Seven Silver Team members traveled to Houston for the Super Youth tournament. There is great epee fencing in Texas, and this is a very challenging tournament. Thomas Donnell was 14th in a very competitive Y14ME division. He earned Y14 National Points and qualified for Nationals in the Y14 event. A great showing! Mason Speta took 1st in Y12WE.

Finally, a Local NAC

It rarely happens, but the USFA finally ran a North American Cup tournament here in Chicago. Well, actually in Rosemont. Two club parents (including your writer) volunteered for set up: a pretty impressive exercise of building more than 50 metal strips and wiring all the boxes. My back may not recover for some time.

This was the Divisions II & III (and Veterans) NAC. Four Windy City fencers competed, with Jonathan Spalding 28th in Div. II and Nabil Salem 35th. Silver Team members Nicolas Levy, Charlotte Green and Nathaniel Green and new adult fencer Kenyon Scott competed in Division III.

"The Arnold" Classic

Three Windy City Fencers -- Arpad Neale, August Malueg, and Allison Shapiro -- traveled to Columbus, OH, for the "Arnold Classic." Yes, that Arnold. The Governor of California indeed makes a personal appearance at this all-sports festival, and comes to meet the fencers at the venue.

Arpad Neale was 1st in the Y10 event, and August Malueg 3d. August was also 3d in the Y12 event. Great showing!

Salem Earns His "B" at Metro!

Nabil Salem was 2d at the Metro tournament, in the Open, and earned his well-deserved "B" rating. Lydia Kopecky was 6th in the Open. In the Y14 tournament, Mason Speta was 1st, Nicolas Levy 3d, and Matthew Davis 6th.

NJ Super Youth

Samantha Perry won 3d place at the New Jersey Super Youth tournament in Y12WE! Congratulations Sam (in the picture on the left). Congratulations also to Keara Duffy, who won the 8th place medal!

Junior Olympics

Three Windy City fencers competed in the Junior Olympics in Charlotte, North Carolina: Lydia Kopecky, Nabil Salem, and Albert Starshak. Lydia tied for 17th place in Cadet!

Kentucky Super Youth Tournament

A big Windy City contingent of 15 fencers traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Super Youth Circuit Tournament -- the biggest club of fencers in epee!

Windy City won both Y12 events -- Dante LaVia in Y12 Mens, and Mason Speta in Y12 Women.

Other medals: Mason Speta - 3d in Y14WE; Dante LaVia - 6th in Y14ME; Samantha Perry - 3d in Y12WE; Keara Duffy - 7th in Y12WE; August Malueg - 2d in Y10ME; Arpad Neal - 3d in Y10ME; and Donna ("Ellie") LaVia - 5th in Y10WE.

Congratulations to all who fenced!

More International Fencing for Kopecky

Lydia Kopecky traveled to her second Cadet World Cup this year, in Bonn, Germany. All fencers must be approved by their national federations to go to the World Cups, and the competition is intense. (Plus, I am told, there are some very definite differences in the styles of fencing practiced in different countries.) Lydia did great, besting half the field! More great things to come!

Salem Earns His "C"

At the Chicago Lakeshore Fencers Open, Nabil Salem (Gold Team) placed 2d and earned his "C" rating. Congratulations Nabil!

NAC D - Lydia Kopecky 14th in Div. 1

Lydia Kopecky continued a great run, reaching 14th place in Division 1 -- the USFA Senior Division. Lydia is the first Windy City fencer to win Division 1 points and will be invited to the Division 1 championships in April!

On the mens side, Mike Zook and Kevin Shapiro competed in both Juniors and Div. 1.

New Hampshire Super Youth

The first Super Youth of the season is in Durham, New Hampshire. A good turnout of 7 Windy City fencers.

In Mens epee, Harrison MacRae was 2d in Y12, and Dante LaVia was 7th. Two medals!

In Womens epee, Samantha Perry was 8th in Y14. In Y12, Mason Speta was 5th, and Perry was 6th. Sam earned her "E" rating. Congrats, Sam!

Congratulations to all!

Windy City Nearly Sweeps Epee at Chicago RYC

Windy City fencers came out in force for the Chicago Regional Youth Circuit tournament, hosted by the Chicago Lakeshore Fencers club. Twenty-two (22!) total Windy City fencers competed, with all Y10 and Y12 fencers qualifying for the US Fencing Association Summer Nationals! Arpad Neale won the Y10; Dante LaVia won both the Y12 and Y14. Thomas Donnell was 2d in Y14. And third place finishes were earned by Khan Delin and Harrison Rogers in Y10, by Mason Speta and Lane Lubell in Y12, and by Mason Speta in Y14.